Robin asks whether Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark could be the MVP of the WNBA, even against A'ja Wilson. For more coverage check out Women's Fastbreak On SI! www.si.com/ons...
Caitlin Clark is in the MVP conversation. 1. Stats: individually as a rookie & in the WNBA. 2. Influence on the game: Double - triple team, received the most fouls. 3. Impact: Increase in attendance in every game at home and on the road. 4. Impact on the team: from below to 6th current standing, a floor general for every game both on her team and the All Stars. 5. Consistency: Helping her team in wins. 6. Narrative: Ratings, most talked in the media, children line up for autographs, popularity, increased ticket sales & price, change of venues. 7. Marketability, sponsorships. Also, I can say the "Splash Sisters" (CC & KM) has arrived in the WNBA. Caitlinsanity is real. Fan from the Philippines.
@@eduardoante5581 3,6 & 7 aren’t a part of the conversation, different value. Allstar game is also irrelevant. The first ten games hold her back, since the Olympic break there is no question it’s Clark, it’s just a matter of making up enough ground from early in the season. Beat A’ja twice and she might just do it, though I doubt the voters would do it.
CC is without a doubt a brilliant floor strategist, a brilliant shooter, passer, and all around teammate. It doesn’t whether or not she is considered the best player in the WNBA. But I think there isn’t a team in the WNBA that wouldn’t trade its entire team for her.
I would like to know what else Caitlin needs to do to get the MVP , she is done everything !!! Also I would like to know what Candace Parker did to get the Rookie of the year & MVP during her rookie year .
She won MVP because she didn’t go up against a season as good as Wilson’s season this year, just like Reese would have won ROTY many years, just not this year. If you take away the first ten games then Clark would have my vote or at worst tied with A’ja. But they do play each other twice so we’ll see what happens there.
Caitlin is inventing the WNBA 2.0 paradigm. Fast paced, points per minute, exciting, guard driven rather than post driven, assists becoming a more important metric. Casual fans adore it and old time NBA and NCAA mens fans adore it. Attracting eyeballs in the millions. The keepers of WNBA 1.0 cant handle the paradigm - it blows the fuse in their minds. Elle Duncan cannot see how Caitlin should get credit for assists when someone else made the basket. Rebounds, and to a lesser extent points(!) are the key metrics for this crowd. Physicality is highly valued which means kudos to smash an elbow into a face and then call it physical - this is WNBA 1.0. The old guard cant handle the new ways! they cont seem to handle the pace! Just my take
Not only is she the MVP, she's the _clear_ MVP. But a lot of clueless people out there still don't get that Most VALUABLE Player isn't the same as BEST player. Aja is the best player, but she isn't more valuable to her team than CC is to the Fever.
You see it as a handicap that Caitlin had a weak first half of the season whereas A'ja Wilson didn't. It's actually a major factor to vote for CC. She immediately came from the NCAA with no rest and had to adjust to a harder tougher league, along with a new team, coach and team mates. She did this in ONLY a month or two, not a season or two! That is strength, adaptability, flexibility! BTW, it's not just CC's 2-point average that is better, CC's 3-point average is better than Angel's 2-pointer avg.
In terms of MVP voting it is a handicap because it’s a season-long award, so consistency and total value provided throughout the year are heavily considered. That being said, those early struggles will be isolated to this year for the reasons you pointed out and have highlighted her incredibly quick growth. We’re only just beginning to see the depth of her impact, so the turnaround from the weak start strongly supports that next season and beyond she’ll be a favorite for MVP. For this season though, its impact on MVP is effectively like being injured part of the season (a handicap).
If the Fever win both games against the Aces I think she should win it. I would say it depends on how she performs but if they win both chances are very high she does.
Totally agree. The Fever play the Lynx and the Aces coming up. If they beat the Lynx, and take one Aces out of two, I would think her nomination would be possible. Otherwise, it’s A’ja all the way.
Put it this way, in Gil's Arena, they were comparing CC to the likes of Steph Curry, Larry Bird, even MJ in terms of play and influence. Why? Cause there's nobody in the WNBA to compare her to. In terms of value, valuable to who? It doesn't really matter what we think. It only matters to who's voting.
