Caitlin Clark dazzled WNBA fans following her performance in the Indiana Fever's 84-79 victory over the Atlanta Dream on Monday. One third-quarter play, in particular off a pick-and-roll , validated the Rookie's claims for winning the Rookie of the Year.
With just 21.2 seconds left on the clock, Clark advanced the ball past half-court, looking to be a playmaker for the Fever. After receiving a screen from Kelsey Mitchell , the No. 1 overall pick found herself on the elbow with 13 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Defended by Maya Caldwell who played for the Fever last season, Clark moved to the right, planting her foot hard before changing direction and putting the ball behind her back, leaving Caldwell completely off balance. The dibble handles allowed Clark to drive straight to the basket, where she finished with a right-hand layup despite a contest from 6'1" forward Nia Coffey.
The layup extended the Fever's lead by 11 points and was one of two successful drives to the basket for Clark in the game. Her hot hand would surely be carried into the fourth quarter, where she drained a signature 26-foot step-back three-pointer. But her show selection stalled out as she took only two more field goal attempts in the game.
Clark finished the game with 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block. Fans and basketball analysts praised the behind-the-back move against Caldwell, which went viral on social media.
The Fever's official X account shared a slow-motion clip of the play , quickly gaining over 379,000 impressions. One fan commented, "And people said Caitlin’s handles were a weakness. It just took a few games early in the season to adapt. Looks elite to me!" Another fan added, "She had her on skates, WNBA GOAT in the making." In addition to her stat line, Clark made more history by tying the WNBA rookie record for most three-pointers in a season, with 85. Rhyne Howard of the Dream previously set the milestone.
The game also saw a record-breaking crowd of 17,608 fans in attendance, marking the highest attendance for a WNBA game at the start of the season in Georgia. This game was the fifth time this season that an attendance record was broken with Clark on the opposing team .
Clark expressed gratitude after the game for her part in growing women's basketball. "I don’t show up and expect these crowds," she said. "Sure, maybe you’ve gotten a little used to it, but for me, that’s not anynothingver gets old. It really is something that’s really cool, especially as a young girl who grew up going to games."
She continued, "As a young girl, I would have come to a game in a building like this and seen this type of crowd; I think I would have been kind of in heaven. It gives me a lot of joy to see the impact that I’ve been able to have, my teammates have been able to have, women’s basketball players all across the country have been able to have."
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