Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark became the WNBA’s all-time rookie assist leader during a win over the Seattle Storm on Sunday afternoon, passing the previous mark set by women’s basketball legend Ticha Penicheiro.
With a significant portion of the 2024 WNBA season left to play, Clark now has 332 assists. Penicheiro recorded 225 in her 1998 rookie season with the Sacramento Monarchs.
Penicheiro is happy to hand the record over to Clark. After the Fever’s 92-75 win over the Storm, the four-time WNBA All-Star took to social media with a gracious message for the rising superstar.
When you put in the work, love and respect the game, the accolades come in an organic way!!
Huge congrats to @caitlinclark22, not only for breaking my former record in “most assists by a Rookie in WNBA history”, but for ALL she’s doing for the game.
A tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility has been put on her since the draft and I couldn’t be more proud on how she has handled herself and everything thrown at her.
Cheers to you and to many more records that will be broken!
Clark replied in the comments with a simple five-word message.
“The goat!!!! Appreciate you always,” she wrote.
Clark leads the WNBA with 8.3 assists per game. She notched yet another points-assists double-double in a win over the Phoenix Mercury this past Friday, dropping 29 points and 10 assists.
Clark and the Fever will face off against the Minnesota Lynx in their next matchup on Saturday night.