Ever since Caitlin Clark returned from a month-long Olympic break, she has been unstoppable. Newer records, Player of the Month, or Player of Week, she has only be making her case stronger for the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) race. But seems like that isn’t enough to make one (a rookie) dominant according to Gilbert Arenas, not even Candace Parker.

“When we talk about that, no rookie is in dominating form,” Gilbert Arenas argued on his namesake podcast. The Washington Wizards star opines that rookies are only as good as they can in their first year, but get better by the season to truly have a dominant form. He uses Candace Parker as an example to make the case.

“When we’re saying dominating, you go through history and say, well, ‘Candace Parker dominated her rookie year.’ Cap… She was better than expected in her rookie year. But if you take her rookie year and compare it to her dominant year, is it dominating?” Arenas says. 

Right after this, a fiery debate erupted with remarks on Parker’s 2008 season. While some agreed with the sentiment, others disagreed, saying it wouldn’t justify her 2008 MVP honors. The LA Sparks legend averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists to become the first WNBA player to claim both ROTY and MVP honors. She would go on to win another MVP title and 3 championships, but contrary to Arenas’ claim, Parker’s rookie year might just be what she will be primarily known for.

But her final numbers might not be all the factors. A couple of the most spoken-about names in the league right now, have surpassed her right through, but they may not join the elite list of MVP and ROTY honorees in the same year.

Gilbert Arenas’s words might stand true for other rookies

Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson are undoubtedly the two most spoken-about players in the league right now. One for blazing through her rookie year, the other for having the most dominant season. The Fever rookie is averaging 19.5 points and 8.4 assists, while leading the league in most 3-pointers and assists in a single season. She also recently surpassed Seimone Augustus to record the most points by a rookie at 761. But despite it all, Clark would be missing out on the MVP title thanks to the thrilling run A’ja Wilson is having.

Averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds, contributed towards by 2 40+ point performances, A’ja Wilson is having the best year yet. With her single season scoring and rebound record, furthermore, she is only moving stronger towards a unanimous MVP title.

So while the LV Aces star did put up a 20-point and 8-rebound average in her rookie year, it took Wilson about 6 more to really have her name shine predominantly. The same could go for the Indiana Fever rookie whose impressive stats might just fall short. Sheryl Swoopes would attest to that. “Those are hell of numbers… but to me, that’s not dominating,” she said on the podcast. So we await a dominant season for Indiana Fever no.22.