Unwanted WNBA History is Made by Caitlin Clark as Fever Fall to Mystics.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who usually makes news for her impressive feats and highlights, made history on Wednesday. In the Fever’s 89-84 loss to the Washington Mystics, the rookie made five mistakes, which established a new record for the most turnovers in a rookie season in WNBA history (127). Nikki McCray, a former Mystics player, set the record in 1998 with 126, but Clark beat her. In addition, Clark shot up to fourth position on the WNBA’s list of players with the highest single-season turnover, trailing only Alyssa Thomas (137), Ticha Penicheiro (135), and Angel McCoughtry (134). Before the All-Star break, she is now on pace to surpass Thomas’s record.
Positively speaking, Clark did uncover one interesting historical discovery against the Mystics. On Wednesday, the front-runner for Rookie of the Year scored 29 points, dished out 13 assists, pulled down five rebounds, stole five steals, and blocked five shots. No player in an NBA or WNBA game has accomplished those feats since the 1973–74 campaign.
Fans of Caitlin Clark are furious because Angel Reese named her as the recipient of her greatest WNBA career achievement to date. So far this season, both rookies have broken records and appear to be seasoned performers. Breaking records in every category—arena attendance, TV ratings, social media streams, retail sales, and on-court performances—this WNBA season has been one to remember. Notable accomplishments include Angel Reese’s record-breaking 14 double-double streak and rookie Caitlin Clark’s first-ever triple-double. It’s up to you which one you view as the hero and which as the villain, but they undoubtedly elevate one another to new levels.
It goes without saying that both players are aware of each other’s successes and draw inspiration from them for their own plays. The most recent inspiration for Clark came from seeing Reese become the first rookie in the Eastern Conference to win Player of the Week this season, and A’ja Wilson win the award for the 19th time in her career, ranking her seventh in terms of career Player of the Week victories.
Fans of Clark were upset about this choice because they thought that she should have won the award for her first triple-double as a rookie and for the Indiana Fever against the best club in the league, the New York Liberty (18-4). Over the course of three games, Clark averaged almost a triple-double with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. Reese may have won the honor, though, because he played in four games last week, as opposed to Clark’s three, and he did it at a very high level.
Clark with the Fever (9-14) and Reese with Sky (9-12) have three games remaining each before the season pauses on July 17 for the All-Star Game on July 20 and the Olympics starting on July 26. When the season resumes on August 15, the intensity will increase and the arguments about who should get the credit will go on. The best-case scenario for the WNBA would be for both teams to make the playoffs and play each other, a matchup sure to generate a lot of interest and viewership.