WNBA
What’s the WNBA single-game assists record? How many did Caitlin Clark get and which players have the most?
Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark set a new record for the most assists in a single WNBA game on Wednesday.
Caitlin Clark made WNBA history in the Indiana Fever’s defeat to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, breaking the record for the most assists in a single game in the US’s elite women’s basketball league.
Clark beats Vandersloot assists record
Clark racked up 19 assists for the Fever - in addition to 24 points and six rebounds - but couldn’t prevent her team from going down 101-93 at College Park Center. The previous highest tally of assists in a single game was the 18 recorded by Courtney Vandersloot for the Chicago Sky, in an August 2020 win over the Fever.
Which players have the most assists in a WNBA game?
- Caitlin Clark, 17 Jul 2024, for Indiana vs Dallas: 19
- Courtney Vandersloot, 31 Aug 2020, for Chicago vs Indiana: 18
- Alyssa Thomas, 1 Jun 2023, for Connecticut vs Minnesota: 16
- Sabrina Ionescu, 31 Jul 2022, for New York vs Phoenix: 16
- Courtney Vandersloot, 23 May 2021, for Chicago vs New York: 16
- Ticha Penicheiro, 3 Aug 2002, for Sacramento vs Los Angeles: 16
- Ticha Penicheiro, 29 Jul 1998, for Sacramento vs Cleveland: 16
Clark chasing single-season records
In the process of overtaking Vandersloot’s WNBA-wide single-game record, Clark also set a new franchise mark for the most assists across a regular season, by surpassing Erica Wheeler’s tally of 201 last year. The former Iowa Hawkeyes star now has 213 to her name in 2024.
The highest number of assists by any player in a WNBA regular season is 316, a record set but the Connecticut Suns’ Alyssa Thomas in 2023. In the same season, Vandersloot managed the league’s second-top total, 314, for the New York Liberty.
Clark’s tally of 213 after 26 games so far this year, which works out at an average of 8.1, leaves her within reach of breaking the single-season record. Were the Fever point guard to keep up her current pace in the 14 games remaining in the regular season, she would finish up with an unprecedented 328.
A further feat in Clark’s sights is the single-season record for assists by an WNBA rookie. That mark currently belongs to the Portuguese player Ticha Penicheiro, who registered 225 for the Sacramento Monarchs in 1998.
What did Clark say about assists record?
Despite making history in Wednesday’s visit to Arlington, Texas, Clark was critical of her display against the Wings. “At times I can overpass, and there probably could have been a few times where, instead of passing […], I can shoot the ball,” the 22-year-old told reporters post-game.
Indiana head coach Christie Sides added: “She [Clark] has the ability and her vision to see things. And we’re just getting better and better, as we play with her, to be on the same page with her. I know that she’s not hitting the shots that she wants to hit - she’s really down on herself about not making some shots that she would normally hit - but, I mean, 19 assists is incredible. That’s incredible.”
The Fever’s defeat was their first in three games, after back-to-back wins over the Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx. The 2012 champions sit seventh in the WNBA regular-season standings, with an 11-15 record.
Together with Fever colleagues Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, Clark now heads into the WNBA All-Star Game, which takes place at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday July 20.