From Ticha Penicheiro to Rhyne Howard, Caitlin Clark’s Historic Rookie Season Leaves All Icons in the Dust

Caitlin Clark is far better than you might think. For almost the first half of this season, she has been successfully fooling even the sharpest observers. As she took time to adjust to the women’s league, people mistook it for underperformance. What else would you expect? On May 17th, Clark scored just 9 points and dished out 6 assists in a game against the New York Liberty.

That’s why even a US Screening Committee member said, “Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad.” For Staley, Clark’s performance was the primary reason behind her omission. But as the Indiana Fever rookie showed her true self later in the playoffs, even Staley admitted, “She is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.” Still, it feels like the 22-year-old’s thirst for record-breaking is unquenched. Do you know the records she holds as of now?

Caitlin Clark is the most commanding rookie ever

For those who sensed it, Clark was a dominant force from the beginning. In just three games after being drafted as the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, she recorded 50+ points with 15+ assists. This placed her in the company of legends like Candace Parker, Sue Bird, and Nikki McCray. In the following month, she continued to impress by recording 23 points, 9 assists, and 2 blocks against the Chicago Sky.

She became the first rookie in WNBA history to accomplish this feat. Meanwhile, she also became the fourth player in history to reach these numbers after Candace Parker, Tina Charles, and Courtney Vandersloot. But her real success came with her triple-double triumph. It was this record that truly caught people’s attention. On July 6th, in a showdown against the New York Liberty, Clark racked up 13 assists, 12 rebounds, and 19 points.

This marked her as the first rookie in WNBA history and Indiana Fever’s history to clinch a triple-double. Less than a week later, she once again gave the WNBA a record. After just 24 games, she surpassed the milestone of 400 points, 100 rebounds, and 150 assists this season. For the WNBA, this was unprecedented, as no one else in the league’s history had ever achieved such statistical tallies. But for Clark, it took only half a season to pass.

Ever since Clark joined the league, she has been known for attempting three-pointers from the logo. But her popularity surged when she tied the all-time record for the most threes in a single contest by a rookie in women’s league history. She did so by draining seven shots beyond the arc in a June 8th game against the Washington Mystics.

These seven shots contributed 21 points to her total of 30 points in the game. In the process, she tied the mark previously held by Crystal Robinson, who first claimed it in 1999 with the Liberty. Still, Clark wanted more.

Clark’s thirst for more still remains unquenched

So, in a recent game against the Connecticut Sun, she once again created a buzz around her three-point shots. By hitting 88 three-pointers in her 31 WNBA career games, she surpassed the mark set by Rhyne Howard during the 2022 campaign. For Howard, the record was set in 34 games, with 85 three-pointers. But Clark made it three games earlier. With nine games still left on the slate, she’s surely going to substantially widen the gap even more.

Moving on, Clark’s popularity isn’t just limited to her three-pointers. For her, the most impressive facet is facilitating her teammates. That never got more attention than in the July 17th game against the Dallas Wings. Despite the Fever’s loss, Clark dropped 19 illustrious dimes to claim the record for the most assists in a game.

With this record, she surpassed the previous mark set by guard Courtney Vandersloot, who dished out 18 assists against the Chicago Sky back in 2020. Her assists aren’t just a blessing for the Indiana Fever roster. She has also proved her prowess in the All-Star game. During the playoffs, she racked up 10 assists, the highest by a rookie in an All-Star game.