Even if you're not into sports, you probably heard about the debates about the WNBA rookies, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
This is not about the racist subtext underlying much of the Caitlin Clark fandom or critique of Angel Reese's sportsmanship.
Both are great players and have weakness, and they will likely both notably improve.
This is a sports stats discussion about the debate over the Rookie of the Year award that is certainly going to one of them.
Angel is the best rebounder in the league. She is #1 in offensive and #3 in defensive rebounds. Not a single other play is even in the top #7 on both lists.
Her critics love to bring up that many of her rebounds (more than 1/4) are of her own missed shots, but even when you exclude rebounds of own shots, she is #1.
Likewise Caitlin is the best assister in the league. She also makes the most turnovers, but Angel's missed shots wind up being essential turnovers too.
So, we'll leave aside turnovers and missed shots and call that a wash.
Let's look at the one skill each leads the league in, plus the one most important skill, scoring the most points.
Angel who is #1 in rebounds is 30th in scoring, and 70th in assists.
Caitlin who is #1 in Assists is 11th in scoring and 24th in rebounds.
IOW, Caitlin is also pretty good at the one thing Angel is the best at, while Angel is rather bad at the thing Caitlin is best at.
Plus, Caitlin and much better than Angel at the most important thing, scoring.
You can also compare them on more advanced stats like PIE, which takes into account both offensive and defensive play, measuring a players total impact on the game. Among players who've played more than 20 games, Caitlin is 16th and Angel is 22nd (keeping in mind most of the players ahead of them are not Rookies).
The other factor people consider for ROTY and similar to the issue of MVP, which is who makes their team better.
Caitlin made her last place team of last year a 7th ranked probable playoff team. In fact, Caitlin's teams had been in the bottom 3 teams for the prior 3 years.
Angel's team has the same 8th ranking as last year and they have a worse record. In fact, Angels team was #1 just 2 years ago.
There is a lot of heated debate about this competition, most it polluted by political and racial bias (coming from both directions).
But I don't see how there can be a reasonable debate from an objective standpoint. OTOH, I am not an expert on basketball.
This is not about the racist subtext underlying much of the Caitlin Clark fandom or critique of Angel Reese's sportsmanship.
Both are great players and have weakness, and they will likely both notably improve.
This is a sports stats discussion about the debate over the Rookie of the Year award that is certainly going to one of them.
Angel is the best rebounder in the league. She is #1 in offensive and #3 in defensive rebounds. Not a single other play is even in the top #7 on both lists.
Her critics love to bring up that many of her rebounds (more than 1/4) are of her own missed shots, but even when you exclude rebounds of own shots, she is #1.
Likewise Caitlin is the best assister in the league. She also makes the most turnovers, but Angel's missed shots wind up being essential turnovers too.
So, we'll leave aside turnovers and missed shots and call that a wash.
Let's look at the one skill each leads the league in, plus the one most important skill, scoring the most points.
Angel who is #1 in rebounds is 30th in scoring, and 70th in assists.
Caitlin who is #1 in Assists is 11th in scoring and 24th in rebounds.
IOW, Caitlin is also pretty good at the one thing Angel is the best at, while Angel is rather bad at the thing Caitlin is best at.
Plus, Caitlin and much better than Angel at the most important thing, scoring.
You can also compare them on more advanced stats like PIE, which takes into account both offensive and defensive play, measuring a players total impact on the game. Among players who've played more than 20 games, Caitlin is 16th and Angel is 22nd (keeping in mind most of the players ahead of them are not Rookies).
The other factor people consider for ROTY and similar to the issue of MVP, which is who makes their team better.
Caitlin made her last place team of last year a 7th ranked probable playoff team. In fact, Caitlin's teams had been in the bottom 3 teams for the prior 3 years.
Angel's team has the same 8th ranking as last year and they have a worse record. In fact, Angels team was #1 just 2 years ago.
There is a lot of heated debate about this competition, most it polluted by political and racial bias (coming from both directions).
But I don't see how there can be a reasonable debate from an objective standpoint. OTOH, I am not an expert on basketball.