Report: Caitlin Clark named WNBA Rookie of the Year

Expectations were high for Caitlin Clark even before she declared for the WNBA Draft. They continued to grow in the months that followed, as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer was tasked with bringing the Indiana Fever back to the forefront. And she delivered.

Despite a rocky start that Clark joked about during the playoffs that she doesn't like to think about, she delivered one of the best first-year seasons in league history, leading Indiana back to the playoffs and earning rookie honors Year 2024. according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game during the regular season. With an overall hit rate of 41.7%, a hit rate of 24.4% from three throws and a hit rate of 90.6% from the free throw line, she finished seventh. She led the league in assists, earning top performance honors. She averaged 1.3 steals and nearly a block per game. As the year progressed, she became a clear MVP candidate, finishing fourth in the MVP voting, which A'ja Wilson won. Clark will likely be a first-team All-WNBA selection. The Fever were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.

“Caitlin is special,” Indiana head coach Christie Sides said before Game 1 of the playoffs, shortly after the MVP results were announced. “Everyone knows that. She was special. She came to the best league in the world, the best women's basketball league in the world. She has found her footing. She's getting better and better. She has put herself in a position to be considered one of the best players in this league. That’s unbelievable for a rookie.”

Clark broke a variety of records in her first season. She surpassed the rookie single-season assists record set by Ticha Penicheiro in 1998 and the overall single-season assists record set by Alyssa Thomas last year. In the Fever's final home game of the regular season, she passed Seimone Augustus and set the rookie record with 35 points. Her 12 assists in double-doubles surpassed veteran WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot's 11 from 2017. This puts her ninth on her career list and she secured a triple-double in two of them.

Indiana started the season 2-9 and faced the league's best in a shortened schedule. The rigors of a full college season and NCAA Tournament run to the title game also took their toll on the star as she transitioned to the professional game.

She scored 30 points for the first time in late May and began racking up double-digit assists in June. With a surprise win over the Liberty in July, the Fever made it clear that they would be a strong team in the second half. It was Clark's first career triple-double and the first by a rookie in league history. In the first half finale against Dallas, she delivered a record 19 assists in a single game.

The month-long All-Star/Olympic break gave the rookie time and a second training camp environment to build chemistry with her new teammates. The Fever picked up momentum and finished 9-5. Clark was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August, becoming the first rookie in league history to win the award. The WNBA introduced the monthly awards in 2010.

Clark averaged 24 points, 5.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists with a shooting line of 46.9/37.3/93.8 along the way. She led all players in assists and 3-pointers in August and was third in scoring. She opened September with a second triple-double and became the first rookie and sixth player overall to record 200 assists and 100 3-pointers in a single season.