With Clark now in the driver’s seat for Rookie of the Year with Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese out the rest of the season with a wrist injury, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, also has to be considered a serious candidate for league MVP.
In Clark’s past five games she has turned it up another notch, averaging 26.8 points on 47.2 percent shooting from the field, 10.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds. Indiana has won four of those five games as the team looks its strongest rolling into the playoffs.
Clark has shattered rookie records since joining the WNBA, including the most assists and three-pointers by a rookie in league history as well as the most consecutive point-assist double-doubles by a rookie. She also has an outside shot at Seimone Augustus’ all-time rookie scoring record of 744 points that she scored in 2006.
With all of the respect she gets from fringe fans for elevating the game on a branding level, the way Clark has backed up the hype by working through her rookie mistakes and setbacks, locking into her team and eventually developing a consistent chemistry that has them functioning like a well-oiled machine is remarkable.
Can Caitlin Clark Pull A Candace Parker and Win ROY and MVP?
Candace Parker is the only player in WNBA history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. Parker came into the league out of Pat Summit’s vaunted Tennessee program and bum rushed the show in 2008 with her unprecedented array of skills, averaging 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game over 33 games.
Her all-around magnificence was transcendent, and if she was able to hit the league during the social media explosion post-2015 and not at the advent of the social media boom, then she would have had a following similar to the WNBA rookies that emerged this season.
Now an analyst, Parker was also a must-see attraction for the WNBA and her career didn’t disappoint. She’s a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time league MVP, a finals MVP and a seven-time All-Star. She also dominated overseas for various international pro teams.
Why Did Parker Win MVP?
The LA Sparks went 20-14 in Parker’s first season in 2008 and advanced to the Western Conference finals after finishing 10-24 the previous season. Her impact was colossal, and it was tangible.
While Angel Reese’s double-double streaks and rebounding records can’t be overlooked. Clark has had the biggest impact on her team and on winning. In addition to the gaudy statistics, Clark has been the leader of the Indiana Fever team since day 1. Most rookies aren’t entrusted with that responsibility.
With all of the fanfare, venom, interest, financial gain, popularity and pressure placed on Clark’s shoulders, along with plenty of smoke coming from established stars in the league prior to her ever getting drafted No. 1 overall, she’s done an incredible job of navigating her first WNBA season, while also changing the losing culture of a team that hadn’t had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2016, when they had Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings.
Clark Had Her Share Of Doubters
Fever general manager Lin Dunn wasn’t one of them. Dunn recently shared her general thoughts with reporters on what her expectations and anticipation were when she drafted Clark versus where she’s at now.
“There was a lot about Caitlin Clark that I felt like I expected. Some people didn’t expect her to be as good as she was early. I did. I thought she would be. She handled all the pressure and all the tough defenses.” Dunn said.
It’s not like WNBA players just let Clark dominate. She had some early season scrapes with players to the point her fan base felt she was being taken advantage of by “jealous” opposition. Her rough games were heavily criticized, and her shining moments were unnecessarily hyperbolized.
None of that broke her spirit.
Clark’s rise is easy to see. The Fever started the season 1-8. She had 10 turnovers her first game. All we have seen since is steady improvement and glimpses of dominance.
Linn later added, “They can’t guard her. So you just saw that growth from that first game to that all-star game.”
Clark Has Elevated Her Teammates
The beauty in all of this is that Clark didn’t achieve this transformation alone. She has other emerging, young talent on her team and once she and head coach Christie Sides got on the same page and Clark began to settle in and harness her overexuberance, it was on like popcorn.
We are seeing growth and signature moments from not only Clark, but 2023 No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, whose career performance in a 16-point comeback win over the Atlanta Dream in overtime comes at a crucial point in the season.
Boston had a career-high 30 points, 13 rebounds and five assists on 11 of 16 shooting from the field. She had 14 of her points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“A.B.’s a dawg,” Clark said. “She’s all over the glass, came up with clutch buckets, tied it for us, solid in overtime. She’s just different.”
Since coming out of the Olympic break, Kelsey Mitchell has been a top 5 player in the entire league. The No. 2 overall pick in 2018, Mitchell is a 17 points per game career scorer, and the addition of Clark has helped to strengthen her game to the tune of 19.1 points per game and 39 percent shooting from three this season.
She’s been an assassin, especially in crunch time, which also alleviates the pressure on Clark having to play hero.
Both Boston and Mitchell, being elite WNBA players in their own right, allow Clark to do what she does best. When she’s not in a scoring groove, they more than adequately pick up the slack. When the three–headed monster is moving in unison and strength, they can beat anybody.
Is Caitlin Clark More Valuable Than A’ja Wilson?
Clark is averaging 19.2 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and leading the WNBA with 8.5 assists per game. A’ja Wilson has been the talk of the Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA as far as the MVP vote is concerned. She’s done nothing to take herself out of the running.
We expect this from Wilson. She also plays with a team that sent six women to the Olympic Games for various countries. They are loaded, which definitely makes it easier for her to do her thing. Becky Hammon’s team is also expected to win.
On Sunday Wilson, who’s averaging 27.3 points and 11.9 rebounds, plus 1.9 steals and 2.7 blocks, missed her first regular season game in three seasons. A lower leg injury left the Aces without their MVP frontrunner, but the game still went down to the wire, with the New York Liberty winning 74-71.
With Wilson expected to return soon, the game was an indication of how deep and formidable the Aces are even without her on the floor.
Caitlin Clark Had More Pressure Than Any Player In WNBA History
The Fever have been a losing organization, so the dramatic turnaround with the addition of Clark has to be noted and taken into MVP consideration. If you remove A’ja Wilson from the Aces, they are still a solid team, with a winning record. They probably aren’t championship caliber, but they can compete and win with the talent available for sure.
Without Clark, the Fever are a completely different team. This season was going to be challenging as they reconstructed the entire team around Clark and the way she plays the game. Most teams aren’t able to do that on the fly.
A’ja Wilson is the best player in the league this year, but Clark is the Most Valuable Player, and that’s a hard statement to invalidate considering the numbers and the circumstances.