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, league sources said. The Athletics on Friday.
Clark winning the 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.
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.
However, Friday’s news 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, Angel 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.”
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 was named winner of the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award, league sources said. The Athletics on Friday.
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 has been the key to all of their success as an anchor in 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 1 of their semifinal series against third-seeded Sun is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 PM ET.
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(Photo: Dylan Goodman/NBAE via Getty Images)
