Perhaps even the biggest Caitlin Clark fans couldn’t have envisioned her finishing in the top five in the WNBA MVP voting ahead of her rookie season, but she is focused on team goals with the playoffs starting Sunday.
“I mean, it’s cool,” she told reporters when discussing finishing fourth in MVP voting. “But at the same time, I don’t really care.”
Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson took home the award in unanimous fashion, while Clark finished fourth behind Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart:
There was no denying Wilson this season, as she added the third MVP of her illustrious career with a brilliant performance. She averaged 26.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 51.8 percent from the field.
She also became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 points in a single season.
Clark was also incredible this season and averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep. She elevated an Indiana franchise that went 13-27 a season ago into the playoffs.
The rookie also elevated the play of teammates such as Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston with her ability to facilitate and draw defenders well beyond the arc, and the future looks bright for the Fever even if a first-round matchup against the Connecticut Sun is rather daunting.
And Clark is the centerpiece of that future.
Her shooting percentages figure to only go up as she picks up more experience at the WNBA level, and she proved she can take over games as a scoring and passing threat in her rookie campaign.
Perhaps there will be MVPs waiting for her in the future, although the presence of stars such as Wilson and Stewart will make that challenging.
For her part, she is focused on leading Indiana to new heights, though, as the franchise cornerstone.
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