Clarks need 30 more assists to break the record, that is crazy. What’s crazy is CC is going to hold single game and season assist record as a rookie, most triple doubles, most double double for a guard, Most 20points 10assists, Most 3’s and the biggest thing for MVP is that she took a team that didn’t make the playoffs and brought them to 6th place and might be 5th place. So Fever finish in 5th and Aces finish 4th how can you deny CC the MVP, that’s crazy
Because A’ja will break the points record and the old rebounding record (though Reese will break it by more) and likely win DPOY. If they finish 5th but beat the aces twice coming up here I could see her getting close, if they finish 4th I’m not sure Clark doesn’t get it.
I been preaching this for a week. Those two games vs the Aces will determine her MVP fate We know Kelsey plum and the Aces are gonna do everything to get the ball out of her hands They are gonna to sacrifice losing just to shut her down 👎🏿 If she balls out and the Fever win those games The MVP is hers I hope the Fever are practicing the blitz BCUS the Linx and Aces is going to do that
Another talking point that favors Caitlin: When other teams play against Caitlin, they play better than they do when they play other opponents. They up their game.
If the Fever had a coach at beginning of season they would have had a talk with Kelsey, and said “ STOP dribbling like you’re trying to run the clock out. Your new teammate is a baller. Trust her,and start catching passes, and wait for Caitlin to find you ,you’ll start getting shots you never had before. She’ll find you for treys,Caitlin will be with you pushing the floor , watch for transition fast breaks. Just don’t dribble in circles, pass the ball to someone that is open. That should have been the talk by the second game. CC would have turned the Fever around by the third or fourth game. Had Sides given Kelz this talk early on, and STARTED Lexie, Smith, A. Boston, Kelz ,and CC we would be looking at a possibly third or fourth team easily . I’m not buying Sides as being coach of the month . Had she coached the team since day one , and watched CC,s NCAA games she would have known Kelz ,and CC would be one of the best if not the best backcourt team by game five or six.
A’ja Wilson is #1 in scoring, #2 in rebounding, #2 in blocked shots and #4 in steals. She is the MVP. Caitlin is the obvious ROTY and for sure has brought new fans to the WNBA. Congrats to both CC and AW.
Totally agree that A’ja is MVP but consider this: . Vegas without A’ja would play much more run and gun instead of dumping the ball inside to A’ja. A’ja is taking 5 more shots this year but the team is averaging 5 less ppg and shooting almost 5% worse overall and from three. So looking at the stats A’ja is the runaway winner but her increased individual stats has come at a cost of 5 ppg & a 5% decrease in scoring which is reflected in what will be a 9 game drop off in team record from league’s #1 seed to potentially playing first series on the road as the #5 seed. Indiana on the other hand, would probably have 4/6 more points by Mitchell but wouldn’t have the team chemistry CC brings by getting everyone else open shots. I’ll even say Mitchell scores 25 ppg, their record would maybe go from 13-27 to 15-25?? Fair assumption??? So the Fever fans ( the 2/3,000 that attend, no tv games) still have a team that needs Angel Reese to self-destruct and go say 2-10 down the stretch to have any prayer at making the playoffs. So to recap, CC is unanimous ROY and A’ja is unanimous MVP but there is more to it than saying “X’s second leading scorer is better than Y’s so Y is the MVP” A’ja is scoring more at the expense of the team scoring and winning less. But yes she is MVP and I disagree with you in that Kelsey Mitchell would be putting up 22/23 ppg not 18 like you say. 😉😉🥳🥳
Of course CC is the MVP. Is CC the best player in the WNBA, maybe not. Is she the most VALUEABLE player in the WNBA, a resounding yes. The WNBA was a pimple on the world stage until CC arrived. She is an economic nuclear bomb that just detonated in women's sports.
I think Caitlyn is the clear ROY, clearly first team all WNBA with Wilson, Collier, Stewart and Ionescu, and she should be top 5 on any MVP ballot. I actually think she’s a somewhat distant second to Wilson but that distance is not the chasm in ROY between Clark and anyone else. I think that’s a pretty clear eyed assessment of where Clark is right now.
It is. She’s the last 25 games MVP but those first ten put her significantly behind. Plenty of good reasons for the rough start but MVP is based on performance only.
Stewart's domination of the first two voting spots is essentially what helped her edge Thomas and Wilson for the award, even though she did not have the most first-, second- or third-place votes individually. Gray was the only other player to get a top-three vote, with a No. 3 vote on one individual's MVP ballot.Sep 26, 2023
Not only has CC produced the most total points this season, in the history of the league, and lifted her non-Olympic stacked team the most, but CC has single handedly literally brought Millions more eyeballs and billions more dollars to the league this year👍
2004/2005 Steve Nash MVP seasons are a good comp to Clark’s season. He beat out Lebron and Kobe. He was dealing like a madman. Also just a side note.. This is the third CC video today where a JAY-Z song is referenced😂.. Personally I think the same thing. Fever has to win both Aces games and they got to stay hot for the rest of the year for CC to have a chance.
