Report: Caitlin Clark wins WNBA Rookie of the Year

It seemed like a foregone conclusion amid a record-setting season, but it’s now official. Caitlin Clark has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Clark led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016 after going No. 1 overall in the draft. She made history as the first rookie to ever record a triple-double – and, as if that wasn’t enough, she did it again.

All told, Clark averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 rebounds to go with 1.3 steals on defense. Indiana fell to the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs, but the former Iowa star and NCAA all-time leading scorer put together quite the debut in the W – and, as she said, she’s just getting started.

“The fun part is I feel like I’m just scratching the surface, and I’m one that’s nitpicking every single thing I do,” Clark said after the Game 2 loss to Connecticut, via ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my teammates get even better, and I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve.

“So that’s what excites me the most. I feel like I could continue to get a lot better, and before we know it, I’m sure we’ll all be back here and ready for the next year.”

Recapping a historic 12 months for Caitlin Clark

It’s been a record-setting calendar year for Clark, who took women’s college basketball by storm at Iowa. The Hawkeyes made a run to the national championship for the second straight year as she not only set the NCAA women’s scoring record, but passed “Pistol” Pete Maravich for the Division I basketball scoring mark.

During the 2023-24 season, TV ratings and ticket sales skyrocketed. It culminated with a national championship that averaged 18.7 million viewers – setting yet another viewership record as Iowa fell to South Carolina.

Just a couple weeks after that game, Clark became the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Although the season got off to a bumpy start, the Fever found a groove and eventually took a 20-20 record into the playoffs.

All the while, Clark was a big star off the court. She landed an impressive list of endorsement deals, including a landmark agreement with Nike that includes a signature shoe. She was also part of the return of Gatorade’s “Is It In You?” campaign and had posters scattered around Indianapolis from the company. Both partnerships began at Iowa as NIL deals and continued with Clark into the WNBA.

Now, with one year under her belt, Clark will look to continue her rise to stardom at the professional level. She was already the unanimous AP Rookie of the Year, and the honor will now come in from the league.