ESPN analyst Andraya Carter called out the voter who prevented Caitlin Clark from earning a unanimous Rookie of the Year.
“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,” Carter said.
Clark received 66 votes for the award, while Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese received one.
Although Reese is a talented player, Clark separated herself from all other rookies in the WNBA following the Olympic break.
The No. 1 overall pick of the draft certainly lived up to expectations. Clark averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists in her first season in the league.
Clark helped lead the Indiana Fever to their first postseason berth since 2016. Although Indiana made a first-round exit, Clark averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists over two games.
She not only broke rookie records but also shattered league records. Beyond the court, her presence in the league brought droves of new fans to the WNBA.
The Fever’s jersey sales increased by over 1,000 percent mid-way through the season. Clark was the league’s best-selling jersey, as a rookie. Attendance at games Clark competed in was 88 percent higher compared to games without the rookie, according to the Associated Press.
“I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season — my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season,” Clark said in a statement. “I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds.”
For much of the season, Clark’s biggest competitor to win Rookie of the Year was Reese. However, the competition came to a screeching halt when Reese sustained a season-ending injury.
Reese was injured on Sept. 6 during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. The No. 7 overall draft pick sustained a small crack in her wrist bone after she tried to break her fall.
“I fell on my hand when I got the and-1, when I fell back [and] fell on my hand, and it is a small crack in my bone,” Reese said in a video posted to her TikTok account in September.
“Basically, the doctors told me that I could either not get surgery or have surgery. The risk of not having surgery — I could literally have arthritis at 22 years old. That wasn’t an option. The bone could literally crack and completely shatter. Right now, it’s like a hairline. … They’re going to put a small screw in it. And I wasn’t going for it getting any bigger.”
Carter’s comments calling out the voter who snubbed Clark are likely a result of Reese’s injury which essentially put her out of contention for the award.
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