She may not be the best player yet but clearly she’s the MVP, she has categorically made the biggest difference in a 16 game swing. She’s the MVP of athletes in the country, her ability to remain a team player even after her team treated her so poorly.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 - The WNBA announced today that New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Most Valuable. What were the reasons for Breanna to be named MVP over Aja? Stewart put together arguably the best season of her career in 2023 in her first year with the Liberty. She averaged 23.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks in 40 games while shooting 46.5 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from deep.
I was under the impression that MVP was picked at the end of the season. Why are you saying that she is MVP before the season has ended? Do you have something incitefull to add that merits thought. A'ja is on a team that is playing worse than last year. OGUNBAWALE showed her up in the All star game. Hinsdale is also playing well on a team that is playing poorly. A'ja is simply a good player on a si-so caliber team. Correct me if I am wrong but she currently holds the record for scoring 50 points in an Ace game, where the Team lost. BASKETBALL Is a team game. There lots of gems in the W. But MVP seems to be a hyped-up scenario that the Media despatched on to. Seems that is plain to see when I read your comment. You are one of the fish that has been reeled in I am waiting for the season to end and I think that it will be very evident who is MVP...
I think Clark's slow start to the season should be IN FAVOR of her status as MVP. She's having a historically great season DESPITE those first 15-20 games. The last six games, in particular the back-to-back against the Aces, will be the determining factor.
That’s not how it works, she has to make up the ground and has been doing it. The only question is can she make it all up. A’ja is also having a historically great season which is the only reason Clark isn’t ahead right now. Sorta like Reece being the alltime rebound leader by number and average but won’t be ROTY because another rookie is simply having a better season. If Clark outplays A’ja twice and the Fever catch up to the Aces I’d consider that gap closed, not sure what the voters would do in that case.
The apocalypse wears #22. She has been a tsunami that has obliterated the veterans in overall game performances. The apocalypse is able to destroy the preconceived ideas that Caitlin could not possibly be the MVP. Objectivity is required to award this award to the person that earned it, not the person that was cornonated before the season started.
Caitlin is the MVP of the league , she is the reason the league is being talked about this year PERIOD !! Caitlin has a long list of accomplishments that doesn’t compare to AJA
CC is generational. She makes all team players better. That’s what the greats do. What other player plays like CC? That’s what separates from the rest. CC is the MVP
I wish it was an actual most VALUABLE player award. But Wilson was anointed before the season even began, and I bet some won’t vote for CC because they don’t want the smoke or will still be chugging their hatorade
during the height of the issue when they didn't choose caitlin clark for the olympic roster, they were all so adamant to say they chose the 12 best players in the wnba. meaning, currently Aja Wilson is playing with 3 players who are better than caitlin clark. wow, Aja is sooo lucky. she don't need to do anything 😂
@HAWK11828 3 minutes ago Scoring isn't the sole criterion being considered. Drawing from previous years, the judges evaluate multiple factors when determining the MVP.
No one has done more than Caitlin Clark for the Fever and WNBA. FIRST Caitlin must win roty. If not it’s rigged. Also no on has done more as MVP. She must wn MVP. IF Candace Parker can win both the Caitlin Clark is a winner of both.
To be clear, I've NEVER heard you say anything negative about women, Robin, but I've seen some comments on the chat . . . hence, my comment during the chat. Blessings.
All the records she is amassing, while turning a last place team into a playoff team. Prior to this season, and since the WNBA's inception, about 25 years ago, they have been a subsidized, irrelevant mess, suffering from extremely low attendance and almost no sports media coverage. The only player I had heard of was Griner for her drug possession and Russian Prison stay. In comes Clark with her millions of worldwide fans and has single-handedly turned the WNBA into a profitable relevant league, with all the national media attention it can handle. She has probably doubled the value of The Fever and increased the value of every other team. If WNBA-MVP was listed in the dictionary, her picture would be in there! She's not just the Rookie of the Year, she's the most valuable MVP they have ever had, and it isn't even close. If she wasn't in the league, they would still be invisible and "Lumberjack competitions" would have higher tv ratings, and they'd still be losing money. If she doesn't get the MVP, it will be for the same reason, and we All know what that is, she is so hated on by "some" in the media and "certain" players in the league. She's a generational talent, marketing dream, humble and respectful (Kudos to her parents), and the savior of the WNBA. You watch though, she won't get it, and if she doesn't get ROTY, Swoops and those like her are casting the votes.
