***CC22 and the Fever mega thread***

[Tom Paris]

Actually. I'd look at it from a totally different perspective. If I'm drafting with a centerpiece to build my team around, I'd want an all league type player who makes her team mates better and play at a higher level. Does Aja Wilson really make her team mates that much better? At the kind of level that Clark does? How many players in the league elevate their team mates the way Clark does, and yet can still produce themselves at that level? My draft would probably be Clark, Miles/ Bueckers, depending upon if Miles continues to play at that level.

Due to their ages and greatness, they would be my 1-3.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Not sure its fair to ask her to "improve" much. She's been the best player in the league for years and at the height of her game physically and mentally. I do think however that a players ability to raise the play of their team mates to a different level should be considered. and I don't see Aja or many other players doing that the way Clark does. Mitchell is another great player, but I don't think she consistently raises the level of play of her team mates either.

So, if she has reached her "Peak", then based on that assumption, she should receive the award. Good luck to everyone else. Agree with everything else you mentioned.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Just for a comparison and for clarity, here are ways the writers base their MVP considerations for both the men's and women's professional leagues .

WNBA:


The selection criteria for the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award include several key factors.

• Statistical Performance: Players are evaluated based on their individual statistics, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, and overall efficiency during the regular season.
• Impact on Team Success: The player's contribution to their team's performance is crucial. A player on a winning team may have an advantage over those on less successful teams.
• Narrative and Context: The story behind a player's season, including overcoming challenges or achieving milestones, can influence voters' perceptions.
• Voting Process: The award is determined by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who vote immediately after the regular season concludes.

NBA:

The selection criteria for the NBA MVP award involves multiple factors that assess a player's performance throughout the season.

Voting Process

• The MVP is determined by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from the U.S. and Canada.
• Each voter ranks players from first to fifth place, with points awarded as follows:
  • First place: 10 points
  • Second place: 7 points
  • Third place: 5 points
  • Fourth place: 3 points
  • Fifth place: 1 point.

Key Criteria

• Individual Performance: Players are evaluated based on their statistics, including points, rebounds, assists, and overall impact on games.
• Team Success: A player's contribution to their team's success is crucial; typically, MVP candidates are from playoff-bound teams.
• Consistency: Consistent performance throughout the season is essential, as MVPs are often those who maintain high levels of play over time.
• Impact on Games: The ability to influence the outcome of games significantly can elevate a player's MVP candidacy.

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

So, if she has reached her "Peak", then based on that assumption, she should receive the award. Good luck to everyone else. Agree with everything else you mentioned.

Well she's certainly the odds on favorite. Clark was a front runner by some before the season, and had she not been injured/slowed early in the year I think it would be a two horse race right now.

 

[o_AMAYS]

I guess I base too much on the "eye test". She sure doesn't look like a "pretender" to me......

Share your view on the eye test the 2nd half of this season. Was surprised at how much the first half killed Clark’s season-long value stats.

 

[Ludd]

Well she's certainly the odds on favorite. Clark was a front runner by some before the season, and had she not been injured/slowed early in the year I think it would be a two horse race right now.

How come Wilson’s slow start (like over half the season) last year didn’t cost her the MVP?

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

How come Wilson’s slow start (like over half the season) last year didn’t cost her the MVP?

I can't answer that not knowing the particulars of all the other potential candidates. I know Phee got a lot of run for part of the year. Obviously Clark was not in the conversation only playing in 13 games, even though she was named to the All star game.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

How come Wilson’s slow start (like over half the season) last year didn’t cost her the MVP?

Politics

 

[Gonzo_Bloor]

Just for a comparison and for clarity, here are ways the writers base their MVP considerations for both the men's and women's professional leagues .

WNBA:


The selection criteria for the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award include several key factors.

