What an incredible 2024 WNBA regular season. With the postseason moving to the semi-final stage, the excitement continues as the remaining four teams battle it out for the chance to move onto the final.

Throughout the season, there’s been many accomplishments and strides made by teams all over the league. The WNBA has seen a jump in its popularity, seemingly keeping the ball rolling from the NCAA Division I Women’s March Madness tournament earlier this year. More and more fans are beginning to tune in from all over, especially following the highly anticipated 2024 WNBA Draft Class. Leading the charge in all of this is Caitlin Clark, becoming a household name in a short amount of time.

Many during the offseason expressed their thoughts on how well Clark would be able to transition to the WNBA following the exhilarating show she put on during March Madness. Now that the Indiana Fever finished their season, a look back at just what she has accomplished will amaze anyone, and awarding her the WNBA MVP trophy would not come as a surprise.

Impact is the name of the game for Clark. This whole season she’s been impactful since she first set foot inside the Fever practice facility. Both on and off the court you can see this, her impact is international and looks to have no end in sight. Based on this, all that’s been accomplished, and the fact that she’s a rookie, I think not rewarding her with the WNBA MVP trophy is a slap in the face to all that she’s done and everything she’s overcome this season.

Putting her situation into perspective, she was drafted into the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 overall pick. The Fever haven’t reached the WNBA finals or appeared in the playoffs since 2015 & 2016 respectively. This past season, Clark helped the team finish with a 20-20 record while leading them to the playoffs, a big turnaround from the previous seasons’ 13-27.

The attendance at Fever games saw this jump too, rising 319% this season. Fans found themselves interested more in what Clark was doing over in the WNBA, rather than the league’s male counterpart. More than 17,000 fans were drawn to their home games, beating the Pacers nightly on average. 

This season, the WNBA has surpassed many of its viewership records and increased engagement on all fronts. There’s been over a 100% increase in viewers across national networks, with more than 54 million unique viewers attracted to the WNBA. Merchandise sales are also up 450% with Caitlin Clark’s jersey sitting at No. 1. The future looks bright with the league scurrying to meet demand, expand, and add more teams into the fold. 

The list of Clarks’ accolades this year goes on, and it’s impressive to think about the time frame seeing as this is all in one year. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick is certainly living up to expectations and will continue to exceed them in her career. Considering everything and her status as a rookie, she undoubtedly makes her case to be MVP of the league this year, and it is overwhelmingly strong at that.

Here are some of the accomplishments Caitlin Clark has made this season:

•       AP All-WNBA First Team
•       AP Rookie of the Year(unanimous)
•       AP All-Rookie Team
•       First Rookie to Record Two Triple Doubles

o   First Rookie to Record a Triple Double

•       Record for Most 3-Pt Field Goals made by a Rookie
•       Franchise record for most Double-Doubles in a season
•       Single-season WNBA points record for a Point Guard
•       Fastest player to 400 pts and 200 ast
•       Fastest player to 500 pts and 200 ast
•       WNBA leader in assists per game
•       WNBA leader in 3-Pt FG made
•       First Rookie to record 350 pts, 100 reb, and 150 ast in a season
•       First player in WNBA history to record at least 20 pts, 15 ast, and 5 reb in a game

The most exciting part about everything is that she is just getting started.

“I’m a competitor and somebody that loves to work, so it won’t be hard for me to want to get in the gym and to get even better,” Clark said in an interview following the final post-season game of her rookie year.

She finished off the season averaging 19 pts., 5.7 reb, and 8.4 ast per game. Caitlin Clark hasn’t shown even a fraction of what she believes she’s capable of, and with the off-season in full effect, we can only wait and see how her second year will unfold.

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