Caitlin Clark sets new WNBA rookie assists record

Caitlin Clark looks refreshed after the WNBA’s Olympic break. In her first game back, she delivered a standout performance with 29 points and 10 assists, and shortly after, she set a new WNBA rookie record for the most assists in a single season.

Clark broke the record previously held by Ticha Penicheiro, who set it in 1998 with 224 assists over 30 games for the now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs. Clark reached the milestone in just 28 games.

The record-breaking assist came when Clark passed to Lexie Hull during the second quarter of Indiana’s 92-75 victory over the Seattle Storm. However, there’s some debate about whether this assist was the 225th or 226th of her season, due to discrepancies in records reported by different sources, including the WNBA and ESPN. The league’s celebratory post mentions 224 assists, but official confirmation on the exact number is still pending.

Despite the confusion, Clark’s achievements keep growing. She currently has 232 assists and continues to set new records.

Looking ahead, Clark is also in the race to break the WNBA’s single-season assists record. With 12 games left in the regular season, she needs to average 7.0 assists per game to match the record of 316 assists set by Alyssa Thomas during the 2023 season, which was the first year the WNBA extended its schedule to 40 games. Clark is already leading the league with an average of 8.3 assists per game.