Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named the near-unanimous 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
She received 66 of 67 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters, with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese drawing one vote.
The winner also headlined the league¡¯s All-Rookie team. Clark was joined by Reese, Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky, Rickea Jackson of the Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty¡¯s Leonie Fiebich.
Clark, 22, is the second consecutive recipient of the award from the Fever, following forward-center Aliyah Boston.
¡°I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season ¡ª my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season. I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds,¡± Clark said.
Clark started all 40 games for the Fever, averaging 19.2 points, a league-high 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals while drawing record crowds and boosting television ratings across the league.
Clark set an WNBA single-season record with 337 assists and set WNBA rookie marks with 769 points and 122 3-pointers. She set the league¡¯s single-game assists record with 17 against the Dallas Wings on July 17.
Clark also recorded the first two triple-doubles by a rookie in the WNBA, on July 6 against the New York Liberty and Sept. 4 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
She played even better after the league¡¯s midseason break for the Paris Olympics, averaging 24.7 points and 9.3 assists after the league resumed play.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft out of Iowa, Clark was a starter for Team WNBA at the All-Star Game and was named the WNBA Rookie of the Month four times (May, July, August and September).
¡°Does not surprise me one bit,¡± Fever general manager Lin Dunn told the Indianapolis Star. ¡°I mean, she broke all the records before she ever got to the WNBA. She broke the college points record, broke Pistol Pete Maravich¡¯s record, and so we anticipated great things from her. I think the assists, the passing, and then being a key part of taking our team from 13 wins to 20 wins, certainly well deserving. And we¡¯re thrilled. We¡¯re thrilled for the Fever franchise.¡±
Clark helped the Fever finish 20-20 and earn their first playoff appearance since 2016. Indiana was swept 2-0 in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.
Other highlights from her sensational debut campaign included the first two triple-doubles by a rookie in WNBA history (July 6 against New York and Sept. 4 against Los Angeles), and the WNBA single-game record for assists (19 against Dallas on July 17).
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.