Shaquille O’Neal’s pick of Angel Reese for WNBA Rookie of the Year could be contested after Caitlin Clark’ s historic outing.
On Wednesday, Clark tallied the most assists in a single game in league history with 19 in her Indiana Fever ’s 101-93 road loss to the Dallas Wings . The previous single-game assist record was Courtney Vandersloot with 18 for the Chicago Sky back in 2020.
Clark also had 24 points on 10-for-19 shooting in a mesmerizing offensive performance . The No. 1 overall pick scored or assisted on 66 points for the Fever, which broke another record for the most in a game in WNBA history, surpassing a 65-point contribution from Diana Taurasi in 2006.
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With Reese rewriting the record books in her own right after tallying the most consecutive double-doubles in league history, the battle between the two rivals for the Rookie of the Year award has become a key storyline to watch this season. Paul Pierce believes Clark is leading the race at the moment, with his comments coming after O’Neal went with Reese.
"I’m not just saying this because she went to LSU, I think she's definitely leading in the Rookie of the Year race," O'Neal said. "I give the vote to Angel."
O’Neal admitted he is still impressed by Clark and her performances this season, praising both for their impact on women’s basketball. He added: "Caitlin is a fabulous player, the female Steph Curry. They have done a lot for the game... Caitlin and Angel, because of social media and all the media outlets, they really brought the game where it should've been 10 years ago."
Through 23 games played, Reese has averaged 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per game. She was recently compared to O’Neal after tallying her 16th double-double in her first 22 starts, which trailed only the NBA legend’s 19 double-doubles in the same amount of starts in his rookie season back in 1992-93.
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But Clark has also starred in her rookie campaign. Along with posting the first-ever triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history, Clark is averaging 17.1 points per game to go with 8.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds for the 11-15 Fever.
Just 26 games into the 2024 season, Clark has scored or assisted on 915 points, which is already a rookie single-season record, while her 213 assists are approaching Ticha Penicheiro's record of 225.
“I just try to set my teammates up for success,” said Clark after her record-breaking performance. “I think at times I can almost overpass... especially with AB, I'm just looking to set her up so much. My eyes are just always on our post players.”
However, the Fever lamented failing to secure a win over the last-place Wings. Dallas sits bottom of the WNBA standings, while Indiana is chasing wins as the franchise seeks to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Fever trio Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell will take part in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix on Saturday, where they will represent Team WNBA against the U.S. Olympic team.
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