The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark, had the most hype out of any woman's basketball player ever. In her first year in the league, Clark overcame all of the pressure, as she averaged 19.2 points (41.7% FG, 34.4% 3P), 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists, on the way to leading the Indiana Fever to the playoffs.
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And now her efforts have been rewarded, as she has been given Rookie of the Year honors, according to basketball insider Shams Charania.
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier has been awarded the Defensive Player of the Year, sources confirm.
Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson received MVP and Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington won Most Improved Player. pic.twitter.com/AWAoCl2PWz
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 27, 2024
To note, the other ROTY candidate was Clark's rival, Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, who averaged 13.6 points (39.1% FG) and 13.1 rebounds. Both Reese and Clark have shown signs of promising futures, and will have many more battles going head-to-head on the court for years to come.
To point out, Clark was ultimately deserving of the award, as she broke multiple rookie records, including: most points (769), assists (337), 3-pointers (122) and triple-doubles (2).
CAITLIN CLARK WINS ROY, per @ShamsCharania ⭐️🔥
Her rookie season will go down in the history books:
-Single-season assist record
-Single-season rookie scoring record
-First rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double
-First rookie to record 100 threes in a single season pic.twitter.com/isBPmldM8T— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 27, 2024
Not to mention, Clark also was the league's assist leader this season, and broke the single-game assists record (19), while ultimately finishing fourth in WNBA MVP voting.
Furthermore, due to Clark's stellar play, the Fever as a team took a big leap forward, improving off of their 13-27 record last year.
That is to say, the Fever (20-20) made the playoffs, as the No. 6 seed in the WNBA standings, however, they ended up getting swept by the Connecticut Sun in the first round.
Nevertheless, the future is bright in Indiana, as Clark will undoubtedly rack up multiple awards throughout her career, with this ROTY trophy just being the first of many.
Related: Caitlin Clark's Bobblehead Looks Nothing Like The New Face Of The WNBA
