Is Caitlin Clark the WNBA’s greatest rookie guard of all time? She makes a compelling case

Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA season with higher expectations than any rookie in recent memory. Not only was she tasked with making the Indiana Fever relevant again after a seven-year playoff drought, but the fate of the WNBA itself was placed on her shoulders after sparking a meteoric rise in the popularity of women’s college basketball.

At times, it felt like too much was asked of the 22-year-old Iowa native, especially since she and the Fever began the season with an 11-games-in-20-day slate filled with nationally televised contests against the league’s best teams. A 2-9 start in which Clark had one double-double, three single-digit scoring games and more turnovers than rebounds only seemed to confirm suspicions that WNBA dominance was still a long way off for the college superstar.

But that shaky start is a distant memory. Clark has already taken to the pro game in stride. She leads the WNBA in assists (8.3 per game) and total points created (1,012) via points and assists. Indiana has tied the number of wins this season with a year ago and is fourth in the league for most wins since early July. Clark has also etched her name into the league’s historical record. Against the Seattle Storm on Sunday, she set the record for most assists by a first-year player, passing WNBA legend Ticha Penicheiro with 12 games remaining. Clark also has the most assists in a single game, with 19 dimes in a loss to the Dallas Wings before the Olympic break.

Now that she’s nearly three-quarters of the way through her rookie season, it’s safe to say Clark is having one of the best first seasons in league history, especially at guard.

“It’s amazing what Caitlin has been able to do in her short career so far, it’s just remarkable,” Diana Taurasi said. “What I really love about her is that she loves the game. You can tell she’s worked hard for it. And even in her short WNBA career, there’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of things that have been thrown at her, and she continues to step up and get better every game. So her future is super bright.”

Caitlin Clark turned up the pressure in our first two games back to @AP Player of the Week Awards 🌡️

26.0 points per game
9.2 APG
5.0 RPG photo.twitter.com/utR9xvCaBp

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 21, 2024

Taurasi knows how challenging the league is for young guards. If you think back to the great drafted rookies in WNBA lore (and not some of the inaugural players who debuted later in life, like Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes), almost all of them were frontcourt players. Tamika Catchings finished second in the voting for defensive player of the year and third on the MVP ballot in her first year at small forward. Candace Parker won MVP as a rookie at power forward. In the past decade, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese have all been All-Stars as rookies. Only Rhyne Howard joins Clark on the list of guards who have earned that honor.

Sue Bird is widely regarded as the best point guard in WNBA history. She averaged 14.4 points and 6 assists per game in her debut season with the Storm in 2002. Clark’s averages of 17.8 points and 8.3 assists far surpass Bird’s, and the Indiana rookie also has a higher field goal percentage. As Clark enters the end-of-season awards discussion, consider that Bird was a first-team all-WNBA selection for her output as a rookie.

Taurasi was also the first-round pick when she entered the WNBA 20 years ago. She’s now the league’s all-time leading scorer by a wide margin, scoring 17 points per game as a rookie. It was a different offensive environment, as WNBA teams averaged 67.1 points during the 2004 season, compared to 81.7 in 2024, but topping Taurasi in her first season — another first-team all-WNBA campaign for the former UConn guard — paints a nice picture of what Clark has accomplished as a scorer. Because Clark has made more 3-pointers than Taurasi in her first season, she also has a higher effective field goal percentage than rookie Taurasi.

And what about Clark’s childhood idol Maya Moore? Clark outperforms her in every statistic except 3-point percentage, even though Moore was a superior force on defense and surrounded by far more experienced talent when the Minnesota Lynx won a championship in 2011.

Even in the WNBA’s modern era, Clark compares favorably among high-profile guards. Arike Ogunbowale is the only freshman perimeter player to average a higher percentage (19.1 ppg in 2019) than Clark over the past decade, but Clark has more than doubled the Wings star’s assists (3.2) and rebounds (2.4).

Future Olympians like Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu all needed three or four seasons to reach All-Star level after being picked first. Even prolific college scorers like Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell — who were the top two scorers in NCAA women’s basketball history before Clark and Dyaisha Fair climbed the list in 2024 — didn’t burst onto the scene as bucket-getters in the WNBA. Plum and Mitchell averaged 8.5 and 12.7 points in their rookie seasons, both shooting 34.6 percent from the field as they adjusted to the higher level of play. Now the two are multiple All-Stars, among the league’s best shooting guards and admire Clark’s rise.

“She’s amazing,” Plum said during All-Star Weekend. “I think she’s going to be one of the best players we’ll ever see in this league. The way she’s handled everything with such grace and just kept going and kept performing at a high level, it speaks volumes about who she is.”

There was no question that Clark would eventually reach the level of those peers, but the speed of her arrival is unique. The adjustments that players normally make during the offseason have been made between games. She and Boston have thrived in the screen-and-roll game as they figure out where to put the picks — Clark loves her drag screens up high; now, Clark has more assists for Boston (73) than any other combo in the league. The traps and blitzes that plagued her early in the season have turned into crisp passes to Boston in the short roll, leading to wide-open jumpers for her Indiana teammates.

GALLING DEEPER

Is Caitlin Clark the WNBA’s greatest rookie guard of all time? She makes a compelling case

Clark has separated defenders on her left hand and made hard drives to the basket with her right. Her 3-point percentage (34.7) since those first 11 games is above the league average. She has cut down on her turnovers somewhat, from 5.7 per game in the first month of the season to 5.5 the next month and now 5. Most importantly, the changes have all added up to more wins for the Fever. They just completed a season sweep of the Phoenix Mercury and have victories over the New York Liberty, Minnesota and Seattle — teams that are ahead of Indiana in the rankings, but perhaps not for long.

Clark and the Fever had to walk through fire during the first half of the season, but they’re now reaping the rewards. Indiana has the second-easiest remaining schedule and has played the role of a contender in the two games since the Olympic break, with Clark averaging 26 points and 9.5 assists in the two wins. She’s a quicker learner than most, but the time off has given her a boost.

The WNBA veterans may have had an experience advantage over Clark when the season began, but that margin has dwindled. Clark is in the midst of a season for the ages. That she’s a rookie only means the bar will be raised even higher during her already historic career.

Rookie Rankings

13.6 points per game | 12.3 rebounds per game | 39.8 field goal percentage

The Sky forward continues to dominate the glass, despite struggling to score effectively since returning from the Olympic break. Reese is on course to break Sylvia Fowles’ record for total rebounds in a season and is well ahead of Fowles’ record for rebounds per game (11.9).

5.8 points per game | 3.0 rebounds per game | 36.7 3PT FG%

Fiebich’s box score stats belie her impact on the league’s best team. Her season-long plus-minus of plus-187 is miles ahead of the second-ranked rookie on the list (Olivia Époupa at plus-29), and she fills every role New York needs, especially perimeter defense and knocking down 3s.

11.8 points per game | 3.9 rebounds per game | 45.8 field goal percentage

Jackson is the only rookie shooting at least 45 percent from the field and scoring 10 points per game. She excels in post-ups, trailing only A’ja Wilson, Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner in points per post-up possession, per Second Spectrum.

8.7 points per game | 7.8 rebounds per game | 50.0 field goal percentage

Cardoso has converted 71 percent of her attempts to score since half-time, but she has been unable to stay on the field due to mistakes.

(Photo: Chet White/Getty Images)