Before Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky were set to face off on Friday night, the Fever rookie was asked about the WNBA Rookie of the Year award.

Clark and Reese are the leading candidates for the award and are locked in a tight race at the head of a stellar rookie class. When asked about the chase to be the league’s best rookie, Clark replied that she and Reese are both focused on winning, not awards.

“I think me and Angel would both give you the same answer,” Clark said. “You don’t wake up and think about individual awards. I know that’s what all of you think we do. I know we don’t. That’s what everybody wants to make this about.”

Clark continued, “Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots, that’s our main focus. That’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award. And she would give you the same exact answer. I’m sure she has given you the same exact answer.”

Clark punctuated the comment by saying, “If you’re playing basketball to win individual awards, no matter what level you’re at, you’re doing it wrong.”

Both Clark and Reese have had outstanding rookie years. Clark enters Friday night’s action averaging 18.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and a WNBA-best 8.1 assists per game. Reese is averaging 13.3 points and leads the league with 12.9 rebounds per game.