Caitlin Clark received one first-place vote for WNBA MVP after producing a season nobody in the league had managed before.
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nobody → receive → league
Nineteen voters didn't put her on their ballots at all.
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voters → put → ballots
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
The WNBA announced Thursday that A’ja Wilson won her record fifth MVP award, receiving 65 of the 74 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
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Wilson → announce → sportswriters
Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles finished second, followed by Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and Clark.
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Miles → finish → Mitchell
Clark appeared on 55 ballots, receiving one first-place vote, six second-place votes, 20 third-place votes, 16 fourth-place votes and 12 fifth-place votes.
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Clark → appear → vote
She finished with 212 points, well behind Miles’ 442 and Mitchell’s 287.
Wilson had an outstanding season and a compelling case to win.
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Wilson → finish → season
But apparently, more than a quarter of the voters watched Clark this year and decided five other players deserved recognition ahead of her.
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players → watch → her
I'd love to hear those explanations.
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I → love → explanations
Caitlin Clark’s historic season deserved more consideration
Clark averaged 22.3 points and 8.3 assists per game, becoming the first WNBA player to finish a season averaging at least 20 points and eight assists.
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Clark → deserve → points
Combining her own baskets and free throws with the points teammates scored from her assists, Clark created an average of 41.2 points per game.
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Clark → combine → game
According to the WNBA’s own end-of-season review, that was the highest average in league history.
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that → accord → history
That's a useful place to start a conversation about offensive value, especially when her teammate finished ahead of her in MVP voting.
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teammate → start → voting
There's a compelling case that Mitchell benefited from Clark far more than vice versa.
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Mitchell → be → Clark
After all, Mitchell just completed her ninth WNBA season.
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Mitchell → complete → season
In her six years with Indiana prior to Clark's arrival, Mitchell averaged 16.4 points per game.
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Mitchell → average → game
In the three seasons since the Fever drafted Clark, Mitchell has averaged 21.4 points, including a career-high 24.7 points this season.
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Mitchell → draft → points
Clark also had five games with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season.
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Clark → have → points
Every other player in WNBA history combined has four.
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player → combine → four
Caitlin Clark did something five times in one season that every other player combined has done four times in WNBA regular-season history.
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player → do → history
Her best performance came against Seattle on July 17, when she scored 45 points and had 10 assists.
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she → come → assists
It was the first 40-point, 10-assist game the WNBA had ever seen.
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WNBA → see → ?
And those spectacular nights were backed by sustained production.
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nights → back → production
Clark recorded 13 games with at least 20 points and 10 assists, nearly one-third of her 40 appearances.
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Clark → record → appearances
She finished with 891 points and 333 assists, becoming the first player to reach 800 points and 300 assists in a season.
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She → finish → season
Indiana averaged a league-record 96 points per game.
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Indiana → average → game
Clark’s ability to score while creating opportunities for her teammates helped make that possible.
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that → score → teammates
Apparently, some voters found all of that easier to overlook than others.
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all → find → others
Miles averaged 19.8 points and six assists while helping Minnesota finish with the league’s best record.
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Minnesota → average → record
Although it's worth noting that Minnesota also finished with the league’s best record in 2025, before Miles entered the league.
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Miles → note → league
Mitchell scored a league-record 1,086 points.
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Mitchell → score → points
That's impressive, but Clark helped create those scoring opportunities through both her passing and the defensive attention she draws.
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she → help → passing
Wilson, meanwhile, averaged 26.2 points and 9.4 rebounds, led the league in points and blocks per game, and helped Las Vegas win 31 games.
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Vegas → average → games
Her ability to dominate at both ends gives voters plenty of reasons to put her first and, honestly, she probably deserved to win.
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she → dominate → her
But choosing Wilson and leaving Clark outside the top five are very different judgments.
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choosing → choose → five
WNBA media has earned the scrutiny
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media → earn → scrutiny
The award was decided by sportswriters and broadcasters.
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award → decide → sportswriters
Given how some prominent members of that industry have covered Clark, skepticism about their judgment shouldn't surprise anyone.
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skepticism → give → anyone
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
