Caitlin Clark deservedly earned 3rd-place MVP votes to cap standout rookie season

Now that the WNBA regular season is over, awards have been decided and Caitlin Clark's phenomenal rookie campaign is being cemented in history. Not only was she named the unanimous AP Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-WNBA player, Clark also received MVP votes.

Though A'ja Wilson won the award unanimously, Clark put together a good enough campaign to finish fourth in voting, and she even received a few votes for third place.

In fact, Clark's six third-place votes were second most to Breanna Stewart, and she led all players with 26 fourth-place votes. With an additional 22 fifth-place votes, Clark tallied 130 points to finish fourth in voting, just ahead of the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas.

Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx and Stewart finished second and third in voting, respectively.

Clark's top-five finish isn't too surprising after her historic first year helped catapult the Indiana Fever from 13 wins last season to 20 wins and a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Clark played all 40 games and led the Fever with 19.2 points per game and a league-best 8.4 assists. Her Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell also received third- and fifth-place MVP votes.

Indiana opens the playoffs Sunday against Thomas and the Sun.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Caitlin Clark deservedly earned 3rd-place MVP votes to cap standout rookie season