ESPN host Andraya Carter praised Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark for cutting through the “B.S. and noise” around her debut year in the WNBA and winning the AP WNBA Rookie of the Year award unanimously, as well as being named to the All-WNBA First Team.
Clark dealt with a lot of scrutiny even before she went to New York City for the WNBA Draft. None of the major names in the league or from year’s past had high expectations for Clark, and her achievements were attempted to be downplayed over the entire season.
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It culminated in Clark setting rookie and single-game records while helping the team back to the postseason.
“For me, it was a rookie masterclass,” Carter said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “When you think about the statistics Caitlin was able to put up, the way she was able to elevate her teammates, you have to think – Caitlin Clark comes in, the entire offense shifts, the entire offense gets faster. … The entire team is elevated with the addition of Caitlin Clark.
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“This is an organization that hadn’t had a 20-win season since 2015. Hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2016. And when I talk about a rookie masterclass, yes, Caitlin had to figure it out. Yes, there were turnovers. Yes, there were lessons she had to learn. But she stayed the course. This team started 1-8, and they all stayed the course. She allowed her teammates to lead her in certain moments and calm her down in certain moments while still playing the game and being herself out there on the floor while also dealing with a ton of B.S. and noise off the court.
“Caitlin Clark can be used as a unit of measurement from here on out when it comes to noise around the game of basketball.”
The Fever guard broke the league’s single-season assist mark (337) and scored the most points ever for a rookie (769) en route to leading Indiana to the postseason.
Clark started all 40 regular-season games for the Fever and averaged 19.2 points per game. She was the first rookie to record a triple-double and the first player in Fever’s franchise history to record a triple-double. She set the WNBA record for most assists in a game with 19 against the Dallas Wings in July.
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