Opinion: Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie season is one for the ages

Right from the start, we could all see that Caitlin Clark has a chance to be in a league of her own. She’s been setting records right and left, and now she’ll lead the Indiana Fever into their first postseason since 2016. Clark has also emerged as one-third of Indiana’s Big Three, together with Aliyah Boston, who established herself as a rookie last year. And don’t forget Kelsey Mitchell, who became a big-time scorer down the stretch this year and will doubtless be a huge pain for the Fever’s playoff opponents.

Even better, Clark also has a sense of history about all this. She’s expressed admiration for virtually every player whose record she’s broken, whether that player is a fellow rookie, a veteran or an historic WNBA figure. She’s talked a lot about how she followed the game as a young girl, which makes it even more worthwhile to take a closer look at where her remarkable rookie year fits in the context of league history.

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The valid Caitlin Clark WNBA comps for her rookie year

When you start breaking down the numbers, there are only two or three valid comps for Caitlin Clark’s rookie year: Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings and current MVP-to-be A’ja Wilson. Parker and Wilson are both bigs who did a lot of their work down low, so the positional fit isn’t great with those two, but the numbers tell some interesting stories, and the legendary Diane Taurasi also deserves to be mentioned as part of this conversation.

Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever

Catchings was always something of an anomaly. Even at 6’1”, she posted some astounding rebounding numbers, averaging over seven rebounds a game, including a remarkable nine per contest in 2007. Catchings was also a demon on defense, to the point where she won the Defensive Player of the Year award five times. She helped lead the Fever to a title in 2012, so if Clark can do that in the next couple of years, look for Catchings to be the reference point.

Clark is a good rebounder for a guard, but she’s nowhere close to Catchings as a defender, on the ball or otherwise. Her game is all about assists and scoring, and her defense remains a work in progress.

Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks

Parker set the bar high for Clark’s rookie year. She’s the only player in WNBA history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in a single season, and she copped Olympic gold in 2008 as a member of the US team. She completed her array of awards with another MVP in 2013, and she was also Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.

Parker is also the gold standard for titles. She won three championships, which sets the bar high for Clark and company, albeit with three different teams. Finally, Parker averaged almost ten rebounds a game for her career, ending up with an average of 9.5.

A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

If Clark wants to target a current player for both awards and titles, Wilson is the name that should be her focus. She’s on her way to her third MVP award, and she’s hoping to lead the Aces to their third WNBA title, although they’ll likely start their playoff drive as a fourth seed. Her game is about balance and filling up the box score, and this year she’s doing that at unprecedented levels, with 27 points a game to go with a dozen boards.

Diane Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

If you’re looking for a guard comp for Clark, Taurasi is the name that gets mentioned most frequently. She averaged 17 points a game, but the Mercury didn’t make the playoffs in her rookie campaign. Also, Clark is a much better passer than Taurasi proved to be over the course of her legendary career, and the Fever star’s current number of 8.6 assists per game is the one stat that truly shines in her rookie campaign.

This article was originally written by Bob McCullough