"Caitlin Clark's fans fire back at hecklers, asserting that 'haters cannot use this' in response to criticism aimed at Fever star for not matching Candace Parker's rookie year achievements—what does this really mean?" (PO)

There is no doubt that Caitlin Clark had a tremendous rookie season which saw her win the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year Award. However, in terms of awards won in their debut season, there is one star that has Clark beat. Candace Parker, who was the 2008 ROTY, was also named the league MVP that year.

While this is a remarkable achievement, Parker’s achievement has a caveat. A Clark fan has pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) that the league did something different in 2008.

X user @ccthegoat22 pointed out that the 2008 season was the only time that the WNBA incorporated fan voting for the Most Valuable Player Award.

“The fact no one talks abt this, fan voting was a thing for one year and that one year was when candace won mvp her rookie year, then they stopped it after,” the Clark fan said. “Not discrediting her at all, love candace she’s amazing, but respectfully haters cannot use this against Caitlin lmfao.”

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To date, Parker is the only player to win both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.

However, Caitlin Clark came somewhat close. The Fever rookie took home the Rookie of the Year voting and was also among the top in MVP voting. While A’ja Wilson was named the unanimous MVP by receiving all the first-place votes, Clark received enough third, fourth, and fifth-place votes to land fourth in the voting.

Meanwhile, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart were second and third, respectively.

Also read: Tyrese Haliburton reveals he and GF Jade Jones have become friends with Caitlin Clark & Connor McCaffery: “We talk pretty often”

A side-by-side look at Caitlin Clark and Candace Parker’s rookie seasons
Just like Caitlin Clark, Candace Parker was the first overall pick in her draft. The LA Sparks took Parker at No. 1 after a stellar college career where she averaged 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 1.9 steals.

Her impact was immediately felt by her team as she put up nearly identical numbers in her debut season as her college averages. In her first year as a pro, Parker averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks. She also shot 52.3% from the field while averaging 13.4 field goal attempts per game.

Her contributions allowed the Sparks to reach the postseason with a 20-14 record where they beat the Seattle Storm in the first round before being eliminated by the now-defunct San Antonio Stars.

In the postseason, Parker averaged 15.0 points, 9.8 points, 1.5 steals, and 2.2 blocks.

As for Caitlin Clark, she averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 40 games. However, her struggles in taking care of the ball were also evident as she averaged 5.6 turnovers per game while Parker only averaged 2.8 in her rookie year.

Clark’s efforts also contributed to the Fever snapping a seven-season playoff drought. In the playoffs, she averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 2.0 steals.