• Statistical Performance: Players are evaluated based on their individual statistics, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, and overall efficiency during the regular season.
• Impact on Team Success: The player's contribution to their team's performance is crucial. A player on a winning team may have an advantage over those on less successful teams.
• Narrative and Context: The story behind a player's season, including overcoming challenges or achieving milestones, can influence voters' perceptions.
• Voting Process: The award is determined by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who vote immediately after the regular season concludes.

NBA:

The selection criteria for the NBA MVP award involves multiple factors that assess a player's performance throughout the season.

Voting Process

• The MVP is determined by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from the U.S. and Canada.
• Each voter ranks players from first to fifth place, with points awarded as follows:
  • First place: 10 points
  • Second place: 7 points
  • Third place: 5 points
  • Fourth place: 3 points
  • Fifth place: 1 point.

Key Criteria

• Individual Performance: Players are evaluated based on their statistics, including points, rebounds, assists, and overall impact on games.
• Team Success: A player's contribution to their team's success is crucial; typically, MVP candidates are from playoff-bound teams.
• Consistency: Consistent performance throughout the season is essential, as MVPs are often those who maintain high levels of play over time.
• Impact on Games: The ability to influence the outcome of games significantly can elevate a player's MVP candidacy.

CC ain't winning MVP. Lol. There are going to be way too many angry black women on that voting panel who want nothing more than to stick it to her for being white and getting all the attention. Just the truth.

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[Legend12]

How come Wilson’s slow start (like over half the season) last year didn’t cost her the MVP?

Wilson averaged 22.3 PPG and 9 RPG per game over the first 20 games last year.

 

[Legend12]

Actually. I'd look at it from a totally different perspective. If I'm drafting with a centerpiece to build my team around, I'd want an all league type player who makes her team mates better and play at a higher level. Does Aja Wilson really make her team mates that much better? At the kind of level that Clark does? How many players in the league elevate their team mates the way Clark does, and yet can still produce themselves at that level? My draft would probably be Clark, Miles/ Bueckers, depending upon if Miles continues to play at that level.

Yes, Aja makes her teammates MUCH better.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

I do think however that a players ability to raise the play of their team mates to a different level should be considered. and I don't see Aja or many other players doing that the way Clark does. Mitchell is another great player, but I don't think she consistently raises the level of play of her team mates either.

If the "hockey assist" was such a thing in basketball I think something like that could further help explain Caitlin's impact on a game.

Nowadays they talk about gravity and I guess there might be a stat for that, but that is at the core of how Caitlin is always pressuring the defense, whether she records a stat or not.

 

[Legend12]

Depends if you’re building short term or long term.

Also depends on if you are drafting the entire team, or drafting a singular player than building a team around them via free agency.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Look who they left out....

Here's Linda's reaction:

 

[Hawksfor3]

Wilson averaged 22.3 PPG and 9 RPG per game over the first 20 games last year.

Was she injured?

 

[Hawksfor3]

Yes, Aja makes her teammates MUCH better.

Who impacts the league in a more positive and productive way? Be honest.

 

[Ludd]

Wilson averaged 22.3 PPG and 9 RPG per game over the first 20 games last year.

And her team was not good. They got hot in August when she started playing her best…yet she was crowned the MVP before the season started….kind of my point.

 

[Legend12]

Was she injured?

Yes.

 

[Legend12]

And her team was not good. They got hot in August when she started playing her best…yet she was crowned the MVP before the season started….kind of my point.

Blatantly false, as most of your posts are.

Phee was leading the MVP race until she got injured.

Napheesa Collier Remains WNBA MVP Favorite, but Race is Heating Up

The WNBA MVP race could be heating back up during the final weeks of the 2025 regular season.

www.wnba.com

 

[Legend12]

This is the thing that is insane. Her bar is so much higher than any other player in league history.

