Welcome to Glass Slipper! Imagine what social media will look like if Nikola Jokic beats Team USA tomorrow. We simply cannot allow that to happen; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

The WNBA Rookie of the Year race has been absolutely awesome, and it got me thinking about the most fun award battles in recent sports history.

The 2023 NBA MVP went down to the wire, but I wouldn’t say it was all that fun. Joel Embiid missed almost 20% of the season, and Nikola Jokic had already won the thing twice; you weren’t exactly jumping up and down to vote for either. The 2019 NL MVP was cool, but Cody Bellinger ended up benefitting from a Christian Yelich injury. Discussions surrounding the 2017 AL MVP were fantastic, but everything was immediately tainted when we found out that Aaron Judge was dueling with a cheating Jose Altuve.

To me, these are the three races in the last 15 years that stand out as the most entertaining:

1. 2018: Donovan Mitchell vs. Ben Simmons for NBA Rookie of the Year

2. 2016: Ezekiel Elliott vs. Dak Prescott for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

3. 2012: Russell Wilson vs. Andrew Luck vs. Robert Griffin III for NFL Offensive Rookie of th- are you noticing a trend here?

The Rookie of the Year - in any league - is not a golden ticket to long-term success. Just look around at some of the winners. Crystal Dangerfield was the leading scorer on a 2020 WNBA title contender in her first professional season, and has since faded into a deep bench role on her sixth team. Michael Carter-Williams looked like a superstar before following a similar path. I’m even old enough to remember Chris Coghlan’s 2009 campaign with the Marlins; he then spent the remainder of his career accumulating the same amount of Wins Above Replacement as you and I.

So what is it about this particular trophy that produces such heated debates? Well, I think the answer is actually quite simple. It’s the lone award in the industry that players only have one chance to win. We should be grateful for the fact that our favorite athletes want every piece of hardware available. I love how Reese has embraced her battle with Clark.

Folks that slam Angel for the snarky-but-never-disrespectful comments and subtweets are being foolish, quite frankly. Competition is what sports are all about. These complainers online are the same folks that were eating it up when Donovan Mitchell got petty with Ben Simmons a few years ago; don’t randomly change stances now.

Just to be clear here, I’d go with Clark over Reese if the season ended today. Caitlin’s start was shaky at best, but those shooting splits have now risen to a more respectable point. She’s already the best playmaker in the league. My one criticism of Clark is that she sleepwalks on defense, but her offensive production is more than enough to make up for that flaw. Reese brings value on both ends, but her overall impact hasn’t been on quite the same level.

Regardless of which player you would vote for, we should all be grateful for an exciting race. Participate in the discourse, but don’t turn it into personal slander for no reason. We’re watching two faces of the sport chase an award that they’ll never be eligible to win again. Appreciate the moment.

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“Golden” by Harry Styles. Enjoy.