Caitlin Clark. Credit:
© Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Indiana Fever might’ve suffered an 80-90 loss against the Minnesota Lynx, but Caitlin Clark, recording 23 points on Sunday, has gotten her into elite company. Apart from leading the league in assists per game, the rookie now enters the WNBA’s top 10 in PPG as well. Surpassing Dearica Hamby by merely 0.1 points per game more, Rashad McCants has shed light on Clark’s uncanny ability to create shots for herself.
Clark is the sole playmaker on the Fever. While she dishes out 8.3 assists per game, the second-best distributor is Aliyah Boston, with 2.8 assists per game. Hence, the former Hawkeye hasn’t been able to receive the same open looks created for her as she does for the others.
Clark is one of the most unassisted players in the entire league. According to an advanced stat, almost 2/3(64.4%) of her total attempts are created by herself. For context, the player second on this list is Jewell Loyd with 53.1%.
McCants, a former NBA player, lauded the 22-year-old for this feat and also claimed that she would be unstoppable when she masters the floated and mid-range game.
“Another one bites the dust!!!! You will not miss this goat emerge on my watch!!! Once she gets the middy floater game down and the two dribble pull up in the lane with the fade. It’s a wrap,” he said about Clark on X.
The Fever has a great opportunity to unlock Clark’s scoring potential. This stat should motivate the franchise to acquire another playmaker and allow their star guard to go on scoring outbursts as well.
McCants has constantly been cheering for Clark
McCants has been one of the many well-wishers supporting Clark since the beginning of her professional career. While he’s always been lauding the youngster, he was more impressed with Clark after her recent squabble with Skylar Diggins-Smith.
McCants explained how great of a player a rookie needs to be to have a multiple-time All-Star put her hatred on full display by intentionally bumping into Clark.
He claimed, “C has changed the game. Think about this, a mother**ker (Diggins-Smith) sped up to try to bump me. Okay. Well, I’m a rookie, you the vet. You know how f**king powerful I gotta be for you to have that type of animosity in your heart?”
The former UNC Tar Heel also complimented Clark for her production following the mid-season break.
“She looks like a completely different player because she did the work during the all-star break. Caitlin said ‘I don’t want to do none of that. I’m going to the lab. I need to fix what’s going on here’ and now we see the difference,” he said.
McCants is spot-on. The 22-year-old has shifted gears and is performing at a different level altogether since the second half of the campaign began, averaging 25 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds in the three games.
With what her performance over the last three games suggests, Clark is on her way to becoming the unanimous favorite in the 2024 Rookie of the Year race and leading the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
