Former NBA Player Made Compelling Caitlin Clark Rookie of Year Case

Robin Lundberg | Jul 4, 2024

Michael Chow / USA TODAY NETWORK

It seems the WNBA Rookie of the Year debate will be a hot topic all season. Which is understandable given both Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky are off to strong starts to their careers. With Clark winning Rookie of the Month honors in May and Reese taking home the same in June.

However, when it comes to settling the argument, former NBA player Rashad McCants made a compelling case. McCants was speaking on Gilbert Arenas' show Gil's Arena and remarked that Clark is the top rookie in his eyes because of the defensive attention she has to face. He went on to say he believes Caitlin would average over 25 points per game if she wasn't the focal point of the opposition's defense.

“She can’t get equal opportunity cause then she would average 25 or 26 a game”
Former NBA player Rashad McCants on why Caitlin Clark is his #WNBA Rookie of the Year favorite pic.twitter.com/vmQt2EeEDC

— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) July 3, 2024

His opinion was backed up by Lexie Brown of the Los Angeles Sparks who proclaimed Clark, "Number one on scouting reports." While Caitlin is still averaging over 16 points despite the extra defensive attention, she has also been able to leverage it into an opportunity for her teammates. Clark leads the league in assists so far this season, as her playmaking has been on display during the Fever's high profile contests.

Clark will be joined by both Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell from Indiana representing Team WNBA at the All-Star Game. She'll also get a chance to suit up alongside Reese for the first time as well, given the much discussed rivals will be on the same squad in Phoenix.