The WNBA announced Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson as the unanimous 2024 MVP on Sunday morning, a decision that surprised no one given her dominant season. However, a notable result from the voting was Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark finishing in fourth place—a remarkable feat in her debut season.
According to the league’s final MVP vote tallies, Clark finished behind Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart. Clark received six third-place votes, 26 fourth-place votes, and 22 fifth-place votes, demonstrating the significant impact she had in her rookie year.
While the MVP race was largely dominated by Wilson, who received every first-place vote, the rest of the field was tight. Collier appeared on all but one of the 67 ballots as the second-place finisher, and Stewart never ranked lower than fourth on 62 of those ballots. Clark, although a distant fourth, earned 130 total points, putting her far ahead of the fifth-place finisher, Alyssa Thomas (83 points), and sixth-place finisher, Sabrina Ionescu (35 points).
Clark’s high placement in the MVP voting is all the more impressive considering her shaky start to the season. After transitioning from a legendary college career at Iowa, Clark struggled with her shooting early on, hitting just 37.7% from the floor as the Fever stumbled to a 1-8 start in May. Any discussion of her being a serious MVP contender seemed unrealistic at that point.
But Clark and the Fever turned things around in dramatic fashion. The team ended the regular season with a 20-20 record, securing a playoff berth and ranking third in the league in points per game, behind only the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty.
Clark played a major role in that resurgence, leading the WNBA with 8.4 assists per game while setting rookie records for points (769) and three-pointers made (122). She also became the first player in league history to record a triple-double in her rookie season.
Clark’s strong showing in the MVP voting, alongside her record-breaking rookie campaign, virtually assures her as the clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. Though fellow rookie Angel Reese, another standout first-year player, garnered a single fourth-place MVP vote, her late-season wrist injury effectively ended any competition for the top rookie honor.
With the regular season behind her, Clark is now poised to make her playoff debut as the Fever take on the Connecticut Sun in the first round. The Fever’s matchup with the Sun kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, and all eyes will be on Clark as she steps into her first postseason appearance, which will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
While Wilson rightfully takes home the 2024 MVP, Clark’s fourth-place finish in the voting—and her remarkable rookie season—signals that she is quickly establishing herself as one of the league’s brightest young stars.
