Caitlin Clark named WNBA Rookie of the Year as extra piece of history made

Caitlin Clark was unanimously named the Associated Press WNBA Rookie of the Year following her record-breaking rookie season with the Indiana Fever

Caitlin Clark capped off her record-breaking debut WNBA season by being unanimously named the Associated Press WNBA Rookie of the Year. The Indiana Fever star shattered both rookie and league records throughout the season, making an immediate impact on and off the court.

The Fever took to social media Sunday morning, just before the NFL’s first slate of games, to announce Clark’s list of end-of-season accolades after clinching a berth in the WNBA playoffs. The star rookie was named to the AP All-WNBA First Team, earned the unanimous AP Rookie of the Year award, and secured a spot on the unanimous AP All-Rookie Team.

Clark also finished 4th in the overall 2024 WNBA MVP voting under winner A’ja Wilson, making her the youngest player to place in the top 5 since Candace Parker in 2008. She became the first rookie to finish in the top 5 in MVP voting since Elena Delle Donne placed 3rd in 2013 when Parker won the award.

Clark’s position as a top player was confirmed earlier in the season when she was picked for the WNBA All-Star team in her first year. She joined Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese as part of a new generation of players making an instant impact on the league. Her popularity solidified after receiving the most All-Star Game votes in WNBA history, with 700,735.

Since becoming Iowa’s NCAA all-time leading scorer, Clark has continued her record-breaking ways in the pros. The Fever rookie’s journey to the award included winning the WNBA Rookie of the Month four times and becoming a three-time WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week. She won both the Rookie and Player of the Month in August, a first in league history.

Clark joined her Fever teammate Aliyah Boston as the only players in team history to win the Rookie of the Year award. Indiana finished the year with an even 20-20 record, earning a No. 6 seed in the postseason. On Sunday afternoon, they will face the No. 3 ranked Connecticut Sun in Round 1.

Caitlin Clark is living up to Dijonai Carrington’s preseason prediction ( Image: Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
On the AP All-WNBA First Team, Clark was listed alongside Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas, and A’ja Wilson. Each of those players besides Clark represented Team USA en route to a Gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also headlined the All-Rookie Team alongside Sky teammates Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, the Liberty’s Leonie Fiebich, and breakout Sparks star Rickea Jackson.

Clark led all rookies in scoring, averaging 19.2 points per game, and finished the season with 242 field goals, 122 three-pointers, 8.4 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. She became the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double and the first player in Fever history to achieve that feat.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal