Less than a month remains in the WNBA regular season, but the rookies have hardly slowed down. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese seem to be breaking records every week while trying to help their teams get to the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Rickea Jackson continues to blossom despite the Los Angeles Sparks' struggles. The team is not doing great right now, but Jackson's future is certainly bright.
Reese has been thriving with the Sky, but so has fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso. On Sunday, Cardoso made her college head coach Dawn Staley proud with her defensive efforts against Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson -- also a former South Carolina star.
As for Aaliyah Edwards, she is trying to bring Wilson's winning vibes to the Washington Mystics with a specific pregame outfit (more on that below). Edwards doesn't get as many minutes as other rookies on this list, but what she does on the court shows she has a lot of potential.
Here is a closer look at this week's WNBA Rookie Rankings:
1. Caitlin Clark
The Fever picked up a 84-79 win over the Atlanta Dream on Monday, with Clark nearing a triple-double despite an ankle injury scare in the first quarter. The former Iowa star tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against Atlanta, adding two steals and a block.
Clark nailed four 3-pointers in that game, tying her with Dream guard Rhyne Howard for the single-season rookie record of 85. Clark is right behind Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride in total 3-pointers made this season (87).
Clark's 8.2 assists per game are also the best in the WNBA. Clark already broke Ticha Penicheiro's rookie assist mark of 225, and now she is chasing Alyssa Thomas' all-time single-season record of 316. And if that wasn't enough, Clark is the only guard in the league this season to register 25+ steals and 25+ blocks, per StatMamba.
Caitlin Clark creates space, steps back and knocks down her fourth 3-pointer of the night.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 27, 2024
she has tied the @WNBA rookie record for 3PM in a season with 85 ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/wNYTOTUFMf
2. Angel Reese
The Sky suffered a tough 77-75 loss to the Aces on Sunday because of a last-second game-winner by A'ja Wilson. However, the talented Sky rookies had some memorable moments of their own. Wilson did not have the most efficient night as she went 8-for-28 from the field, and those 20 misses were the most in her career. Reese did a good job defending her, along with Kamilla Cardoso.
Reese put up 11 points and 22 rebounds in that game, marking her 22nd double-double of the season. This helped her tie Tina Charles for the most double-doubles by a rookie in WNBA history. She also became the first WNBA player to register three consecutive 20-rebound games.
While Reese definitely needs to get more consistent with finishing (38.7% FG), she is currently the top rebounder in the league with 12.9 per game. Reese gets grief for frequently rebounding her own misses, but even without counting those, she would still lead the league in offensive rebounds.
Tuff.#skytown pic.twitter.com/YEL5Kwck3g
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) August 25, 2024
3. Rickea Jackson
The Sparks looked like they would snap their losing streak during Sunday's game against the Dallas Wings, but instead they collapsed and gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter to lose 113-110. However, Jackson did her best to help her team and finished the day with a career-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. She also added three rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks.
Jackson's performance even caught the attention of WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes.
"Helluva game today young lady!" Swoopes wrote on social media. "It was truly a pleasure to watch you play in person. So excited for what the future holds for you. You are going to be a problem in this league."
Career-high type game for Rickea today. 🔥
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) August 25, 2024
25 PTS | 3 REB | 4 AST | 3 BLK | 6-8 3PM pic.twitter.com/k2es65X7Uu
4. Kamilla Cardoso
In the loss to the Aces, Cardoso registered eight points, 12 rebounds, three assists and five blocks -- which was the most important stat. All five of those blocks were against Wilson, and no other player has registered more blocks against the two-time MVP in a single game. Nobody was more proud than South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.
"Let me tell yall this [Kamilla] is giving [A'ja] everything she's got-blocking her shot with the stare down. I love it," Staley, who coached both players, posted on X. "Guess what?! A dishes it out and A can take it. The highest level of competition is knowing when your opponent made some helluva plays. Respect!"
Two days earlier, Cardoso tallied a career-high 18 points while going 8-for-11 from the field in the Sky's 82-80 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
ANOTHER BLOCK FROM CARDOSO! pic.twitter.com/uKfumSlRE7
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) August 25, 2024
5. Aaliyah Edwards
Edwards doesn't get as many minutes as other of the top rookies, but when she does get an opportunity, she is impactful. The Mystics snapped their five-game losing streak and have now won back-to-back games. In the 80-74 win against the Sparks on Friday, Edwards recorded six points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 20 minutes.
After watching A'ja Wilson's game-winner against the Sky, Edwards said she was going to copy Wilson's pregame fit -- which was sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt. She wore that outfit when the Mystics earned a 74-72 win against the Seattle Storm on Monday. The former UConn star joked that the outfit helped her team win. She only played 16 minutes, but she used them to contribute with two points and five rebounds.
Aaliyah Edwards said NOT TODAY 😤
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 23, 2024
📺 #IONWNBA pic.twitter.com/HstPBmWJtb