ESPN Makes Clear Pick Between Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever, Angel Reese's Chicago Sky

On Thursday, Neil Paine of ESPN ranked the best young WNBA cores in terms of potential. The expert used a simplified forecasting system to project players' value over the next five years. The Fever were ranked first by the "Consensus Wins" measure per 44 games (CW/44), which calculates estimates of wins added from Estimated RAPTOR, Win Shares and Player Efficiency Rating. 

The Fever, who have the sixth-youngest average age in the WNBA (28.5), ranked first in the CW/44 in 2024 (11.9) and first in 2025 (21.1). The main reason? Their star duo of Clark and Boston.

"It's no surprise to see the Fever here with the brightest group of young stars in the WNBA. With Clark and Boston, Indiana has the No. 1 picks from the 2023 and 2024 drafts -- each of whom went on to win Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons as well. When healthy (and both have been extremely durable throughout college and the pros, up until Clark's recent injury), no team has a dynamic duo this good and this young."

The Fever are followed by the Mystics, the Seattle Storm, the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries, respectively, in the top five. The Sky rank seventh on this list, with a 9.4 CW/44 in 2024 and a -1.0 CW/44 in 2025. They came off a strong 2024 campaign, but inconsistencies from their star duo ruined their valuation.

"But some inconsistency from Reese and Cardoso also confounded the advanced metrics, and the team's rough start in 2025 (they're being outscored by 18.0 points per 100) adds further confusion. Cardoso has certainly improved her offensive game this season; she has boosted her PPG from 9.8 to 12.8 while shooting better and passing more effectively.

"Reese, on the other hand, has been underperforming. She remains one of the top rebounders in the league, but her shooting percentage has dipped from 39.1% last season to 31.3%. It's a small sample so far, and Chicago has the potential to land higher on this list."

All these players are just starting their professional careers, meaning that they can turn things around at any moment. The competition between the Fever and the Sky has been pretty intense from the beginning. 

The Fever have a 5-1 lead in their head-to-head matchup since Clark and Reese arrived in the league, but Saturday could be a good opportunity for Reese and Co. to make a statement.