Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is guarded by A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces in the first quarter of their game at T-Mobile Arena on July 2 in Las Vegas.Ethan Miller/Getty Images
A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark had record-breaking seasons, putting up stats the WNBA had never seen before.
Wilson became the first player in league history to score more than 1,000 points in a season, and she averaged a record 26.9 points. Clark eclipsed the league’s single-season assist mark and scored the most points ever for a rookie.
So it’s no surprise the two were honoured Sunday as the unanimous choices for the AP player and rookie of the year awards, respectively, by a 15-member media panel.
“It means a lot,” Wilson said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “The preparation you put in, the approach I set myself up for this season.”
The Las Vegas Aces star was chosen the league’s MVP earlier Sunday, also unanimously. The WNBA will announce the rest of its awards over the course of the postseason, which begins Sunday.
Wilson finished the regular season with 1,021 points and 451 rebounds and led the league with 98 blocks. She finished third in the WNBA MVP voting last season, receiving one fourth-place vote that she said fuelled her in the offseason to get better.
“It propelled me a little bit as I started my offseason workouts, but around February I was over it,” Wilson said. “I didn’t want to give that person that energy, that’s when I started to lock in.”
Clark came into the league with quite possibly more hype than any rookie ever and she delivered, leading the Indiana Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. She broke the WNBA single-season record with 337 assists, including a league-record 19 in one game. She also broke the single-season rookie scoring mark as she averaged 19.2 points.
Off the court she helped lift the WNBA to record ratings and attendance.
Clark headlined the all-rookie team along with Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, who broke the rebounds-per-game record by averaging 13.1. She would have had the overall rebounding record as well had she not gotten hurt at the end of the season. Other rookies on the team were New York’s Leonie Fiebich, Los Angeles’ Rickea Jackson and Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso.
Wilson’s teammate Tiffany Hayes earned AP sixth-woman-of-the-year honours.
Wilson and Clark headlined the AP All-WNBA first team. They were joined by Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas. Sabrina Ionescu, Kahleah Copper, Nneka Ogwumike, Kayla McBride and Arike Ogunbowale were on the second team.
Other AP winners included:
Coach of the year: Cheryl Reeve. She helped Minnesota finish second in the regular season with a team that was picked ninth in the preseason. The Lynx won the Commissioner’s Cup and finished the regular season with 13 wins in their final 15 games.
Comeback player of the year: Skylar Diggins-Smith. The Seattle Storm guard missed last season after giving birth to her second child. Diggins-Smith averaged 15.1 points and 6.4 assists this season.
Most improved player: Dearica Hamby. The Los Angeles Sparks forward made a huge jump this season by averaging 17.3 points – 8.4 more than last season. She also improved her rebounding by more than three a game. Hamby edged Connecticut’s DiJonai Carrington by one vote.
Defensive player: Collier. The Lynx star had an incredible season on both ends of the court, but she was an anchor especially for Minnesota’s stellar defence. The team had the best defence in the WNBA this season and Collier’s play was the main reason why. Wilson finished second, three votes behind Collier.