Caitlin Clark's prolific stretch as a playmaker reached a historic peak on Wednesday, as she dished a WNBA -record 19 assists against the Dallas Wings in a 101-93 defeat.
The sensational Fever rookie has now averaged 12.7 assists in her last seven outings, nearly five more than any other player in the league. Clark's continued development into a high-volume, well-rounded contributor has come at the expense of numerous vocal detractors who spoke out when she was still acclimating to the WNBA, notably Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter.
"Besides three-point shooting, what does she bring to the table, man?" Carter asked about Clark on the social media platform Threads in June. Carter's comments came after a contentious 71-70 defeat to the Fever, where the Sky player delivered a hip-check to Clark that was later upgraded to a flagrant one foul by the WNBA.
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Of course, Clark's transcendent 3-point shooting was the primary driver behind her unquestioned selection as the WNBA's No. 1 overall pick this April and her unprecedented popularity. She attempted 15.7 3-pointers a game her senior season at Iowa , where Clark would eventually overtake Pete Maravich as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA men's and women's basketball, converting countless attempts from largely unchartered range.
But the Naismith Player of the Year's distribution skills earned similarly historic accolades while in college, becoming the first women's player ever to total 3,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career. Clark would directly contribute to more than 69 percent of Iowa's point total in 2024, leading the nation's most efficient offense to the NCAA title game against South Carolina .
Clark's ball-handling came under acute scrutiny upon her entry into the professional ranks, however, as she set the WNBA record for turnovers in a debut and still currently leads the league with 5.6 giveaways per night. Even though these unsightly numbers have remained steady through her recent hot streak, Clark is still maintaining a 2.23 assist-to-turnover ratio over the last seven games, ranking a stellar 22nd among players averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
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Despite her offensive focus, Clark has also ramped up her production in just about every statistical category. The star point guard ranks 16th in total rebounding with 6.7 boards per game and even cracks the top 10 for steals.
While Carter's take on Clark being one-dimensional has aged poorly over the past month, Carter's own mastery on the court has only grown as the season progresses. She's been a thrilling figure in her own right. A whirlwind journey to become the Sky's No. 1 scoring option, Carter started just two games in her last full WNBA season two years ago and was waived by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023.
The 5-foot-9 guard began the season coming off the bench but quickly demanded a starting role after cracking double-figures in eight of her first nine games. Carter is currently averaging a team-high 17.2 points per game and was particularly dominant in Chicago's final game before the All-Star break, dropping 34 points on 58 percent shooting as the Sky upset defending champions Las Vegas 93-85.
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