Rookie guard Caitlin Clark is catching fire despite the Indiana Fever’s struggles and showing why she’ll likely be one of the WNBA’s best players.
On Tuesday night, the Fever fell 88-82 to the Los Angeles Sparks (2-4), but Clark turned in her best performance thus far. The No. 1 overall draft pick tallied 30 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
According to the WNBA’s X account, she became the first rookie and fourth player in league history to log this stat line.
Despite the loss, Caitlin Clark netted her first 30-ball, recording a new career-high! The rookie was getting it done on both sides of the floor, bringing in a mean stat line:
30 PTS
5 REB
6 AST
3 STL
3 BLKS#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/5pfzNFI78k— WNBA (@WNBA) May 29, 2024
Big performance with a major milestone
Caitlin Clark becomes the 1st rookie & 4th player to record 30 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, and 3 BLK in a game as she joins:
Diana Taurasi
Angel McCoughtry
Breanna Stewart#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/GwACkc459b— WNBA (@WNBA) May 29, 2024
“I think I just played with an aggressive mindset,” Clark told the media following the loss. “I think that was the biggest thing — to play downhill the best I could. We did some good things, and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”
Some may have expected Clark — NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer (3,951 points) — to turn the Fever into a contender immediately. However, No. 1 picks rarely do that. Cassandra Negley of Yahoo Sports reported teams are a collective 384-584 during their first overall pick’s rookie seasons.
Recently retired power forward Candace Parker led the Sparks to the Western Conference Finals during her rookie season in 2008. Still, she entered a much better situation than Clark.
L.A. only had two losing seasons before Parker’s arrival, and Hall of Fame center Lisa Leslie served as a mentor. The Fever, meanwhile, hasn’t finished above .500 since 2016. Over the past four seasons, Indiana has failed to win 10 or more games three times.
The Fever may face a long rebuild and miss the playoffs again this season, but Clark’s trajectory should give the franchise hope for its future. Per ESPN’s Michael Voepel, the 22-year-old is the first player in WNBA history to have at least 100 points and 50 assists through her first eight games.
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