The WNBA is abuzz with Caitlin Clark's pending league debut.
She's a heavy favorite (-700) to be named Rookie of the Year, but could have her eyes set on a bigger prize. According to Fan Duel, Clark also has the third-best odds (+1000) to bring home MVP honors.
Accomplishing both is much easier said (or written) than done. The list of players in major professional sports to achieve the feat is short. Here's our ranking of the athletes to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in their first season in their respective league.
Stats: six goals, seven assists
Playoffs: L, semifinals
This isn't a recency bias putting Gardiner, who debuted during the Calvin Coolidge administration, at the bottom of the list. The former Montreal Canadien was 35 when he made his NHL debut, having previously played for the Calgary Tigers of the Big 4 Hockey League and later the Western Canadian Hockey League. He also technically wasn't awarded both honors, either, as the league began naming its best rookie in 1933. However, almost a century later, he remains the only player to win the league's MVP award in his first NHL season.
Stats: .350 batting average, .381 on-base percentage, 242 total hits, 56 stolen bases
Playoffs: L, ALCS
Suzuki took baseball by storm during his first year in the league. The slim, 5-foot-11, 175-pound outfielder stood out in baseball's steroid era and immediately proved to be one of the league's best hitters.
He was incredible as the Seattle Mariners' leadoff man, recording the most hits by a rookie in league history. Like Gardiner, Suzuki had years of professional experience under his belt and made his MLB debut at 27, docking him points on our list. From 1992 to 2000, he played in the Japan Pacific League for the Orix Blue Wave and batted .353 with a .421 on-base percentage.
Stats (per game): 13.8 points, 18.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists
Playoffs: L, Eastern Conference semifinals
Unseld's arrival helped turn around the Baltimore Bullets. They went 36-46 the season before he was selected No. 2 overall in the 1968 NBA Draft. During his first year in the league, the Bullets went 57-25 and finished atop the Eastern Conference. Unseld was a rebounding machine — per Stathead, he's one of six players in NBA history with two 30-rebound games as a rookie. Only three players (Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Walt Bellamy) averaged more rebounds per game during their rookie season.
Stats (per game): 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 blocks, 1.3 steals
Playoffs: L, Western Conference finals
Like Unseld, Parker's arrival sparked an instant turnaround for her pro squad. Los Angeles went 10-24 in 2007, missing the postseason for the first time since 1998. After drafting Parker with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, the Sparks went 20-14 and nearly reached the WNBA Finals before San Antonio's Sophia Young's heartbreaking buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the West Finals forced a decisive Game 3, which the Silver Stars won, 76-72.
Stats: .331 batting average, .401 on-base percentage, 175 total hits, 21 home runs, 105 runs batted in
Playoffs: L, World Series
The Red Sox nearly ended the Babe Ruth curse 29 years earlier during Lynn's historic rookie season. The first player in major league history to receive Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season, Lynn and the Red Sox entered the sixth inning of Game 7 of the 1975 World Series up 3-0 on the Reds. They allowed four unanswered runs over the next four innings to lose in devastating fashion, and Lynn grounded out in his last at-bat. He finished the series 7-for-25 at the plate and would never make it back to the Fall Classic.
Stats: 202 carries, 942 yards, 10 total touchdowns
Playoffs: L, Championship
Nearly 70 years after Brown burst on the scene, his rookie campaign is no less impressive. He's the only player in NFL history to secure both Rookie of the Year and MVP honors in the same season. In Week 9 of his rookie year against the Rams, Brown ran for an NFL-record (since broken) 237 rushing yards and scored four touchdowns in a 45-31 win. On his most famous run of the day, Brown was met by a swarm of Rams defenders five years behind the line of scrimmage but somehow broke away for a 69-yard touchdown.
Stats (per game): 37.6 points, 27 rebounds, 2.3 assists
Playoffs: L, Eastern Conference finals
Chamberlain began his near-mythical NBA career two years after Brown commenced his run in the NFL and authored the greatest rookie season in sports history. He holds the NBA's rookie records for points and rebounds per game and led the Philadelphia Warriors to the Eastern Conference Finals a season after they went 32-40 and missed the playoffs. Chamberlain's legendary career would grow to include the sport's only 100-point game, and he also held the league's all-time scoring title for over 18 years, from Feb. 14, 1966 to April 5, 1984.
He did a lot of mind-boggling things during his 14-year career, and it all started when he was a rookie.
