There seemed to be a few lost souls who believed the race for Rookie of the Year was narrowing between Paige Bueckers and Sonia Citron. The word "fan" is short for "fanatic," so it's understandable for Washington Mystics fans to push that narrative, but coming from anyone, it seemed laughable.
Not because Citron isn't amazing, because she is. The run the Mystic rookie was on had magical written all over it, so to many it felt like a late-season push for the award. The thing about it is that Paige has been hooping like crazy all season, so that should have already been out of reach.
However, none of that matters any longer since Paige dropped 44 on the Sparks while the Wings were hilariously shorthanded. There are no more arguments to be had about who is going to take home the trophy. The only thing to be concerned about now is whether the Dallas star will win the award unanimously or will she be robbed of that special honor like Caitlin Clark was last year.
There should be no dissenting votes for Rookie of the Year
In Clark's rookie season, she was clearly ahead of her class. Well, at least it was obvious to most of us. Unfortunately, there was one voter out of the 67 who felt it was justifiable to pick Angel Reese for the award. I am a big supporter of Reese. She had a great inaugural season, but she should not have gotten any first-place ROY votes, and it's not disrespectful to say so. It's reality.
Angel averaged 13 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, and one assist per game. Clark went for 19 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and one steal. The way teams double-teamed CC right out the gate showed just how big a threat everyone believed her to be, and she still found a way to put up those crazy numbers and led her team to the playoffs.
Now, Paige may not lead her team to the playoffs, but anyone who's watched the Wings knows that she's been ice skating uphill. Dallas has nowhere near the amount of talent or the player/coaching experience that Indiana had last year. That team was built in a specific way to highlight Clark's talents. Bueckers hasn't been as fortunate so far.
That hasn't stopped her from putting up ridiculous numbers, scoring in double digits every single game she's played this season. Her lowest point total was 10 points, and it was in her first game of the year.
The only thing Citron has on her right now is efficiency from three, but it's easier to hit them when you have more room due to the way defenses have to attack a more balanced Washington team. Smart basketball observers know this. There is no choice other than Bueckers, and if you pick anyone else after watching PB score 44 points on 81% shooting against Kelsey Plum's surging squad, you're just being stubborn.