Caitlin Clark made more WNBA history Wednesday night. The Indiana Fever rookie sensation recorded 19 assists against the Dallas Wings, a new WNBA record for most assists in a single game. The previous record was 18 from Courtney Vandersloot, which she set on Aug. 31, 2020, with the Chicago Sky.
Clark’s first assist of the game happened at the 8:25 mark in the first quarter, feeding Aliyah Boston for a driving layup. Clark’s 19th assist, the record-setting dime, occurred at 2:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, setting up a Kelsey Mitchell 23-foot 3-pointer.
“I just try to set my teammates up for success,” Clark said. “I think at times I can almost over-pass. There probably could have been a few times where instead of passing that leads to a turnover I might have, I can probably shoot the ball, but especially with (Boston), I’m just looking to set her up so much, like my eyes are always on our post players.”
In addition to her 19 assists, Clark dropped 24 points and six rebounds on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor. The Fever lost 101-93 to the Wings but it didn’t stop Clark from rewriting the WNBA history book. She is also the fastest player in league history to 400 points and 200 assists, getting there in 26 games compared to 33 for the previous record-holder Sue Bird. Clark currently has 213 assists, a franchise record for the most in a season.
In addition to breaking the single-game assist record previously held by Vandersloot, Clark became the first player in WNBA history to post at least 20 points, 15 assists and five rebounds in a game, per Across the Timeline. During her collegiate career at Iowa, Clark had a career-high of 18 assists against Penn State in January 2022.
“She has the ability in her vision to see things, and we’re just getting better and better as we play with her to be on the same page with her,” Fever coach Christie Sides said of Clark. “I know she’s not hitting the shots she wants to hit. She’s really down on herself about not making some shots she would normally hit, but 19 assists is incredible.”
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Fever in this year’s WNBA Draft, will be participating in the WNBA All-Star Game, as she received the most votes in the fan-voting portion of the balloting. Having already won Rookie of the Month in May, Clark entered Wednesday averaging 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. She is leading first-year players in scoring and assists and is tied for third in the league in 3-pointers made (71).
Wednesday’s Fever-Wings game was the last before the WNBA All-Star weekend and the Olympic break. The Fever enter the break with an 11-15 record.
Despite Clark’s record night, she called the latest loss “frustrating.”
“I feel like we’ve left two games out there that are very winnable for us going into the break, whether the Mystics at home and then obviously this one,” Clark said. “And then we’ve won other matchups that are really tough for us.
“So I think that’s the biggest area for our team to grow. … You can’t leave these opportunities on the table.”
The WNBA All-Star Game is Saturday at 2:30 p.m. HST.
Clark came into the league with high expectations during her rookie season and continues to deliver. She leads the league in assists per game (8.2) and has created more points (scoring plus assists) than any player in the WNBA. This latest accomplishment demonstrates that she isn’t just breaking rookie marks — as she did when she recorded the first triple-double for a first-year player — but doing things unprecedented in league history.
It’s been a banner year for herself and fellow rookie Angel Reese, who also broke a longstanding WNBA record for consecutive double-doubles, as the historic 2024 rookie class has helped bring the league forward.
Unfortunately for Clark, the record-breaking night came in defeat as the Fever couldn’t hold onto a six-point fourth-quarter lead. Clark committed two turnovers in the final minute, part of her six for the night. It’s notable that the rookie also holds the league record for most turnovers — now 145 — in a season, a mark she set against Minnesota in the 25th game of the season, and she keeps adding to that tally.
“The late turnover definitely kills for sure,” Clark said Wednesday. “It’s a fine line of they’re up pressuring me so I kind of got behind them and was able to attack and then I tried to pull it out and kind of lost my handle while getting poked from behind. … It’s really hard to win a game once it becomes three possessions and (at) that point we had it at two.”
Dallas scored 28 points off Indiana’s 18 giveaways, and that’s a part of her game Clark will have to rein in for her team’s success to match her individual accolades.
