Having etched her title around the document retain right through the 2024 WNBA season, Caitlin Clark has been named the league’s Rookie of the Day, league resources instructed The Athletic on Friday.
That Clark received the award got here as negligible awe taking into account how prolific her debut season was once.
Clark needy each the WNBA’s single-season and single-game lend a hand information. She scored essentially the most issues via a rookie ever, and essentially the most issues via some degree shield ever. She turned into the primary rookie to document two triple-doubles and the primary Fever participant ever to document a triple-double.
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The ones are only a few of her many accomplishments amongst averaging 19.2 issues and eight.4 assists consistent with tournament — numbers that had been even higher in the second one part of the season — and led the Fever to their first postseason look since 2016. Indiana additionally stepped forward its win general via seven in 2024.
Clark, the Deny. 1 select within the 2024 WNBA Draft, entered the league because the most-anticipated rookie in league historical past. She flourished at Iowa for 4 seasons, important the Hawkeyes to 2 Ultimate Fours and atmosphere the ladies’s NCAA Category I and main faculty girls’s basketball scoring information.
The spectacle round Clark adopted her to the pro ranks. Moment Clark dazzled fanatics and tormented warring parties, she additionally performed an instrumental position in a season of explosive enlargement for the WNBA. Six other league tv companions eager viewership information this pace for its best possible considered WNBA tournament, and all six integrated the Fever.
Attendance in Indianapolis strike a document top, with a mean of 17,036 fanatics packing Gainbridge Fieldhouse for house video games. Indiana led the league in attendance for the primary occasion in WNBA historical past.
Friday’s information, then again, isn’t a mirrored image of the off-court Clark Impact, however her successes between the lawn’s 4 strains.
“She’s been special,” Indiana trainer Christie Facets stated forward of the playoffs. “She came into the best league in the world, the best women’s basketball league in the world. She found her footing. She’s continued to get better. She’s put herself in position to be called one of the best players in the league. That’s incredible for a rookie.”
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For the primary part of the season, the Rookie of the Day race gave the impression as though it could be some of the tightest ever. During the first two months of the season, Angel Reese helped the Sky stay in playoff rivalry. She had 14 double-doubles in 20 video games and needy Candace Parker’s consecutive double-double streak.
Reese, like Clark, earned All-Big name honors and was once awarded WNBA Rookie of the Era in June. She eager the league’s single-season general rebound document (446) and recorded the best possible per-game rebound reasonable in WNBA historical past (13.1).
The Deny. 7 draft select, Reese would have transform most effective the 1/3 participant taken next Deny. 6 within the WNBA Draft to win Rookie of the Day. However her 2d part proved other than her first. Chicago slumped and Reese ultimately was once dominated out for the remains of the season on Sept. 8 with a wrist trauma. The Sky ignored the postseason.
All through the season Clark and Reese downplayed the significance of the race.
“I’m sure (Angel) would give you the same exact answer—I’m sure she has given you the same exact answer,” Clark stated in overdue August. “So for us, everybody can write that, but our focus is on winning basketball games. It’s as simple as that.”
Mentioned Reese: “We don’t either care about Rookie of the Year. I think you guys have made it a big thing. We haven’t. We both want to win. We’ve been wanting to win, and that’s what we’ve done in our collegiate career.”
Clark turned into the 1/3 consecutive Deny. 1 select to win peak rookie honors.
“I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve,” Clark stated next the Fever had been knocked out of the playoffs via the Connecticut Solar. “I feel like I had a solid year, but for me, the fun part is I feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”
Collier wins DPOY award
From the start of the usual season till its conclusion, the Minnesota Lynx had some of the WNBA’s peak defenses. And that protection now boasts the league’s peak defender next Napheesa Collier was once named the 2024 WNBA Defensive Participant of the Day award winner, league resources instructed The Athletic on Friday.
The Lynx completed the pace first in opponent farmland function proportion (41), first in opponent 3-point proportion (30.1), first in opponent lend a hand fee (18.6), and a related 2d in defensive score (94.8). Collier’s versatility was once key to all their good fortune as an anchor Minnesota’s protection.
Frequently Collier was once tasked with guarding an opponent’s peak frontcourt gamers. At alternative moments, she turned around over to handover a very powerful assistance. She was once particularly impactful in opposition to peak festival because the Lynx went 7-4 in opposition to the alternative top-four playoff seeds, together with Minnesota’s Commissioner’s Cup victory.
Collier completed 2d within the WNBA in steals consistent with tournament (1.9) and 8th in blocks (1.4 consistent with tournament). Consistent with Synergy Sports activities, warring parties shot most effective 34.3 % in opposition to her.
“I’m so proud of Phee’s defensive work in 2024. Her commitment to all aspects of our defense — deflections, denials, steals, blocks, rebounds — anchored one of the top defensive teams in the league and led to her best season yet as a pro,” Lynx trainer Cheryl Reeve told the AP.
Minnesota completed 2d within the WNBA standings and swept the Phoenix Mercury within the first spherical of the playoffs. The Lynx, winners of 4 WNBA titles, might be taking a look to win their 5th this postseason. In the event that they do, they’d journey into first playground for titles received via an lively WNBA franchise, breaking a attach with the Seattle Typhoon.
Tipoff for Sport 1 in their semifinal layout in opposition to the third-seeded Solar is ready for 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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(Photograph: Dylan Goodman / NBAE by way of Getty Photographs)
