Victor Wembanyama Praises Caitlin Clark; All You Need to Know
Victor Wembanyama is looking forward to his second season in the NBA but he is also keeping tabs on the WNBA if his recent comments on Caitlin Clark are to be read.
It appears that Victor Wembanyama thinks highly of his fellow Rookie of the Year. The star player for the San Antonio Spurs, Wembanyama, was asked to name a WNBA player who inspires him in a video feature that was made available on Friday. Wembanyama landed on Caitlin Clark, the sensational Indiana Fever player.
“When she was in college, [she was] the only player that I was really in awe of the game [of],” said Wembanyama of Clark. “Men’s and women’s college basketball [combined], she’s probably the most impressive I’ve seen.”
In their respective leagues, Clark and Wembanyama both had historic, record-breaking seasons. The French national made history with San Antonio during his rookie season by becoming only the second player in history to record a 5x5 game, meaning that he had at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He also recorded a 40-point, 20-rebound performance in March.
Clark led the Indiana Fever to unprecedented attendance levels in the WNBA and unprecedented viewership figures. Among her other achievements were breaking the single-season assist record, recording the first two triple-doubles by a rookie in league history, and winning Rookie of the Month four times.
It's worth mentioning when comparing the two that the NBA plays nearly twice as many regular-season games as the WNBA. Another point to consider is that while the Spurs did not qualify for the postseason, the Fever did. The following two statistical lines were responsible for Wembanyama and Clark's respective ROTY awards:
Victor Wembanyama |
Stat |
Caitlin Clark |
71 |
GP |
40 |
29.7 |
MIN |
35.4 |
21.4 |
PTS |
19.2 |
10.6 |
REB |
5.7 |
3.9 |
AST |
8.4 |
1.2 |
STL |
1.3 |
3.6 |
BLK |
0.7 |
3.7 |
TO |
5.6 |
46.5 |
FG% |
41.7 |
32.5 |
3PT% |
34.4 |
79.6 |
FT% |
90.6 |
2.2 |
PF |
2.8 |
In every American sports league, very few rookies who are selected first go on to surpass expectations. There are even fewer who run away with Rookie of the Year awards unanimously—or almost unanimously.
Thankfully, there were two players of that caliber in 2024—one from each major league—for basketball fans. When it came to being voted the WNBA's top rookie, Caitlin Clark received all but one vote, going to Angel Reese, while Victor Wembanyama became the seventh NBA player to win the title.