Why Caitlin Clark Is Running Away With the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award

Caitlin Clark is a lock to win the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award. After a bit of a rough start, the Indiana Fever point guard and 2024 no. 1 overall draft pick has acclimated well to the intensity of professional basketball. What’s been most impressive is her ability to adapt. After years as the offensive anchor at the University of Iowa, the defensive pressure she faces on a nightly basis in the WNBA has forced Clark to approach her game from a different angle — and she has risen to that challenge.

Looking at Clark’s WNBA stats, the first thing that jumps out is that she is shooting less of those signature freak 3-point shots. In the 2023-24 NCAA season, Clark attempted 13.6 3-pointers per game, making 5.2 per game (37.8% accuracy). In her rookie WNBA season, she’s down to 8.7 3-point attempts per game, yet she’s still making 34% of those shots (3.0 per game). She also leads the WNBA with 98 total 3-pointers made on the season.

She is taking fewer shots because teams are intentionally defending her on the perimeter. Every scouting report on the Fever most likely leads with “defend Clark threes” in big bold letters. While that might frustrate a lot of young players, Clark has used this to improve other parts of her game. The result has been an incredible display of playmaking and facilitating from a rookie.

The records alone speak for themselves. Clark has already passed the WNBA rookie record for assists in a season with 276 (and counting). She leads the WNBA as a whole with 8.4 assists per game — another rookie record if she holds that number. She also makes 11.9 assists per 100 team possessions, and her teammates make 39% of shots Clark assists them with. In July, Clark broke the record for assists in a single game when she dished out 19 against the Dallas Wings.

WNBA fans knew Clark would immediately be a threat when she came into the league. Her shooting prowess alone is spectacular, but her on-court personality and ability to get the crowds involved helps, too. While she was also the main facilitator for her Iowa teams, she did not have to use that part of her game as much. There are so many highlights from Clark’s Iowa days of her sauntering over halfcourt, only to pull up and sink the logo three before the opponents could even set up their defense. In the WNBA, she usually encounters a full-court press.

Her adjustments have produced positive results for the Fever. With a player like Aliyah Boston in her frontcourt, Clark dumping the ball into the paint is a great way to take advantage of the heavy defense covering her. Lexie Hull’s shooting on the wing has been improving of late, and Kelsey Mitchell’s veteran presence and ability to drive has been a factor.

Indiana has not made the postseason since 2016, and as a result has had several high draft picks with which to build a competitive roster. The Fever have had back-to-back number one picks in Clark and Boston. Forward NaLyssa Smith was the second overall pick in 2022; Hull was the sixth pick that same year. Indiana got off to a slow start this season, but the talent on this roster is making its presence felt. The Fever have won four in a row and six of seven games since the Olympics break. They are currently the sixth seed in the WNBA, which puts them in the playoffs.

For all of Clark’s accolades this season, it’s important to note she’s still a rookie who had very little down time between Iowa’s run to the NCAA final in April and the start of the WNBA season in May. When she finally gets some rest this offseason, she’ll have time to work. While the adjustments to her game will be minor and mostly cosmetic, she’ll have a chance to hit the gym and come back stronger in her second season. If she can reduce her turnovers and find new ways to attack the best WNBA defenders, her career will remain on an upward trajectory.

Likely to make her playoff debut this month, Clark’s rookie season has been everything fans hoped for — maybe more. Multiple records broken, maintaining her excellent play from college, building chemistry with her new teammates, and an All-Star appearance. She’ll likely cap it off with a Rookie of the Year award, regardless of what the Fever can do in the postseason.

The basketball world already knew Clark was a generational talent. With a triumphant rookie season almost behind her, there’s no telling how far she can go.

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