That’s the thing about Caitlin Clark and her star power. Sure, she was crowned ROTY mere hours ago, but somehow, it’s her snubs that seem to grab the loudest headlines. You know exactly what we’re talking about. She literally redefined the debate around the MVP race last year, leaving many to think whether the honor was really about a player’s impact or was it just a shallow popularity award. Even Christie Sides wasn’t having it. “To think she wasn’t even in the top three for MVP – it’s shocking,” she said. After all, the moment she laced up her sneakers and hit the WNBA hardwood, it was less a debut and more a takeover. Now, in Year 2, the MVP chants have already begun to bubble, and of course, A’ja Wilson is in the conversation, too. 

To be honest, no WNBA player has won Rookie of the Year and then a regular-season MVP award a season later. A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Elena Delle Donne won the award in their third season while Candace Parker was the only star to win Rookie of the Year and MVP award in the same season (2008), so there is a chance for Caitlin to create history by winning the MVP award in her second season.

And while Clark may be leading the MVP race—FanDuel has her at +200, nudging past A’ja Wilson’s +230—not everyone’s ready to jump on the hype train. ESPN and DraftKings seem skeptical, too, but Lucy Rhoden? She’s practically holding up a sign that reads, Thou shalt not doubt A’ja Wilson.

Besides Caitlin, this year’s MVP field is a crowded one. Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu are all in the mix, turning predictions into a hard game. But Lucy? She’s not blinking. Skipping over A’ja Wilson when whispering the letters “M-V-P”? That’s a risk she wouldn’t take in a million years. 

“It’s really hard to compare everyone to each other when you don’t even know what the standard is.” She said, “However, I will never publicly be like doubting A’ja Wilson ever. I’ll never do that in a million years. I’ll never do it privately. I’ll never do it in my life ever.” A fair point as the Aces’ star was the unanimous MVP in the 2024 season, only the first player since the Houston Comets’ Cynthia Cooper who won the title in the league’s inaugural season of 1997.

When it comes to Indiana’s favorite daughter, Lucy Rhoden sort of stirred the pot. She floated a theory that might just shake up the Caitlin-for-MVP narrative. Remember the Fever’s off-season moves built around Clark? Yeah, they could actually hurt her MVP chances. Why? As per Rhoden, with new talent and smart draft additions, Indiana’s shaping up to be a legit title contender—and that means less pressure on Caitlin to carry the load and fewer chances to churn out a historic season as an individual player. Great news for the Fever. Slightly trickier news for her MVP campaign.

“I think that Caitlin will get better,” Lucy admitted, “but I think that she’ll get less, you know, prominent within her own team…Which is a good thing for the Fever to win. I don’t necessarily know if that translates to the MVP race or not. But I’m not going to doubt A’ja Wilson. So, I’ll just publicly say right now—I’m picking A’ja Wilson to win MVP.”

Well, Rhoden picked up her ‘safe’ choice for the 2025 WNBA MVP, but still, it could be a close battle for the title, as evident by the sportsbooks. However, there is a perspective at play.

Besides A’ja, Clark winning MVP could prove costly for someone else, too

As reported by ESPN, Clark’s rise to the top of the MVP odds has a lot to do with heavy betting in her favor. Several major sportsbooks say over half of all MVP bets are backing her, and it’s not just small wagers—big money is rolling in too. At ESPN BET, a whopping 77.7% of the total MVP betting handle is because of the Iowa Hawkeyes legend. So, yes, it is mostly thanks to her fans. And as per many sportsbook directors, they have to accustom themselves to that.

“The thing about Clark is that she just draws a lot of money no matter what [odds] we put her up at,” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. “She’s not some big underdog, her odds are low, so I don’t think we’re going to get hurt too bad if she ends up winning.”

 Why he says the part about not getting hurt too badly is because of the liabilities in the betting exchange. And those are only supposed to increase with Fever posing a ‘hazard’ as a whole— if the Fever do well, Clark likely looks even better in MVP voting, making both liabilities hit at once. As ESPN BET’s director of North American sports trading, Adrian Horton called the situation the “biggest liability by a wide margin.” 

So, what Rhoden said about the offseason moves proving costly for Clark? Well, if the team places their pieces well, things could become costly for some other people.