Indiana Fever GM Lin Dunn on Caitlin Clark’s ROTY award: ‘She absolutely earned it.’

INDIANAPOLIS — When Indiana Fever GM Lin Dunn learned that Caitlin Clark was the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, she wasn’t surprised. Not one bit.

Why would she be? The Fever general manager knew Clark had a long track record of success before she even stepped foot into Indianapolis as their newest rookie. A two-time Player of the Year, NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball scoring record holder with 3,951 points in four years (passing Kelsey Plum’s 2017 record and Pete Maravich’s 1970 record), Dunn knew Clark was destined for greatness.

“Does not surprise me one bit,” Dunn told IndyStar. “I mean, she broke all the records before she ever got to the WNBA. She broke the college points record, broke Pistol Pete Maravich’s record, and so we anticipated great things from her. I think the assists, the passing, and then being a key part of taking our team from 13 wins to 20 wins, certainly well deserving. And we’re thrilled. We’re thrilled for the Fever franchise.”

The WNBA officially announced Clark as the 2024 Rookie of the Year on Thursday afternoon, cementing the legacy of her first year. She is the Fever’s second-straight ROTY; Aliyah Boston won the award unanimously in 2023.

Clark, however, was not unanimous. She got 66 of 67 votes for the award — one away from officially being a unanimous selection. A 15-person Associated Press panel, however, unanimously voted Clark as the AP Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season.

That’s how Dunn sees it, too.

“As far as I’m concerned, she’s the unanimous Rookie of the Year,” Dunn said. “It’s not even close with the accomplishments that she made, how she affected our team, you know, she just had a phenomenal season. And so kudos to her, flowers to her. She deserved this recognition, because she absolutely earned it on the court.”

Coming into the league as the No. 1 pick, dubbed as a potential generational, franchise-changing player, Clark had a lot of pressure on her shoulders to perform well — on and off the court. And, Dunn said, she exceeded expectations. Clark led the Fever to a 20-20 record and their first playoff berth in six years, breaking countless rookie and league records in the process.

On top of this award, Clark came fourth in MVP voting in 2024, behind unanimous MVP A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Breanna Stewart.

She was the only guard in the top-five of the MVP ballot — and it could be because of the rarity of her game. Clark led the league in assists this season, breaking the WNBA single-season assists record which was set by Alyssa Thomas in 2023.

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She finished the regular season with a rookie-record 769 points, which ranked fifth in the league overall. She is the first person in league history to lead the league in assists and finish top 10 in scoring in the same season. She was also the first rookie to record a triple-double (and did it twice).

“It’s unbelievably rare,” said Dunn, who has been around the WNBA since its inception. “It’s an indication for versatility on the court when you could be a leader in scoring and lead in assists, which means you’re sharing the basketball with your teammates and making everybody better.”

With a player that has MVP-caliber talent in her first season in Clark, a 2023 ROTY and rising star in Boston, and a consistent veteran in Kelsey Mitchell, Dunn has nothing but optimism for the future of the Fever franchise.

This year, they got to the playoffs. Now, with what Dunn calls the big three, they want to compete for championships.

“When you’ve got a big three — a great point, a great wing, and a great post — back-to-back rookies of the year, back-to-back No. 1 picks, then you could see the foundation of what we’re laying for the future,” Dunn said. “We were the sixth seed in the in the playoffs, and next year, we want to be in the final four.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark: Indiana Fever GM Lin Dunn on WNBA rookie of the year