Caitlin Clark has been named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston received the respect final season.
A nationwide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave Clark 66 of 67 votes in balloting launched Thursday. Chicago Sky ahead Angel Reese obtained the opposite.
“I’m extremely honored to be named Rookie of the Year, however greater than that, I’m grateful to everybody that supported me all through this previous season — my household and mates, my teammates, the Fever group and everybody that cheered us on all season. I’m so pleased with what we achieved and so excited for what the long run holds,” Clark mentioned in an announcement.
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Clark conquers rookie season
Clark, the No. 1 general choose from Iowa, averaged 19.2 factors and a league-best 8.4 assists per recreation whereas serving to the WNBA set attendance information and garner mainstream consideration. She struggled a bit early within the season, however discovered her groove and was an All-Star starter. The unanimous AP Rookie of the Year led the Fever to the playoffs for the primary time since 2016 and a 20-20 file after a 1-8 begin.
“I’m a troublesome grader. I really feel like I had a stable yr,” Clark mentioned after the Fever have been eradicated within the first spherical of the playoffs. “For me, the enjoyable half is like I really feel like I’m simply scratching the floor and I’m the one which’s nit selecting each single factor I do. I do know I need to assist this franchise. … I do know there’s a whole lot of room for me to proceed to enhance in order that’s what excites me essentially the most. I really feel like I proceed to get quite a bit higher.”
Clark was not chosen for the U.S. Olympic group — a choice that dissatisfied her legions of followers — however she confirmed within the weeks afterward that she might need been useful. The Fever guard averaged 24.7 factors and 9.3 assists in her first 10 video games after the Olympic break and led Indiana to an 8-2 file.
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Clark was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August, was Player of the Week thrice and Rookie of the Month 4 occasions. She recorded the primary two triple-doubles by a rookie in WNBA historical past, set a league single-game file with 19 assists and have become the primary rookie to have a minimum of 30 factors and 10 assists in a recreation.
Clark led the league with 122 3-pointers, was second with 90.6% accuracy from the free-throw line and averaged 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals. She set a league single-season file with 337 assists and set rookie information of 769 factors and 122 three-pointers made.