Caitlin Clark wins WNBA Rookie of the Year with 66 of 67 votes, Angel Reese gets 1

After etching her name in the record book during the 2024 WNBA season, Caitlin Clark has been named the league’s Rookie of the Year, receiving 66 of 67 total votes, the WNBA announced Thursday. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese received one vote from the national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Clark and Reese were also named to the 2024 All-Rookie Team on Thursday, along with Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson, Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso and New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich.

Your 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team 🙌

Caitlin Clark (IND)
Rickea Jackson (LAS)
Angel Reese (CHI)
Kamilla Cardoso (CHI)
Leonie Fiebich (NYL)#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/TgU5hoEztP

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 3, 2024

Clark winning the Rookie of the Year award was no surprise considering how productive her debut season was.

Clark broke both the WNBA’s single-season and single-game assist records. She scored the most points by a rookie ever, and the most points by a point guard ever. She became the first rookie to record two triple-doubles and the first Fever player ever to record a triple-double.

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Those are just a few of her many accomplishments, averaging 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game – numbers that were even better in the second half of the season – and leading the Fever to their first postseason appearance since 2016. Indiana also improved its win total by seven in 2024.

“I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but even more so, I am grateful to everyone who supported me this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone who supported us throughout the season has encouraged. ,” Clark said in a statement Thursday. “I am so proud of what we have accomplished and so excited about what the future holds.”

Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, entered the league as the most anticipated rookie in league history. She thrived at Iowa for four seasons, leading the Hawkeyes to two Final Fours and setting the NCAA Division I women’s college and major women’s basketball rankings in college.

The spectacle surrounding Clark followed her into the professional ranks. While Clark dazzled fans and tormented opponents, she also played a major role in a season of explosive growth for the WNBA. Six different league television partners set viewership records for the most-watched WNBA game this year, and all six featured the Fever.

Attendance in Indianapolis reached an all-time high, with an average of 17,036 fans packing Gainbridge Fieldhouse for home games. Indiana led the league for the first time in WNBA history.

Thursday’s news, however, is not a reflection of the Clark effect off the court, but of her successes between the four lines of the court.

“She was special,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said before the playoffs. “She ended up in the best league in the world, the best women’s basketball league in the world. She found her footing. She kept getting better. She has put herself in a position to be called one of the best players in the league. That’s incredible for a rookie.”

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Throughout the first half of the season, the Rookie of the Year race looked set to be one of the most exciting ever. Through the first two months of the season, Reese helped the Sky stay in the playoffs. She had 14 double-doubles in 20 games and broke Candace Parker’s consecutive double-double streak.

Reese, like Clark, earned All-Star honors and was named WNBA Rookie of the Month in June. She set the league’s single-season total rebounding record (446) and recorded the highest rebound average per game in WNBA history (13.1).

Reese, the No. 7 draft pick, would have become only the third player after No. 6 in the WNBA Draft to win Rookie of the Year. But her second half turned out to be different from her first. Chicago slumped and Reese was ultimately ruled out for the rest of the season on September 8 due to a wrist injury. The Sky missed the postseason.

During the season, Clark and Reese downplayed the importance of the race.

“I’m sure (Angel) would give you the exact same answer — I’m sure she gave you the exact same answer,” Clark said in late August. “So for us, anyone can write that, but our focus is on winning basketball games. It’s that simple.”

Reese said: “We don’t care about Rookie of the Year either. I think you made something great out of it. We didn’t do that. We both want to win. We wanted to win, and that’s what we did in our collegiate career.”

Clark became the third straight No. 1 pick to win top rookie honors.

“I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve,” Clark said after the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun. “I feel like I’ve had a good year, but for me the nice thing is I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface.”

All-Rookie Team Evaluation

Despite Los Angeles failing to make the postseason, Jackson was productive all year long. She was efficient, averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and nearly 35 percent from three-point range. She also became the first WNBA rookie and sixth WNBA player ever to post a game of at least 25 points, three three-pointers and three blocks.

Cardoso, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft, missed the start of the season due to injury. But upon her return in early June she immediately made an impression. Cardoso led all rookies in field goal percentage (52.1 percent) and averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. On June 23 against Indiana, Cardoso and Reese became the first rookie duo in league history since 1998 to record double-doubles over multiple games in the same season. They also later became the first rookie teammates since 2010 to record more than 10 rebounds in the same game.

Fiebich chose to join the Liberty this season after recently being the MVP of the professional league in Spain. The 24-year-old German averaged 6.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from deep. During the regular season, she recorded the second-highest plus-minus by a rookie in WNBA history. She continued to make a key impact in these playoffs, where, now in the starting lineup full-time, she led the Liberty in plus-minus in three of their first four postseason games.

Collier wins DPOY award

From the start of the regular season to the end, the Minnesota Lynx had one of the WNBA’s best defenses. And that defense now features the league’s best defenseman after Napheesa Collier won the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the league announced Sunday.

Collier received 36 of 67 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson finished second (26 votes).

The Lynx finished the year first in opponent field goal percentage (41), first in opponent 3-point percentage (30.1), first in opponent assist percentage (18.6) and a close second in defensive rating (94.8). Collier’s versatility was the key to all their success as the anchor of Minnesota’s defense.

Often, Collier was tasked with guarding an opponent’s best frontcourt players. At other times, she turned to provide crucial assistance. She was especially impactful against top competition as the Lynx went 7-4 against the other top-four playoff seeds, including Minnesota’s Commissioner’s Cup victory.

Collier finished second in the WNBA in steals per game (1.9) and eighth in blocks (1.4 per game). According to Synergy Sports, opponents only shot 34.3 percent on her.

“I am so proud of Phee’s defensive work in 2024. Her dedication to all aspects of our defense – deflections, denials, steals, blocks, rebounds – anchored one of the best defensive teams in the league and led to her best season until so far. a professional,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told the AP.

Minnesota finished second in the WNBA standings and defeated the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs. The Lynx, winners of four WNBA titles, will be looking to win their fifth this postseason. If they do, they would move into first place for titles won by an active WNBA franchise, breaking a tie with the Seattle Storm.

Tipoff for Game 3 of their semifinal series against the third-seeded Sun is set for Friday at 7:30 PM ET. The series is tied at 1-1.

2024 WNBA all-defensive teams

The WNBA also announced the first and second All-Defensive Teams on Sunday.

First team:

Second team:

Required reading

(Photo: Dylan Goodman/NBAE via Getty Images)