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Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is a first-team All-WNBA selection

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is a first-team All-WNBA selection

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts during a first-round WNBA basketball playoff game against the Connecticut Sun, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

The tributes continue for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark added another accolade to her outstanding rookie season as a first-team All-WNBA selection, the league announced Wednesday. Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier were unanimous first-team selections.

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas round out the positionless five-man first team. The top five All-WNBA point scorers finished in the exact order of the Most Valuable Player vote won by Wilson.

Clark is the first rookie to earn first-team honors since Candace Parker with Los Angeles in 2008. The Rookie of the Year is the fifth rookie to be honored since 2000, joining Sue Bird (Seattle, 2002), Tamika Catchings (Indiana, 2002) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix, 2004). Clark received 52 first-team votes from a national panel of 67 sportswriters and broadcasters. She was excluded from a ballot.

The Liberty led all teams with three overall selections, and no other team had more than one.

Wilson, who was unanimously named MVP, and Collier, the Defensive Player of the Year, were represented in every first-place vote and totaled 335 points (five points for first team, three for second team). Wilson averaged a league-record 26.9 points per game and led the league with 2.58 blocks. She ranked second in rebounding (11.9 per game). Collier averaged 20.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 1.91 spg and could have received top MVP votes.

It is Wilson's third consecutive season as a first-team player and fourth overall. Collier is a three-time All-WNBA selection and two-time first-team selection. She led the Minnesota Lynx to their first Finals appearance since the end of their dynasty era in 2017.

Stewart (331 points) fell two votes short of unanimous honors in first-place votes, averaging 20.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.68 spg and 1.26 bpg. The former two-time MVP has only missed out on All-WNBA honors once. It is her sixth first-team honor in seven selections.

Clark (302 points) averaged a league-high 8.4 assists per game, as well as 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. She led the league with 122 3-pointers, ranking second all-time in a regular season. She led the Fever back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and broke regular season records in her debut season.

Thomas (255 points) was left out of eight rounds of voting and had 39 first-place votes. It's her second honor. She averaged the second-most assists (7.9) and again led the league in triple-doubles with three assists, bringing her career total to 11. All five players led their teams to the postseason.

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu finished sixth, falling out of first place with 15 first-place votes and 43 second-team votes (204 points). After the All-Star/Olympic break, Ionescu's shooting performance plummeted. She also struggled with a neck problem that left her disabled. It's the third straight season the 2020 No. 1 overall pick is playing on the second team.

Kahleah Copper (Mercury, 167 points), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm, 154 points), Arike Ogunbowale (Wings, 107 points) and Jonquel Jones (Liberty, 102 points) round out the second team. It's the first All-WNBA honor for Copper, the seventh overall pick in 2016 who worked his way from the bench to 2021 Finals MVP to a starting role and Olympic gold. Ogwumike is on her seventh All-WNBA team, Jones on her fifth and Ogunbowale on her third.

Clark, Ionescu and Ogunbowale are the only true guards to receive enough votes out of the 10 selected. Copper is listed as a guard-forward. The league and voters often favor forwards for postseason honors and ballots are due the morning after the final day of the regular season, so Ionescu's playoff performances were not taken into account.

Each member of the All-WNBA first team will receive a $10,300 bonus on salaries that hover around $240,000. Second team winners receive $5,150.

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