Caitlin Clark sets another rookie record for WNBA

I am a bit amazed that I continue to stay interested in the WNBA. In the 20 years that the league has existed I think that most people and including me, kind of forgot that there actually was a professional women's league in the USA but that all changed once Caitlin Clark was the number 1 draft pick this season. She has done exceptionally well in the league despite the fact that the press seem to be against her, the other players in the league are out to get her and regularly commit egregious fouls against her, and at times it seems as though her own coach is working against her as well.

This hasn't stopped this phenom from doing exceptionally well with her team the Indiana Fever though, and last night she set another record for any rookie of all time in the WNBA.

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Clark is mainly known for the fact that she can nail 3-pointers from well beyond the required range. She can nail shots from nearly half-court in a way that nobody else, men or women, seems to be capable of doing. However, it is her range of abilities all over the court that makes her the incredible player that she is. Caitlin is dangerous because if you don't guard her very closely, she can nail baskets from almost anywhere on the court - especially if she is having a hot night. The fact that she is always closely marked by a defending player, sometimes two of them, leads to her having a lot of opportunities to get assists.

Earlier in the year she set the single game assist record for a rookie in one of the very first games she played with Indiana, and later on in the season she set the single-game assist record for anyone, rookie or not with a staggering 19 assists in a single game vs. the Dallas Wings. Unfortunately, Indiana still managed to lose that game.

She is basically the most well-rounded player I have ever seen in women's basketball and I would say she is better at assists than most of the professional men. Her "vision" is astounding and at times it is too good and it is actually her teammates' inability to receive such incredible passes that leads to Clark having a relatively high amount of turnovers in many games. A lot of the haters out there attempt to suggest that Caitlin turns the ball over too often but honestly, this is the fault of her teammates more often than not. I have seen her hit her teammates in the hands or even in the numbers but they are just incapable of receiving a pass that is so perfect.

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It's pretty easy to set up an assist when the opposition is so afraid of your ability to score that they sometimes put 3 defenders on one person and therefore leave at least 2 people wide open.

Yesterday, Caitlin surpassed the single season assist record for a rookie of all time in the WNBA. She now has 232 assists on the year and the previous record, which was set back in 1998, was 224. What makes this so incredible isn't just that she has done this as a rookie in her very first year, but the season is far from over with 12 games remaining. By the time this is all said and done she will absolutely destroy this record and there is no reason why she wont best it by 100 or more assists. Should she keep this pace of averaging around 10 assists per game, she will beat the record for assists in a season by any player, rookie or otherwise.

I don't think there really should even be a discussion who Rookie of the Year is for 2024, but there is a lot of detractors that are constantly trying to play down Caitlin's success but mostly it just kind of appears like jealousy or even racism.

If for some reason Caitlin ends up not getting Rookie of the Year, there will be a lot of deserved criticism about that decision.

If you are not watching these games I highly suggest you at least have a look at some of the recaps

You only have to get about 20 seconds into that one before she has 2 absolutely stellar assists.

Being able to nail 3-pointers is a great skill to have for sure but it Caitlin's well-rounded skills in almost anything that makes her the force that she is. Combine this with the fact that she plays very clean and therefore stays out of foul trouble and I think it is safe to say that the best is yet to come. She is already looking like a potential GOAT in her very first season. This upsets a lot of the seasoned veterans of the game but honestly, they need to have some respect and be gracious because if it wasn't for Caitlin Clark, this sport would still be getting watched by almost no one.