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There are only 450 spots in the NBA, 540 if you count two-way contracts. Each year, there's a group of players who hit the free-agency market and quietly fade into the obscurity of professional basketball outside of the NBA's bubble. Most of those players head overseas, either to Europe, Australia or China. In recent years, the jump from the NBA to Europe has grown in popularity. The talent level across the top European leagues has dramatically increased, with some teams now closing in on NBA levels of skill and athleticism. And with that talent increase, the pay has started to rise, too. It makes sense, then, that some notable names for NBA fans have made the jump across the Atlantic this summer. Here are the top three players to head to Europe since the start of the offseason. Lonnie Walker IV This time last summer, there was significant chatter about whether Lonnie Walker IV would earn the 15th and final spot on the Boston Celtics roster. The same roster that had won the NBA championship just months earlier. After seeing his Exhibit 10 deal with Boston expire, Walker ended up heading to Lithuania to play for Zalgiris Kaunas before the Philadelphia 76ers brought him back for the second half of the season. Now, after failing to secure a new contract with the Sixers, Walker is heading to Israel, where he's signed a three-year, $10 million deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Walker will now be one of the highest earners within all of European basketball. Oshae Brissett Walker will join Oshae Brissett over in Tel Aviv, as the former NBA champion has also signed with the franchise this summer. Brissett is just 18 months removed from playing a role on the Celtics roster that won the 2024 championship. Brissett doesn't have the athleticism and scoring skill that Walker brings to the table. As such, he won't be bringing home the same level of pay packet. However, he will undoubtedly be one of the better players, both in the Israeli league and in Europe. Brissett leaves the NBA having played in 233 games, averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on 41.9 percent shooting from two-point range and 33.7 percent from deep. Shake Milton Nobody can deny that Shake Milton has outperformed expectations after entering the NBA as the 54th pick in the 2018 draft. He leaves the NBA having suited up for 359 regular-season games and 40 postseason outings. Milton has spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Impressively, he's consistently earned playing time, regardless of what roster he's been on. Nevertheless, it would appear that Milton has sought out an opportunity where he can be a core member of a rotation. According to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews, Milton has signed a two-year deal to play in Serbia for Partizan Belgrade. If he can adjust to the physicality of the Serbian league and the slightly different rules set, Milton could become a high-level player in the domestic league and perhaps even in Europe.
The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.
Sunday marked the last day of Week 1 of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The next time the team takes the field, it will be with pads, on Tuesday. Before we get there, however, let's take a look at everything of note from day four of Steelers training camp practice in Latrobe... Offensive Takeaways LT Broderick Jones leaves 7 Shots after getting his lower body looked at. Sits out individual drills and is replaced by Dylan Cook for the rest of the practice Rookie TE/FB DJ Thomas-Jones injures ankle RT Troy Fautanu was yanked from 7 Shots after a false start WR Roman Wilson continues to work outside, opposed to the slot Rookie QB Will Howard receives first team reps in 7on7 What it means No one player will have a bigger impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense, and frankly, the team in general, than Broderick Jones. He needs not only to be urpight, but to be good. Mike Tomlin said both Jones and WR Montana Lemonious-Craig have soft tissue injuries, while DJ Thomas-Jones seems to have one that is a little more severe. Similar to what happened with Zach Frazier yesterday, the Steelers are proving they have no time for growing pains after pulling Troy Fautanu on Sunday. Fautanu and Frazier may only be second-year players, but the team needs them to perform like seasoned professionals. It's been interesting to see the alignment of the WRs in Pittsburgh through the first four days of practice, as Roman Wilson has dominated the outside role compared to Calvin Austin, who is playing the slot. After making some nice plays in practice yesterday, Will Howard took some first-team reps in the team's 7on7 period on Sunday. The arrow contimues to point up for the sixth rounder. Defensive Takeaways Defense wins 7 shots 4-3 Cole Holcomb and Ryan McCollum get into scrum and go to the ground Rookie Yayha Black has multiple pass breakups on Mason Rudolph What it means The first four practices in Pittsburgh were dominated by the defense. The same proved true on Sunday as the team won 7 Shots yet again. We'll see if that changes when the pads come on next week. While the real fights will probably start in the dog days of camp, the Steelers had their first big scrum in Latrobe on Sunday, and it featured Cole Holcomb and center Ryan McCollum. Continuing the trend of rookies making an impact, Yahya Black helped set that tone on Sunday with multiple pass breakups at the line of scrimmage against Mason Rudolph. Tough to ask for a better start to camp than what the Steelers' rookies put forth.
The Cincinnati Reds (56-50) completed the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays (53-53) with a 2-1 win on Sunday. This win was all about the pitching for the Reds. BRADY SINGER SHOVES Brady Singer (8-8, 4.60 ERA) was ridiculously efficient on the afternoon. He pitched 7 1/3 innings and needed just 97 pitches to get there. His one and only run allowed was a solo home run off the bat of Taylor Walls. That was the final batter he faced. In his last start, Singer got rocked by the Washington Nationals and din’t even get our of the third inning. This is a very encouraging development as he looked a lot more like the April version of himself. PUT THE BALL IN PLAY When you don’t strike out, good things happen. Neither ball left the infield on both scoring plays for the Reds. Runs scored, nonetheless. Austin Hays got the Reds scoring started with a crazy bouncing ball that confounded Rays shortstop Taylor Walls. TJ Friedl kept his head down and never stopped running to score from second base. Then Gavin Lux added the second run on a soft ground ball fielded by Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda. As Matt McLain had stolen his way to third in the previous pitch, Aranda had no prayer of getting the Reds second baseman at the plate and settled to get Lux at first. TIRED BULLPEN Emilio Pagan got the high-pressure save as he pitched for the third-straight day. He struck out Yandy Diaz and got a couple of fly outs to close out the one-run sweep of a win. This is the third time in 2025 that Pagan has pitched in three consecutive games. Tony Santillan bailed out the Reds in the eighth after Singer allowed the homer to Walls. This is the fourth time this year that Santillan has pitched three consecutive games, and the second set this month. DIFFICULT OUTS While the Reds did not fill up the scoreboard, or even the box score on Shane Baz (8-7, 4.61), they made him work. He threw 100 pitches to get through five innings. Reds hitters were putting together the kind of at-bats that you would be proud to see in October. The Reds now welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town on Monday. Nick Lodolo will start for the Reds while the Dodgers have not yet named a starter. First pitch will be at at 7:10 PM.