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Could Aaliyah Edwards Steal The ROY Award From Caitlin Clark?

Alex Chick III / WNBA / May 14, 2024

Could Aaliyah Edwards Steal The ROY Award From Caitlin Clark?

This is not a post about who’s better. I would be a madman to just straight-up lie and say that Aaliyah Edwards is better than Caitlin Clark. However, the ROY (Rookie of the Year) award has never been about who’s better. It’s always been about production. I’m not saying that Clark won’t produce, but her team is more talented than Aaliyah Edwards’s team. Could Edwards somehow steal the award?

The Mystics were one of the worst offensive-rebounding teams last year. Aaliyah Edwards was one of the best offensive rebounders in women’s college basketball last year. She’s going to eat on the glass and she will be able to put shots up on put-backs. The Mystics don’t have Natasha Cloud as she went to Phoenix and Elena Delle-Donne is taking a hiatus from basketball. Edwards is not better than Brittney Sykes, but she does have a chance to be better than Shakira Austin and Ariel Atkins. To me, Edwards has the best position to make the most of her opportunities.

Caitlin Clark is the heavy favorite (-700) for Rookie of the Year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Aaliyah Edwards finishes 2nd though. Clark will make opportunities for herself to produce. However, as of right now, she is probably the 3rd or 4th best player on her roster. Even though Edwards was chosen 7th overall in the 2024 WNBA draft, she might have the best chance out of all the draft picks to win this award. Sparks’ rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson will be helpful to each other but production-wise they’ll be fighting with each other. Same with the Sky’s rookies Kamila Cardoso and Angel Reese. For my betting degenerates, Aaliyah Edwards is +4000 to win ROY. I’ll sprinkle $10 on that.