Jon Wertheim makes curious comment to Caitlin Clark about WNBA ‘breakthrough’ on ’60 Minutes’

CBS “60 Minutes” journalist Jon Wertheim said on Sunday night's episode that the WNBA as a whole, not Caitlin Clark, was this season's breakout star.

Wertheim broke the WNBA's rise, joining Clark, teammate Aliyah Boston, Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in naming the Rookie of the Year “without a doubt the league's best.” “It's the highlight, but not the charm,” he said of the article. only. “

“The real breakthrough star of the WNBA this season is the W itself,” Wertheim said. “The women's championship game has surpassed the men's after a college season that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. The W Game can garner more attention than the NBA game.

“Across the league, attendance was up 48%.”

But it was Clark who set the standard this season and put together perhaps the best rookie season the WNBA has ever seen. Although Clark wasn't able to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season like Candice Parker did with the Los Angeles Sparks, she did rewrite the record books several times.

Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history to have at least 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in a playoff game in Game 2 of the playoffs against the Connecticut Sun. To be fair, Wertheim interviewed Clark before the playoffs started.

In any case, she became the first rookie to record a triple-double against the New York Liberty in July. She was also the first player in WNBA history to accomplish the feat against the No. 1 team in the standings.

She set a single-game assist record with 19 assists against the Dallas Wings. She set a single-season record with 337 total assists at season's end.

Clark set a rookie record with 122 3-pointers in a single season. This is the second most in a single season. She was also the first player in WNBA history to have 25 points, 10 assists and at least five 3-pointers in multiple career games.

These records are just the tip of the iceberg, and it goes without saying that she was unanimously named the AP WNBA Rookie of the Year.

In terms of ratings, Clark and the Fever was a must-see TV show.

Fox Sports' Michael Mulvihill made that point with this month's statistics. He wrote in X that Caitlin Clark's game drew 1.178 million people, while all other games drew 394,000 people, a difference of 199%.

The breakout star was clear, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, finishing fourth in MVP voting.