The internet spent a good chunk of 2024 convinced the WNBA dropped the ball when it came to celebrating Caitlin Clark’s Rookie of the Year award. And on the surface, it sure looked that way.
Clark — who took home the honor after a historic debut season — got a pretty low-key acknowledgment. She received the news via a speakerphone call from Commissioner Cathy Engelbert during practice. That was it.
Fast forward a year, and Paige Bueckers is receiving her 2025 Rookie of the Year award on national television, with Engelbert showing up in person, on “The Jennifer Hudson Show”.
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Naturally, fans noticed the discrepancy, and they had some questions.
But according to a newly released paperback edition of On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports by Christine Brennan, the reality is a little more complicated than the internet outrage suggested.
In fact, WNBA spokesman Ron Howard says the league tried to give Clark similar fanfare.
“We offered to come to Indy after the team season had finished and do a press conference and/or have [NBA Entertainment] do a sit down with CC,” Howard said, via Brennan’s book. “But both the team and her agent declined the offer … It was difficult to do it while the team was in Connecticut, but we offered to do something in Indianapolis afterwards and we were turned down.”
He added that the league even had a broader media opportunity lined up: “Adding to that the fact that we had a chance to do a sit down with her for GMA as well but the opportunities were declined.”
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So if you were wondering why Clark didn’t get the same splashy moment as Bueckers, it might be because she didn’t want one. Or at least her camp didn’t.
It’s worth noting that Clark was named ROTY while she and the Indiana Fever were in the middle of a playoff series against the Connecticut Sun. That’s not exactly ideal timing for a rookie to drop everything and do a media tour.
Bueckers, meanwhile, had already completed her season, as the Dallas Wings finished the season 10-34 and missed the postseason.
So Clark’s casual phone call was maybe less of a snub and more of a logistical issue.
Clark and Bueckers will face off on May 9, when the Fever host the Dallas Wings to open their 2026 season — a fitting early spotlight for two players who will almost certainly be linked for as long as they’re in the league.