This week she literally did a thing that no player in the history of the league had ever done. 30+pts and 10+ assists in the same game had never been accomplished more than once by a player other than her. She did it twice in the same week. And it isn’t like last week when they had 4 games, they only had 2 games this week. But all some people can talk about is some turnovers and missed shots. People rave about Aja Wilson, who is great. But, her FG% is less than 7% better than Clark’s this season. And that is as a post player compared to a guard. Many post players in the league are shooting better than her including Boston, Cardoso, Hamby, Shepard, and Howard who all average more than 10 shots per game. Yet, I don’t hear anyone complaining about Aja’s shooting or the fact that she takes more shots than anyone else in the league.

You do realize Aja has a higher FG%, 3PTFG%, FT% and eFG% than CC, right?

 

[Legend12]

Who impacts the league in a more positive and productive way? Be honest.

Oh, it's CC all day, but that should not come into play when talking about MVP voting for a singular season.

 

[Hawksfor3]

You do realize Aja has a higher FG%, 3PTFG%, FT% and eFG% than CC, right?

Just for the fun of it, does AW draw record crowds, draw more merch sales, draw more TV viewership, inspire so many more youngsters, sign more autographs, set more records, etc,etc,etc? I know stats are huge, but you know? F* Stats.

 

[Legend12]

Kate Martin got waived today.

 

[Legend12]

Just for the fun of it, does AW draw record crowds, draw more merch sales, draw more TV viewership, inspire so many more youngsters, sign more autographs, set more records, etc,etc,etc? I know stats are huge, but you know? F* Stats.

Objection!!

Asked AND answered!!

 

[Herky T Hawk]

The last guard to win MVP was Taurasi in 2009.
She averaged
20.4 pt/g
5.7 rb/g
3.5 a/g
46.1 FG%
55.2 eFG%
2.6 to/g
1.35 a/to

Clark is at
22.5 pt/g
3.9 rb/g
8.4a/g
45.6 FG%
54.9 eFG%
4.6 to/g
1.83 a/to

So shooting was basically a push. Clark is pumping in more points and far more assists. Taurasi had more rebounds and fewer turnovers, but a noticeably worse assist to turnover ratio.

The supposed best PG in league history, Sue Bird, averaged 5.6 assists per game in her career and 11.7 points per game. The “Point Gawd” Chelsea Gray has averaged 5.2 and 12 respectively. Lindsay Whalen averaged 4.9 and 11.5. Teresa Weatherspoon averaged 5.3 and 5. None ever had a single season averaging 20 points or a single season averaging 8 assists, numbers that are both below Clark’s career averages currently.

In her third season, she is so far above any other PG in league history it is insane. And this season, even after the minutes restrictions and injury issues in the first half, is on par or better than the last MVP season for a guard.

 

[Hawksfor3]

You do realize Aja has a higher FG%, 3PTFG%, FT% and eFG% than CC, right?

Impact on Team Success: The player's contribution to their team's performance is crucial. A player on a winning team may have an advantage over those on less successful teams.
Narrative and Context: The story behind a player's season, including overcoming challenges or achieving milestones, can influence voters' perceptions.

Aint just stats good buddy.

 

[Herky T Hawk]

You do realize Aja has a higher FG%, 3PTFG%, FT% and eFG% than CC, right?

Yes, a post player should have a much higher field goal percentage than a guard. Her average shot distance is likely half of a normal guard and probably 1/3 of the distance of Clark. I’m pointing out that there are many post players shooting better than Aja this season. Even Boston with her injury issues is slightly higher on the season. Former Fever players Smith and Howard are shooting significantly better than Aja this season.

 

[Legend12]

Her average shot distance is likely half of a normal guard and probably 1/3 of the distance of Clark.

Clark: 18.4
Wilson: 11.1

 

[Legend12]

Clark is shooting 41.5% from 10-16 feet this season...does it seem like that # is well over 50% in the last 10-15 games to anyone else?

It's one of the best additions to her game this season...although that little runner off the glass is becoming more and more deadly and saving her some contact as well.

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

I have to think of the people who will be voting for MVP there’s gotta be a lot who are very much like the ESPN crew and specifically Monica McNutt.

