INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA amid a myriad of questions about how she would handle the transition to pro basketball.
Three months into her professional career, the answer seems clear: Better than expected.
It may have taken a little longer than Clark or the Indiana Fever would have liked, but she is having a record-setting rookie season and crafting a new image along the way.
The No. 1 draft pick entered the league out of Iowa known for her record-breaking NCAA scoring — and particularly those long 3-pointers. Now, she has assists records.
“I’ve always been able to see something happen before it happens,” Clark said recently after the Fever defeated Phoenix and completed their first season sweep of any team since 2020. “I think (Kelsey Mitchell) can tell (now) when I want her to go back door, when I want her to cut off the ball or anything like that. It’s that chemistry you get when you’re used to playing with one another.
“It’s taken time, but I think we’re really starting to get it down.”
Anyone who has watched — and yes, millions of fans are continuing to tune in — can see the difference.
After stumbling out of the gate — the Fever opened this season with nine games in 16 days, losing eight of them with Clark scrambling to learn the playbook and how to fit in. Her turnovers outnumbered her assists. And there were more questions than answers as frustration appeared to creep into the mix.
Since then, Indiana has rebounded by going 12-7, solidifying its playoff position. And all the angst has been replaced by smiles and high fives.
It’s not by happenstance.
Clark challenged during Olympic break
A compressed schedule between the end of Clark’s college season and the start of the WNBA season didn’t give Indiana much time to practice — or for the players to learn one another’s nuances. So during the monthlong Olympic break, coach Christie Sides changed the practice routine and challenged Clark.
“There were a lot of times during drills where they were running certain offenses and I would tell (Clark), and only her, so she would have to tell the players what we’re running or where to go,” Sides said. “I would throw some things out there, some sets we hadn’t run so she had to think it through and put people in the right position.”
Clark has responded and her teammates seem to be taking the cue, too.
In their first two games since the break, Indiana looked impressive in wins against Phoenix and Seattle. The Fever outscored the Storm 33-17 over the final 10 minutes.
Mitchell is 11 of 21 on 3s and has 55 points since the restart while Lexi Hull had a season-high 22 points and went 6 of 7 on 3s in her last game. Forward Aliyah Boston, the 2023 Rookie of the Year, also had nine assists against the Storm after outplaying Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner last Friday. Indiana plays at Minnesota on Saturday.
“You have to adjust,” Mitchell said, describing the learning process with Clark. “She had to transition as a pro, and we had to give her what she needs, be a resource and fill those gaps in. She’s one of those players where her (basketball) IQ is going to take us a lot of places, so you’ve got to figure out where you fit in, knowing how to read and adjust off of her.”
Clark leads WNBA rookies in scoring
Since Clark’s dubious record-setting 10-turnover debut, her assist-to-turnover ratio has jumped from 1.23 to 1 in May and June to 2.19 to 1 in eight games since July 1. Records seem to fall each week:
— She broke the WNBA’s single-season rookie mark for assists Sunday, reaching No. 232 and ending Ticha Penicheiro’s 26-year run as the record holder.
— In her final game before the break, Clark broke the league’s single-game record with 19 assists, capping a run of six double-digit assist games in a seven-game span.
— If Clark continues to average 8.3 assists per game, she could shatter Alyssa Thomas’ single-season record of 316 set last season.
She needs eight 3s to break Rhyne Howard’s rookie record of 85 set in 2022 and with 22 3s over the final 12 games, she would be the seventh WNBA player with 100 in a season.
In addition to the assists, Clark is the league’s highest-scoring rookie at 17.8 points a game.
Clark, Fever most watched in WNBA
Her performance hasn’t quelled the social media controversies, the banter over how she’s treated by opponents or whether she should have made the U.S. Olympic team. And she continues to be a huge fan favorite. The Fever lead the league in both home attendance (16,956) and road attendance (15,306).
Clark is still must-see TV, too.
The game Friday night on ION drew 1.21 million, nearly three times as many viewers as the Connecticut-Dallas game on the same network that night.
The Fever game Sunday on ABC drew 2.23 million viewers, a sharp uptick from two games in a rare CBS broadcast on Saturday — New York-Las Vegas attracted 874,000 viewers while Minnesota-Washington had 577,000.
Only Washington and Dallas have fewer wins than Indiana (13-15) of the teams televised last weekend.
What’s scary for opponents, Clark and her teammates are still getting to know each other. But as she fuels Indiana’s playoff push, her growth and versatility makes playing together much easier.
“I think it’s just been developing the chemistry with my teammates where they can see it and be on the same page,” Clark said of the turnaround. “Now you see people cutting in fast breaks or Kelsey making a backdoor cut. It’s having that chemistry that’s unspoken, like I’m not telling them to do that, but they can just kind of read my eyes and understand.”
