More people have started watching the WNBA thanks in large part to Caitlin Clark's arrival. Her entry into the league coincided with a massive increase in attendance and viewership.
But the Indiana Fever star has proven that the hype surrounding her career is more than well-deserved. She has just been awarded the Rookie of the Year, finished fourth in MVP voting, and broke plenty of WNBA records.
Because of how well Clark performed in her first year in the league, some have argued that she had the best rookie campaign of anyone who ever graced the WNBA. Charlotte Hornets veteran Grant Williams doesn't buy that notion, though.
Grant Williams asserts Caitlin Clark is only the second-best
According to Williams, Clark's rookie season can't hold a candle to Candace Parker's. He contended on X (formerly Twitter) that Parker winning Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year makes her deserving of the title that some folks have bestowed on the 22-year-old guard.
2nd best*. Love her game and she’ll be an MVP when A’ja decides to hang it up but Tennessee legend Candace Parker won ROTY and MVP in the same season. https://t.co/omvVgUfJTO
— Grant Williams (@Grant2Will) September 28, 2024
Williams may have a point, as "Ace" accomplished a feat in the WNBA that no one else has yet. She put up 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds (which led the league), and 3.6 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game, teaming up with women's basketball legend Lisa Leslie steer the Los Angeles Sparks to the third seed in the Western Conference.
However, netizens schooled the Hornets forward in the replies, with some saying Parker didn't have much competition back then and that her candidacy was buoyed by online voting.
There are also arguments that Clark's rookie stats while facing tougher opponents are comparable to that of the three-time champion and that A'ja Wilson's dominant season had made everyone afterthoughts in this year's MVP race.
Perhaps Williams merely wanted to give flowers to his fellow University of Tennesee product.
Hopefully, the five-year pro is ready to display a similar level of loyalty to the Hornets and his teammates this coming season. He is slated to play a key role for the upstart squad and could even challenge for one of the spots in the starting lineup.
But regardless of whether he starts or not, Williams is expected to bring leadership that he has honed by spending four-and-a-half years with contenders, the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks.
There is also some belief that the North Carolina native could end up on a new team by the 2024 trade deadline. However, he hasn't appeared to have given the Hornets faithful any reason — not even his Caitlin Clark take — to want him out of the organization.