McNutt said of Caitlin, "I think there is room for improvement in accountability and self-awareness in terms of her role in the greater sisterhood of the WNBA."

What a load of crap. "Sista-hood" would be more accurate.

Kinda crazy and a bit ironic how we just lost our BELOVED Dolly who refused over her long career to ever be political. But NOW, in 2026, the weak-azz WNBA and it's lackies are not only demanding it, but it better fit the party line too, I'm sure.

Caitlin will never win a close vote, unfortunately, imo

 

[Legend12]

I agree with @Kceasthawk@77. In NO way is Clark a "Pretender". A player would have to be wildly inconsistent to even approach that notion. Again, a good indicator of how a player performs, "Making herself and those around her better", has to be taken into account. Wilson is good and she is a four time winner of the award, but what has she done since her last win to improve on what she has accomplished? I'm sure that "Win Shares" are not the only component to the selection process.

Another stat I'm starting to see mentioned is a player's NET rating. As of about a week ago the Fever's NET rating w/ CC on the court is 5.3...with her off the floor it is 11.3, and a difference of 6 points puts her near the bottom of the league. That is not a stat I've spent time looking into so not sure if it will or should carry weight, but I've seen it in a few articles about the MVP race so it may be something that is brought up over the next few weeks. I think a lot of these stats are simply saying the same thing multiple ways, but each one may be given a different amount of weight by different voters.

 

[AFM22]

Aint just stats good buddy.

Like when they are 1 on 1 with the game on the line?

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

Clark is shooting 41.5% from 10-16 feet this season...does it seem like that # is well over 50% in the last 10-15 games to anyone else?

It's one of the best additions to her game this season...although that little runner off the glass is becoming more and more deadly and saving her some contact as well.

That runner she's doing I kind of think of it as a long layup. Kind of impressive as she elevates a fair bit and just banks it straight through with some pace, and she avoids the scrum.

Plus her now consitent fade-away middie. Given her range a true ... FOUR LEVEL scorer!!!

 

[Hawksfor3]

Like when they are 1 on 1 with the game on the line?

You mean with "Stretch Armstrong" reaching in and her team leaving her on an island with no movement?

 

[Hawksfor3]

Another stat I'm starting to see mentioned is a player's NET rating. As of about a week ago the Fever's NET rating w/ CC on the court is 5.3...with her off the floor it is 11.3, and a difference of 6 points puts her near the bottom of the league. That is not a stat I've spent time looking into so not sure if it will or should carry weight, but I've seen it in a few articles about the MVP race so it may be something that is brought up over the next few weeks. I think a lot of these stats are simply saying the same thing multiple ways, but each one may be given a different amount of weight by different voters.

You can throw all the stats up here that you want. In fact, I encourage you to do so.

 

[Legend12]

That runner she's doing I kind of think of it as a long layup. Kind of impressive as she elevates a fair bit and just banks it straight through with some pace, and she avoids the scrum.

I think it removes some of a shotblocker's reach that gets to her at times so she gets a much cleaner look. Just another angle that defenders have to be wary of, but since they don't ever seem to want to make her go left I don't think they care that much.

 

[AFM22]

You mean with "Stretch Armstrong" reaching in and her team leaving her on an island with no movement?

You can’t teach that

 

[Legend12]

You mean with "Stretch Armstrong" reaching in and her team leaving her on an island with no movement?

I mean, that is exactly what CC likes and should like...one on one on the perimeter against a player not used to guarding at 20+ feet...her success rate in that situation is pretty damn good. She failed against Wilson that time, but was still the look I think the Fever will live with and I have a feeling it didn't shake CC's confidence at all.

 

[Tom Paris]

Also depends on if you are drafting the entire team, or drafting a singular player than building a team around them via free agency.

I was talking about redrafting the entire league. Probably wasn’t clear in my first post. Round after round draft players. Everyone is available.