Reese took her podcast just to attack herself to Caitlin AGAIN , Caitlin doesn’t talk about anything not related to her game , pretty sure Reese fans are hating on her but she pays no mind !!!
The internet is a nasty place and you can never really judge what's going on and the persons motive. Im sure Angel, CC and others receive nasty things a lot. I once had someone from Twitter posts a picture they took of my house just to try to intimidate me.
Thanks for this I am tired of Mick down playing Caitlin He puts Caitlin 3rd for MVP He needs to start researching before talking You two have the same style of platform I disagree with you sometimes just like Mick But it seems like your thoughts are more well layed out Mick seems to freestyle his opinions randomly, sometimes i think he only researches 1 or 2 stats then doesn't fully search everything he might need for that topic I think i will watch you more and him less now tbh His takes arw good usually but when hes wrong he is so wrong and man he bangs on about things hes wrong about
Aja must be nervous, she's in her 7th season on last season's WNBA championship team with a roster full of veteran players including a total of 5 Olympians, one non USA Olympian. She's up against a rookie who came into the league after about a month's break from college basketball where she joined the Fever who were the 3rd worst team in the league. She started her rookie season playing 11 games in 20 days against the best teams in the league in 8 of those 11 games and included back to backs, so unlike Aja Caitlin and her teammates had to get used to playing with each other. It couldn't be a more uneven playing field, Aja has had it easy compared to what Caitlin has had to deal with. They anointed Aja at the beginning of the season and let's not forget most valuable and best player are two different things.
@@Willard-l7t do the knowledge. It's always the player who either scores the most, is DPOY, and or on the top two teams. A'ja is 2/3 requirements. Also has the most win shares which the MVP usually is the top. Not that hard to predict. CC not really close because of her lack of defense
@@blaquekyd I did the "knowledge". I call it research and it varies from one voter to the next in the NBA, none of them used your exact critetia, YT won't let me post the link. But it would be helpful if you can find a link for the WNBA's criteria.
The Aces were 34-6 in 2023 so they're actually considerably WORSE this year..compare that with the dramatic improvement the Fever have made..I don't see how you can give A'ja the MVP
The Elle Duncan stuff is so annoying and terrible 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ the hypocrisy is embarrassing. I agree viewership shouldn’t be a criteria for mvp. I wonder if you put Aja on the fever and Clark on the aces if the fever would have a worse record and the aces would be better…..
I went through the hassle of looking up the MVP of every season, the scoring leader of every season, the top teams of every season. MVP of the wnba is STRONGLY tied to team performance. The last time that ibcould find al scoring leader won the MVP without the team also being on a top team was Lauren Jackson in 2007. DT won the scoring title 5 times from 2006 - 2011 but only won the MVP in 2009. In 2006 and 2008 she had the highest ppg years in W history but her team was garbage. Parker won ROTY and MVP with an 18 ppg average while DT had 25 ppg. Her MVP year she averaged 20 and her team was good.
This dude has officially lost it , this dude said the #1 seeded Stewie & Sabrina aren’t real mvp candidates 😭 when in actuality they’re higher than Clark
What on drugs. They are playing on star studded teams that have been performing and not improving. CC is taking a nothing team to stardom. Don't get what you are saying.
😅THIS CONVERSATION WHILE INTERESTING , WILL GO NO WHERE, A’JA WAS CROWNED MVP BEFORE THE FIRST GAME WAS PLAYED, PEOPLE ARE ALL READY LOSING THEIR HAIR BECAUSE CLARK IS BEING MENTIONED IN THE MVP CONVERSATION , SHE’LL BE LUCKY TO GET ROTY WITH ALL THE BS FROM SOME COMMENTATORS AND ANALYSTS TRYING TO DOWNPLAY HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SKILL, THE GREEN EYED MONSTER IS EVERYWHERE
It is interesting that you state A'ja was MVP. Before play began. My impression is that they voted for the MVP at the end of the season. Has that changed?
here's a stat for the most 20 point and 10 ast games, Vandersloot has ( 10 in 422 games ) Taurasi has ( 9 in 559 games ) and Clark has ( 7 in 34 games ) let that sink in
