Their Lights Stay Green: A Comparison of Caitlin, Steph, Dame, and Sabrina’s Shooting Ability

In late November 2020, Caitlin Clark shot her first three-pointer in college in a nearly empty arena. Time was ticking down in the first quarter of the Hawkeyes’ game against Northern Iowa. Clark forced a buy at center half and made his way to the right wing. She stood up with two defenders around her. Her attempt was blocked.

That didn’t discourage her.

Clark is now a senior and arguably the biggest star in both men’s and women’s college basketball. She made more than 400 3-pointers during her college career and rewrote the record book – at Iowa and nationally. “We see it every day in practice: she hits one (shot) that blows your mind, or makes one pass that makes your jaw drop,” Iowa assistant Abby Stamp said.

Clark passes with pinpoint accuracy. Teammates and coaches alike praise her work ethic and improved leadership skills. But it’s Clark’s three-point shooting that often catches viewers’ attention right away. She has been compared to some other recent greats in the basketball world – Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, to name a few. But how does Clark actually stack up against such marksmen?

Although the NBA and college three-point lines have different distances (the NBA is 23 feet, 9 inches at the top of the arc, and the college line and WNBA line are both 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches at the top), The Athletics delved into six categories to show how productive Clark really is and explain how she became so deadly from behind the arc. The comparison – use the button at the top of most charts to scroll through Clark’s numbers from last season and this year (with games through December 14) – shows how this college star already ranks as some all-time professional greats.

Clark’s comfort shooting from long range comes from years of practice. During a visit home to Des Moines, Clark often shoots 100 logo 3-pointers during practices, her trainer Kevin O’Hare said. Her goal is to earn at least 50. “It’s something she’s always been working on,” O’Hare says. He adds that before Clark makes even one attempt, she “does all the fundamental things to get to that point.” Since she tries so much from beyond 30 feet, a 25 to 30 foot 3 is very much within range.

Through Dec. 14, just over 31 percent of Clark’s shot attempts came from between 25 and 30 feet of the rim, which is 22.1 percent above this year’s national college average, according to CBB Analytics. She scores 40.5 percent on such looks, more than 11 percent more than her peers.

It is no coincidence that she photographs from such a distance, and it is no coincidence that such attempts take place. In addition to offseason workouts, Stamp says Clark works on such efforts before, during and after practice. The Iowa bigs also often set higher screens in practices when Clark has the ball, knowing she is more likely to pull up in games from such distances. In that regard, she’s similar to Curry, Lillard and Ionescu in the way their own teams adjust spacing when they’re on the floor.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder has always had an offensive mind and implored her teams to play with pace. The setup was ideal for Clark, who likes to push the basketball and make plays before her opponents can get started. Clark has made more than 50 threes in the first ten seconds of possession this season. Last season, she nailed 137 3s above the break, shooting 39 percent on such attempts. “Sometimes she gets the best look right away when we meet half court,” Stamp said.

In these early-shot situations, Clark looks for a balancing act, avoiding forcing shots and instead figuring out when to get teammates involved and allow possession to develop. “It’s not an easy science, the shot selection question with her, because we’ve seen her make so many challenging shots in practice and throughout her career,” Stamp said. Iowa considers a good effort for all its players as one that is both in rhythm and within range. Of course, Clark’s reach is different from her peers, as is her willingness to move on the fly. She’s similar to Curry in that regard, with the Warriors star averaging 5.2 three-point attempts with 15 to 24 seconds left on the shot clock last season.

Not surprisingly, Clark is Iowa’s main creator. According to CBB Analytics, her usage rate this season is in the 100th percentile nationally, behind only USC freshman star JuJu Watkins. Clark is not only an elite shooter, but also passes with precision. As her college career has progressed, she has found new ways to finish around the rim as well. “We are so happy with the way she has developed her entire game,” Stamp said.

But from the perimeter, Clark has shown she can create her own shot and capitalize on kickouts from her teammates. Last season, she led the nation in unassisted three-pointers, making 1.8 per game. She leads the nation again this season and is also in the 98th percentile in three-pointers assisted, making 0.7 more per game. “I would compare her to Steph; Of course you take it with a grain of salt,” says O’Hare. “In how far she shoots, her release, how good she is with the ball in her hands to create things.” As the data shows, Clark, Lillard and Curry can all take advantage of assisted and unassisted opportunities. Ionescu has proven she can shoot from long range in the WNBA, but over the past three seasons she has made 0.56 unassisted 3s per game.

Clark rarely shies away from attempting a three-pointer on the catch. As a freshman at Iowa, she nailed 116 catch-and-shoot 3s, shooting 46.6 percent, according to Synergy Sports. Both her total catch-and-shoot attempts and percentage dropped as a sophomore. But throughout her tenure, the Hawkeyes’ coaching staff has continued to develop that part of Clark’s three-point arsenal. “We really worked on getting off screens, changing speed, changing direction, sprinting to the ball, getting your feet ready, getting yourself squared up so you can catch more off screens and shooting,” says Stamp.

In private practices, that meant laying out cones to mark Iowa’s big setup screens and simulating the many defensive machinations an opponent could undertake when trying to slow Clark. She is on pace to shoot more catch-and-shoot 3s this season than previously in her college career. Not surprisingly, this is an area where she is doing well, shooting a better percentage than Lillard in his final season with the Portland Trail Blazers and nearly matching Curry’s performance in 2022-2023. Clark’s current shooting percentage on catch-and-shoot 3s is also superior to Ionescu’s during her final season at Oregon, when she shot a still-impressive 34 percent on such opportunities, according to Synergy Sports.

Few, if any, players have had a greener light than Clark. With each milestone, she reinforces the fact that she has accomplished much that no other player in college has done. Still, Stamp comes up with another comparison for Clark. She cites Megan Gustafson, a former Naismith Player of the Year, who was Iowa’s all-time leading scorer until Clark passed her earlier this season. Gustafson is a 6-foot-4 post player who attempted just two threes in four years at Iowa, but she and Clark are both “masters of their craft” in Stamp’s eyes.

Last weekend, Clark moved to No. 9 all-time in career scoring in women’s basketball. If she stays healthy and maintains her current scoring average, she is on track to pass former Washington star Kelsey Plum for the No. 1 spot before the end of the season. Whether Clark then decides to go to the WNBA or return for a fifth year returning to Iowa remains uncertain, but her success has already put her in conversations with basketball’s elite.

— The Athletics‘s Seth Partnow contributed to this report.

(Illustration and data images: John Bradford / The Athletics; Photo by Stephen Curry: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images, Photos by Caitlin Clark: G Fiume/Getty Images and Steph Chambers/Getty Images, Photo by Sabrina Ionescu/Mitchell Leff)