Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm in her rookie season, earning the 2024 Rookie of the Year honors in near-unanimous fashion. The Indiana Fever star garnered 66 of 67 possible votes, falling just one vote short of winning the award unanimously. This result sparked frustration from Shannon Sharpe, who likened Clark’s situation to past snubs involving LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal.
On the Nightcap YouTube channel, Sharpe addressed the topic as “Caitlin Clark being SNUBBED of unanimous ROY“. During that program, he said: “I don’t know how you come to the conclusion that she wasn’t the unanimous ROTY.
“She got the team into the playoffs, when they haven’t been to the playoffs, I think, since 2016, 2017; She led them in scoring; She led the rookies in scoring & assists, averaged like 5, 6 rebounds a game; She set records for scoring, assist, 3-pointers… Let’s not get into it,” he ended the topic.
Several fans on social media disagreed with Sharpe, with one user accusing him of making “everything a dramatic persecution of her“. Backing up his statement, Shannon Sharpe tweeted: “Not true. Ppl criticized voter that didn’t vote Shaq or Bron the award unanimously. Look it up.”
While some may argue that the missed vote isn’t a big deal, it did prevent Clark from becoming just the fifth unanimous Rookie of the Year in WNBA history. The lone dissenting vote went to Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, keeping Clark from achieving the rare milestone.
What Did LeBron and Shaq Say About Their Voting Snubs?
When Sharpe compared Clark’s Rookie of the Year voting to LeBron and Shaq’s MVP snubs, he overlooked an important distinction—it was for the unanimous MVP award, not Rookie of the Year. Nevertheless, both NBA legends were vocal about their frustration with missing out on the historic milestone.
In Shaq’s case, the Lakers legend fell one vote short of becoming the first-ever unanimous MVP during the 1999-2000 season, receiving 121 of 122 possible votes. During an interview with Kristine Leah, Shaq made no secret of his lingering frustration: “Fred Idiot Hickman (the broadcaster who didn’t vote for Shaq), I hate him. I don’t need to talk to him. There’s nothing to apologize about. Because he destroyed history being a (censored).”
As for LeBron, the then-Cleveland Cavaliers star also came one vote shy of a unanimous MVP in 2013. Three years later, he revealed just how much the missed opportunity bothered him. “I was heated, but I knew all along (I wasn’t getting a unanimous vote). I just knew it,” James told Chris Haynes on the team website in 2016.
Clark on winning Rookie of the Year
Despite missing out on a unanimous vote, Caitlin Clark remained unfazed. When asked about the award, she expressed gratitude, saying: “I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season—my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season“.
Alongside the WNBA Rookie of the year, Caitlin Clark also earned several other accolades such as WNBA All-Rookie Team, WNBA All-Star, WNBA assists leader, and WNBA rookie all-time scoring leader.