“It feels like a different season, honestly. For myself, I feel like I was a completely different player then,” agrees Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark who slowly yet steadily saw records in her name. But the real dominance came after the Olympic break. One after another, she seems unstoppable in terms of taking over legacies started by others. Even in today’s game versus the Sparks, she did not hold back.
On September 4th, Caitlin Clark entered the hardwood to lock horns with an opponent team that stood on equal footing. For the 22-year-old Iowa native, the match may have been even more of an excitement with the presence of her long-time boyfriend, Conor McCaffery in the audience. Adrenaline rush or not, Clark ended up breaking yet another record set by Rhyne Howard. This time, she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 100 three-pointers.
The record she snatched from Howard was achieved in just 34 games. Howard, on the other hand, set the legacy by doing it in nearly 40 games. Well, this isn’t the first time the Indiana Fever rookie has taken over an Atlanta Dream guard’s name.
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Caitlin Clark is the fastest player to 100 made threes in WNBA history.
1. Caitlin Clark: 34 games
2. Rhyne Howard: 40 games
3. Cynthia Cooper: 41 games
4. Ruthie Bolton: 43 games
5. Crystal Robinson: 44 gameshttps://t.co/J82PmgQjBe— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) September 5, 2024
Before this, she broke Howard’s three-point rookie record, the trait she’s created a buzz around.
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It all happened during the August 29th game versus the Connecticut Sun. While enduring tough physical gameplay from the opponent team, Clark ended up recording her 88th three-pointer. By doing so, she surpassed the 85 three-pointers record set by Howard during her 2022 campaign. For this record, too, Clark was faster than the Dream standout. She claimed the same record in 31 games, whereas it took Rhyne Howard 34 career games. But this isn’t the real thrill in today’s game.
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With Caitlin Clark's record-breaking game, is she the most exciting player in the WNBA right now?
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A win-win situation for Caitlin Clark
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In a closely contested game against the Sparks, Clark seemed phenomenal. In 40 minutes of gameplay, she scored 24 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, marking the second triple-double of her WNBA career. A month and a half before, she added on to her legacy by becoming the first-ever rookie in league history to record a triple-double.
It was on July 6th in a game versus the New York Liberty, where she racked up 12 rebounds, 19 points, and 13 assists. It seems she’s now breaking her own records after taking over others. But for her, it really isn’t about individual accolades. “Both of our teams (Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever) are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus. It’s selfish to just care about an individual award,” she had said in a media conference before the Sky vs Fever matchup last week.
For the Fever standout, her records are something she achieves while helping her team reach the playoffs. And she did. Recently, Christie Sides’ led Fever claimed a playoff berth with 14 days remaining. This marks a huge triumph for Caitlin Clark and Co. as it’s the first time since 2016 that the franchise has made it to the playoffs. Despite all this achievement, expectations are now even higher.
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With Caitlin Clark's record-breaking game, is she the most exciting player in the WNBA right now?