Caitlin Clark's Comeback AP Award Win Makes Plenty of Sense
The Associated Press (AP) revealed their annual WNBA awards on Sunday, before a full slate of postseason games begins.
Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark earned the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award. She was also selected to the AP All-WNBA First Team, alongside A'ja Wilson, Olivia Miles, Breanna Stewart, and her Fever teammate, Kelsey Mitchell.
The AP WNBA Awards differ from the actual WNBA Awards. A'ja Wilson was named the AP Player of the Year, which is different from her winning the actual WNBA MVP Award (which she's very likely to get). The same goes with the All-WNBA teams and Clark's Comeback Player of the Year honor.
Why Caitlin Clark's Well-Deserved AP Honor Wasn’t on Many People’s Radar
The general reaction to Clark winning the Comeback Player of the Year Award was consistent: She is absolutely deserving of the honor, but many hadn't even considered it for her in the first place.
There are several explanations for this. One is that Comeback Player of the Year is sometimes an afterthought compared with other honors, such as Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and the All-WNBA teams. So people weren't thinking about the award at all, not just that it could or should be given to Clark.
The other is that Clark's star power makes it somewhat hard to fathom that she could ever come back from anything, since she has remained ever-present in women's basketball's collective conscience for three-plus years.
No. 22 missing most of the Fever's season in 2025 feels so far removed because of everything that has happened since then. But the reality is that she essentially missed all of last year with an injury, then returned to an All-WNBA First Team level this year.
If that isn't grounds for Comeback Player of the Year, what is?
Plus, Clark continues to improve. Her 22.3 points per game this season is over three points higher than her previous high as a rookie and a huge increase from the 16.5 points per game in the 13 games she played last year.
Her 44.6% field-goal percentage and her 36.1% three-point percentage are also career highs. Plus, she runs a Fever offense that was the best in WNBA history in terms of points per game.
Clark was more than deserving of this AP Comeback Player of the Year honor. In fact, her earning the honor is obvious in hindsight. That's why it was a pleasant surprise for Clark's fans to receive before Indiana faces the Aces on Sunday.
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Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
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