During Friday’s episode of WNBA Countdown, the show’s panel discussed the news that Caitlin Clark had been named the league’s Rookie of the Year.
And as seems to be the case with most discussions regarding the Indiana Fever star guard’s latest honor, the conversation didn’t focus on the 66 first-place votes she did receive, but rather the one that she didn’t.
“Hats off to Caitlin. Should have been unanimous, but I’m just going to stop there,” Andraya Carter said.
“No, no, no. I’m going to pick it up,” Chiney Ogwumike replied. “Because she should have been unanimous.”
Ogwumike proceeded to point out that the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year votes have historically been landslides, only adding credence to the idea that Clark’s victory should have been a unanimous one. While Angel Reese — who received the only other first-place vote — certainly had an impressive rookie season in her own right, Carter, Ogwumike and Carolyn Peck ultimately all agreed that Clark had definitively separated herself as the clear cut choice for the honor.
“I thought the race was close before the Olympic break between she and Angel. But after they had time to practice, after her teammates learned how to play with her, she just spring-boarded ahead,” Peck said. “That second half really set the tone for me for her to be — and should have been — the unanimous Rookie of the Year.”
Carter went on to call on the league to make its award votes public, just as the NBA does.
“And this is why we would love for the WNBA to make voting not anonymous. Because if you were the person that had that one vote, you should just be able to stand on it and we should know who you are,” Carter said. “In the NBA, voting is not anonymous. So I would love for the WNBA to make the voting so we see who put the votes where. That’s all I’m saying.”
“If you were the person who had that one vote, you should be able to stand on it, and we should know who you are”
Andraya Carter on Caitlin Clark receiving 66/67 Rookie of the Year votes pic.twitter.com/OYyO6wuz7I
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) October 5, 2024
While it’s still unknown who the voter was that snubbed Clark in favor of Reese, many WNBA award voters were quick to share that it wasn’t them. To Carter’s point, if the NBA media can handle making its votes public, there’s no reason why the WNBA can’t do the same, especially when it comes to situations as egregious as this one appears to be.
[WNBA Countdown]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.