Caitlin Clark posted a career-high performance with 31 points, 12 assists, and four rebounds on Friday night against the Chicago Sky. The Indiana Fever guard became the first player with 30 plus-points, 12 assists, and five three-pointers made in WNBA history.
Clark’s lights-out performance helped the Fever defeat the Sky 100-81.
Clark leads the league with 11 double-doubles by a guard this season. Additionally, the five highest-scoring games by a rookie this season have all come from Clark.
The Fever guard already has more career assists than almost 80 percent of all players in WNBA history.
Several media headlines have pinned Clark and Angel Reese against each other in the race for Rookie of the Year. But neither player is focused on winning the award, according to Clark.
“I think me and Angel [Reese] would both give you the same answer. You don’t wake up and think about individual awards,” Clark told the media. “I know that’s what everybody thinks we do. That’s what everybody wants to make this about, but both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus. That’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award. And she [Angel Reese] would give the same exact answer. For us, everybody can write that, but our focus is on winning basketball games. It’s simple as that. That was the same story for us when we were in college.”
Reese is a double-double machine. She finished Friday night’s game with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two assists.
The rivalry between Clark and Reese has been one of the most popular narratives out of the WNBA this season. The Fever’s matchup with the Sky was the most expensive game in WNBA history, a testament to the influence both rookies have in women’s basketball.
Several stars were in Chicago to watch Clark and Reese go head to head, including WNBA legend Sue Bird and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
Clark and her teammate Kelsey Mitchell have blossomed into one of the best guard duos in the league. Suffice it to say, the pair could very well replicate what Steph Curry and Klay Thompson did in the NBA.
The Fever haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, but Indiana is on pace to make the playoffs as of late. The team started the season with a 1-8 record.
“If you’re playing basketball to win individual awards, no matter what level you’re at, you’re doing it wrong,” Clark added. “That’s not fun and that’s not being a good teammate.”
Clark left the court to a standing ovation Friday night. Although she isn’t concerned about winning Rookie of the Year, she left no doubt on who the frontrunner is for the award.
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