Caitlin Clark breaks WNBA assist record and continues Rookie of the Year campaign

Caitlin Clark’s brilliant rookie year has earned another place in WNBA history.

The Indiana Fever defender broke the league record for assists in a season with her 317th assist of the season on Friday against the Las Vegas Aces, surpassing the mark set by Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas last season.

She accomplished this with an assist for Kelsey Mitchell on a throw-in.

Clark already held the WNBA single-game assist record after recording 19 assists against the Dallas Wings on July 17. After a slow start to the season, she looked every bit the league-changing talent she was promised to be when she broke college records at Iowa.

This all becomes even more impressive when you consider that Clark has been playing competitive basketball since last October, going from the NCAA championship game to her WNBA debut in just 37 days.

Caitlin Clark continues to make history

In addition to assists, Clark is also within striking distance of the WNBA record for most three-pointers in a season. She entered Friday with 112, 16 fewer than Sabrina Ionecu’s 128, with three games remaining. And it goes without saying that after 38 games, she has no shortage of rookie records. The WNBA has simply never seen a combination of shooter and playmaker like her.

However, not every record is good, as Clark already broke the all-time record on Friday with 209 turnovers in a season. The previous record holder was Thomas with 137 last year.

That inefficiency hasn’t hurt the Fever too much, as the team secured its first playoff berth since 2016 last week, ending the longest playoff drought in WNBA history.

All of this makes Clark the clear favorite to win WNBA Rookie of the Year, despite some competition in terms of records. Her past, present and future rival Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky held the record for most rebounds in a season and longest double-double streak before suffering a season-ending wrist injury.

Theoretically, however, Aces superstar A’ja Wilson could still overtake Reese if she scores 28 rebounds in her final four games of the season.