Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark can't stop setting WNBA firsts . On Wednesday, she became the first rookie in league history to win WNBA Player of the Month .
Clark also added her third WNBA Rookie of the Month honor on the back of a strong August where she led the Fever to a strong 5-1 record. "Adding player of the month to the resume," the WNBA tweeted. "Caitlin Clark (24.0 PPG, 8.5 APG, 5.2 RPG) is the @WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August."
Clark's August stats bring her season-long averages up to 18.7 points, a WNBA-leading 8.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.
With her help, the Fever snapped a WNBA-worst playoff drought of eight years dating back to 2016. After the year a dismal 1-8, Indiana turned on the gas and now sits above .500 at 17-16
If the season were to end today, the sixth-seeded Fever would face the third-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Funnily enough, Lynx star Napheesa Collier took home August's Western Conference Player of the Month.
Collier averaged 22.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, leading the Lynx to a 6-1 record. They were the only team to defeat Clark at the Fever last month, ousting them 90-80 at home on August 24 .
Clark's biggest competition for Eastern Conference Player of the Month came from her own locker room, as teammate Kelsey Mitchell scored 20 points or more in every August game for the Fever.
Had Mitchell's performance on September 1 counted for the award - when she scored a season-high 36 points in a 100-93 win over the Dallas Wings - she would've given Clark a serious run for her money.
Clark's heroics have earned her some serious fans in the NBA, including LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star tweeted : "Caitlin Clark!!!! Hi Haters” - to his over 53 million followers as Clark scored a career-high 31 against the Chicago Sky last week.
Has an NBA rookie ever won a Conference Player of the Month award? It's happened on two occasions: Larry Bird took home the honor for the Boston Celtics in February of 1980, and Kelvin Ransey of the Portland Trailblazers repeated the trick a year later to win in March of 1981.
Clark and the Fever will look to continue their winning ways when they host the reeling Los Angeles Sparks (7-25) on Thursday night. Sparks rookie Cameron Brink, who emerged as one of the best defensive players of the league with a strong start to the season, remains out with a torn ACL.
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