Caitlin Clark has her name etched in the history books heading into the 2024 WNBA season and is named the league’s Rookie of the Year, league sources say Competitor on Friday.
Considering Clark’s prolific debut season, it’s no surprise that she won the award.
Clark broke the WNBA’s single-season and single-game assist records. She is the all-time leading scorer by a rookie and the all-time leading scorer by a point guard. She became the first rookie to record two triple-doubles and the first Wild player to record a triple-double.
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Those were just some of her many accomplishments as she averaged 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game — numbers that were even better in the second half of the season — and led the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. It has also been raised that there will be 7 in 2024.
Clark is the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and enters the league as the most anticipated rookie in the history of the league. She spent four seasons at Iowa State, leading the Hawkeyes to two Final Fours and setting NCAA women’s Division I and major college women’s basketball scoring records.
The scene around Clark followed her into the professional ranks. While Clark dazzled fans and tormented opponents, she also played a major role in the WNBA’s explosive growth season. Six different league television partners set viewership records for the WNBA’s most-watched games this year, and all six included “The Fever.”
Indianapolis has record attendance, with an average of 17,036 fans gathering at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for home games. For the first time in WNBA history, Indiana leads the league in attendance.
Friday’s news, however, wasn’t a reflection of Clark’s impact off the court, but her success between the four lines on the court.
“She’s special,” Indiana coach Christy Sides said before the playoffs. “She made it to the best league in the world, the best women’s basketball league in the world. She found her footing. She continued to get better. She established herself as one of the best players in the league. That’s a lot for a rookie to do. It’s incredible.
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During the first half of the season, the race for Rookie of the Year seemed to be the fiercest it had ever been. Through the first two months of the season, Angel Reese has helped keep the Sky in playoff contention. She had 14 double-doubles in 20 games, breaking Candace Parker’s record for consecutive double-doubles.
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 rebound record (446) and set the highest rebound average in WNBA history (13.1).
As the No. 7 pick in the draft, Reese will become the third player to win Rookie of the Year, following the No. 6 pick in the WNBA draft. But her second half proved to be different from her first. Chicago struggled, and Reese ultimately missed the remainder of the season with a wrist injury on September 8. The Sky missed the playoffs.
During the season, Clark and Reese downplayed the importance of the game.
“I’m sure (Angel) would have given you the same exact answer – I’m sure she’d given you the same exact answer,” Clark said in late August. “So for us, everybody can write this, but our focus is winning basketball games. It’s that simple.
“We don’t care about Rookie of the Year either,” Reese said. “I think you guys have made a big deal out of it. We haven’t. We all want to win. We always want to win and that’s what we’ve done in our college careers.
Clark became the third consecutive No. 1 pick to win Rookie of the Year honors.
“I know I still have a lot of room for improvement,” Clark said after being eliminated from the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun. “I feel like I’ve had a solid year, but the funny thing to me is I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface.”
Collier wins DPOY award
From start to finish of the regular season, the Minnesota Lynx had one of the top defenses in the WNBA. The defense is now among the league’s top defense after Napheesa Collier was named the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, league sources revealed Competitor on Friday.
The Bobcats rank first in opponent field goal percentage (41), first in opponent three-point field goal percentage (30.1), first in opponent assist percentage (18.6) and second in defensive efficiency ( 94.8). Collier’s versatility is key to their success as the backbone of Minnesota’s defense.
Collier is often tasked with guarding the opponent’s top frontcourt players. At other moments, she took turns providing critical assistance. She was particularly impactful at the top level, where the Bobcats posted a 7-4 record over other Final Four playoff seeds, including a Minnesota Commissioner’s Cup victory.
Collier ranks second in the WNBA in steals per game (1.9) and eighth in blocks (1.4 per game). According to Synergy Sports, opponents shot just 34.3% against her.
“I’m extremely proud of Phee’s defensive work in 2024. Her commitment to every aspect of our defense — deflections, blocks, steals, blocks, rebounds — has bolstered one of the league’s top defensive teams and brought her Had the best season by far as a professional player,” Bobcats coach Cheryl Reeve told The Associated Press.
Minnesota finished second in the WNBA standings and swept the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs. The Bobcats are four-time WNBA champions looking to win their fifth title in the playoffs. If they do that, they will become the No. 1 active WNBA team in championship wins, breaking a tie with the Seattle Storm.
Kickoff for Game 1 of their semifinal series against the third-seeded Suns is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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(Photo: Dylan Goodman/NBAE via Getty Images)
