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Candace Parker. Tamika Catchings. A’ja Wilson. Breanna Stewart. Elena Delle Donne. Maya Moore.
These are just some of the WNBA players who have had impressive, eye-opening rookie seasons.
Add to that list Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Not since Parker—who went on to be the first and only player to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season—has a rookie impacted the League and everyone and everything around it as much as Clark.
Call it the Caitlin Clark Effect.
SLAM 252 featuring Caitlin Clark is available now.
Record-breaking performances. Game sell-outs across the country. Fans packing up and traveling wherever she goes. More eyeballs than ever on the W. Clark has been the talk of the W.
But there’s a flip side to it, too. Heated arguments and debates on sports talk shows and across social media are nonstop, all about Clark and her effect on the League. Is she getting too much press? Is she being painted as the WNBA savior when there are other players who have been here holding up the League for so long? Depends on who you ask—and the time of day you ask.
One could argue that never has so much pressure been put on a player coming into the League. Expectations were high from the jump, even while Clark was still in college at Iowa. There, she set the NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,951 total points. A lightning quick point guard with fast hands, she also became the Big Ten’s all-time assist leader (1,144) and hit the most three- pointers in a single season with 201. So, coming into the League, all eyes were expectedly on her.
But, ironically, Clark has not said much about the hype and fanfare surrounding her first season in the W. She appears to have chosen, instead, to just play her game and seemingly be content with breaking record after record after record and helping her Indiana Fever team do the same. All the while, she is assisting in a brand of excitement for women’s basketball, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a while.
The list of WNBA records broken by Clark is long and exhaustive. There are almost too many to name. They include setting the WNBA single-game assist record (19) against the Dallas Wings, recording the first triple-double for a rookie in WNBA history against the New York Liberty, and breaking the record for most assists in a season by a rookie.
You can’t leave out tying the rookie single-game three-pointers record—Clark made seven of those early in the season in the Fever’s game against the Washington Mystics. Other records include 21 games with at least 15 points and 5 assists, the most ever in a single WNBA season, and becoming the first rookie in WNBA history to record 400 points, 100 rebounds and 150 assists in a season.
Clark was also named to the WNBA All-Star Game in July and finished with 10 assists, the most by a rookie in the prestigious game’s history.
This unbelievable rookie season has also included a not-so-great statistic: She recorded the most turnovers in a debut game in WNBA history, with 10 in the Fever’s opener against the Connecticut Sun. She also has the most turnovers in a single season by any player in WNBA history. There’s definitely work to be done in that department, but overall, the Caitlin Clark Effect can’t be denied.
And it has extended beyond just her individual game.
The Fever clinched its first playoff spot since 2016 and currently sit at No. 6 as we head to print. In addition, the WNBA announced that the 2025 All-Star Game will take place in Indianapolis. The 21st WNBA All-Star Game, set for Saturday, July 19, 2025, marks the first time that Indy will host the League’s midseason showcase.
The Fever—already on an upward trajectory after last year’s acquisition of No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, along with Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and NaLyssa Smith—have soared to new heights with the addition of Clark. This starting five earned a playoff spot after going on a hot streak following the Olympic break, rattling off seven wins in eight games. Collectively, they have transformed into a team whose ceiling keeps rising.
Hot shooting from Hull has landed her in first place in the League in three-point percentage (49.2 percent). Mitchell, who has been on her own personal tear this summer, is fifth in three-pointers made this season (96) and ninth in points per game. Clark is the assists leader, averaging 8.5 per game and is first in the League in three-pointers made at 111. Boston is fifth in field-goal percentage (52.8 percent) and eighth in blocks per game (1.3).
In August, the Fever led the entire League in scoring (89.7 ppg) and hit a season-best 100 points in a win against the Chicago Sky on August 30. Indiana also knocked down the most three-point field goals in the month with 72.
On August 16, the Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 98-89, marking the first time since the 2015 regular season that Indiana has swept its regular-season series with Phoenix. Less than two weeks later, Indiana toppled the Sun, 84-80, for the first time since 2021.
The team’s success has also extended to its coach, Christie Sides, who formally entered the Coach of the Year chat and was named WNBA Coach of the Month for August after guiding the Fever to a 5-1 record. Sides is the first head coach in franchise history to earn the honor.
Clark has racked up accolades League-wide as well. In August, she was named both WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and WNBA Rookie of the Month. It was the third time she earned Rookie of the Month honors, having also received the recognition in May and July, while marking the first time she was named Player of the Month. She was recently recognized as the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second time in her young career, and she also leads her rookie class in scoring, assists, steals, free-throw shooting and minutes played. And on September 13, she broke the WNBA’s all-time assists record, previously held by the legendary Ticha Penicheiro.
The player many call the female Stephen Curry has been under the microscope since before she entered the League, and the heat has been turned up all season long. Whether you agree or not, whether you’re a fan or not, Clark has dealt with the pressure, lived up to the expectations (even exceeded them in many ways) and has cemented her name in the sport after only one year as a pro.
The Caitlin Clark experience has only just begun but it’s already in full effect
Buckle up.
Photos via Getty Images.
