Caitlin Clark left off 19 WNBA MVP ballots despite historic season as A’ja Wilson wins fifth award

Caitlin Clark received one first-place vote for WNBA MVP after producing a season nobody in the league had managed before.

And that might not even be the most ridiculous part of the results. Nineteen voters didn’t put her on their ballots at all.

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. Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles finished second, followed by Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and Clark.

CAITLIN CLARK SAYS SHE BLOCKS SOCIAL MEDIA HATE AND ENJOYS HOSTILE WNBA ROAD CROWDS

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. She finished with 212 points, well behind Miles’ 442 and Mitchell’s 287.

Wilson had an outstanding season and a compelling case to win. But apparently, more than a quarter of the voters watched Clark this year and decided five other players deserved recognition ahead of her.

I’d love to hear those 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.

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. According to the WNBA’s own end-of-season review, that was the highest average in league history.

That’s a useful place to start a conversation about offensive value, especially when her teammate finished ahead of her in MVP voting. There’s a compelling case that Mitchell benefited from Clark far more than vice versa.

After all, Mitchell just completed her ninth WNBA season. In her six years with Indiana prior to Clark’s arrival, Mitchell averaged 16.4 points per 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.

Kelsey Mitchell finished ahead of Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark in WNBA MVP voting. (Getty Images)

Clark also had five games with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season. Every other player in WNBA history combined has four.

Read that again. Read that again. Caitlin Clark did something five times in one season that every other player combined has done four times in WNBA regular-season history.

Her best performance came against Seattle on July 17, when she scored 45 points and had 10 assists. It was the first 40-point, 10-assist game the WNBA had ever seen.

And those spectacular nights were backed by sustained production. Clark recorded 13 games with at least 20 points and 10 assists, nearly one-third of her 40 appearances. She finished with 891 points and 333 assists, becoming the first player to reach 800 points and 300 assists in a season.

Then there’s the team success. Indiana averaged a league-record 96 points per game. Clark’s ability to score while creating opportunities for her teammates helped make that possible.

Apparently, some voters found all of that easier to overlook than others.

Miles averaged 19.8 points and six assists while helping Minnesota finish with the league’s best record. Although it’s worth noting that Minnesota also finished with the league’s best record in 2025, before Miles entered the league.

Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles finished ahead of Caitlin Clark in WNBA MVP voting despite averaging fewer points and fewer assists. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Mitchell scored a league-record 1,086 points. That’s impressive, but Clark helped create those scoring opportunities through both her passing and the defensive attention she draws.

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. Her ability to dominate at both ends gives voters plenty of reasons to put her first and, honestly, she probably deserved to win.

But choosing Wilson and leaving Clark outside the top five are very different judgments.

WNBA media has earned the scrutiny

The award was decided by sportswriters and broadcasters. Given how some prominent members of that industry have covered Clark, skepticism about their judgment shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Too much of the coverage treats her popularity as something that needs a racial explanation before anyone can simply appreciate her basketball.

In May, Cari Champion said about Clark: “I don’t like you. I don’t like the way you behave on the court.”

By September, Champion was calling Clark an “avatar for people who want to spread hate.”

In July, Nancy Armour argued that Clark’s reactions to officiating endangered Black and queer players, even invoking Emmett Till.

Even this week, Charlotte Wilder wanted “something a little more forceful” from Clark about the alleged treatment of Black WNBA players, despite acknowledging she had already spoken out.

That coverage reflects a preference for a story in which Black players need defending and Clark needs to constantly apologize for her mere existence. Her performance too often becomes secondary to what commentators believe her popularity represents.

A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces drives to the basket against Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever during the 2026 WNBA Playoffs. (Getty Images)

Sportswriters, commentators and broadcasters are entitled to their opinions (as bad as they often are). Those examples don’t tell us who left Clark off a ballot, but they help explain why fans might question the media’s judgment.

SOCIAL MEDIA WAS NOT LOVING CAITLIN CLARK GETTING SNUBBED BY TV NETWORK’S MVP GRAPHIC

And questioning their judgment doesn’t require rooting against Wilson. She received only four Defensive Player of the Year votes while Angel Reese received 46 and won the award in a landslide.

I thought Wilson deserved considerably more support in that race, but as I argued at the time, the media loves to trumpet Reese as a star and they needed a reason to prop her up.

The standard should be consistent: evaluate what the players actually did, and be prepared to defend the result.

Clark deserved to finish higher in MVP voting

To be clear, Clark’s popularity doesn’t entitle her to an MVP award. But it’s not like her play didn’t warrant consideration as the league’s most valuable player.

There is room to disagree about how much weight to give defense, turnovers, scoring efficiency or a team’s record. Reasonable people can disagree about where Clark belonged behind Wilson, but leaving the Fever superstar outside the top five is borderline malpractice.

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Nineteen voters decided a historic combination of scoring and playmaking wasn’t worth even a fifth-place vote.

That doesn’t prove that they simply don’t like Caitlin Clark and don’t want her to succeed, but it certainly raises the question.

If those 19 voters have a basketball explanation for leaving Clark off their ballots, they should make it public immediately.