Without a doubt, Caitlin Clark will be the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

Clark ended the Rookie of the Year race with a statement performance

While they acknowledged that Clark was still the heavy favorite to win Rookie of the Year, they had Reese at No. 1 due to the historic numbers the Chicago forward has been putting up throughout the season.

Ironically, a history-making evening also became the same night Reese lost the Rookie of the Year race to Clark.

There is no better way to put the nail in the coffin of a heated awards race than playing your best game against your rival. That’s exactly what Clark did in emphatic fashion.

From logo threes, pull-up threes in transition, slick dimes, and just wreaking havoc on the offensive end, the Fever point guard put it all on full display in a marquee matchup against her biggest rival.

Clark even doubled down on that hammer by doing it in Reese’s own building at Wintrust Arena. To make matters worse, she even received a standing ovation on enemy territory.

Clark and Reese have been going neck and neck all season long. They have put up stellar numbers as rookies and have been setting their own respective records left and right.

Apart from her 23 double-doubles, Reese is averaging 13.2 points and leads the league in rebounding with 12.9 per game. She has already set the record for most consecutive double-doubles at 15, and she is also the only player in WNBA history to notch three straight 20-rebound performances.

Clark, meanwhile, is tallying 18.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and a league-leading 8.7 assists per game so far. The Fever guard has already broken the record for most assists and three-pointers by a rookie in a season. She is also well on pace to break the all-time record of 316, which was set by Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas last year.

Likewise, Clark also set the single-game rookie record for most threes and most assists. She also became the first rookie ever to notch a triple-double.

The two rookie studs have met four times this season, where Clark and the Fever have gotten the better of Reese and the Sky three times.

Reese did put up arguably the best game of her rookie season against Indiana when she dropped 25 points and 16 rebounds during an 88-87 comeback win in late June.

However, Clark bounced back with her best performance yet on Friday night, right at the heat of the Rookie of the Year race.

Perhaps the biggest difference in the Rookie of the Year race is how Clark has been able to help lead the Fever to a postseason berth after their incredibly slow start to the season.

Indiana has been operating at a fever pitch since the All-Star break. They have gone 5-1 since returning and have climbed towards a 16-16 record after starting the season 1-8.

Granted, Indiana’s schedule has gotten a little easier since the intermission. But they did pull off impressive wins over the No. 2 seed Connecticut Sun, the No. 5 seed Seattle Storm, and the veteran-laden Phoenix Mercury.

Throughout this stretch, Clark is averaging 24.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 8.5 assists, while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from three.

Meanwhile, Chicago has lost six of seven since coming back from the break. They have dropped to 11-20 on the season, but are somehow still clinging to the eighth and final spot of the playoff race.

Reese is still putting up monster numbers — 12.3 points and 16.3 rebounds per game — throughout this stretch. However, she is shooting just 34.2 percent from the field.

Even before their most recent matchup, this stretch after the All-Star break should have already given Clark the separation she needed to distance herself from Reese. She just ran away with the Rookie of the Year on Friday.