Fever Rookie Caitlin Clark Is Outproducing Her Turnovers
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark set the WNBA record for most turnovers in a season. Not just for a first-year player, but for any player. Already. That is a fact. But the reason you might see it used as a talking point against Clark is because it is the only one left.
Caitlin Clark has broken the WNBA single-season turnover record with 15 games left in the regular season. pic.twitter.com/hbVqjMQoDb
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) July 15, 2024
Does Clark need to cut the turnovers down? Of course. However, acting as if they make her overall game some sort of negative is insane. Caitlin also moved into second place all-time in rookie assists during the Fever's win over the Minnesota Lynx. She currently sits at 194 assists, with the first-year record being 225. Clark will shatter that. In fact, she is pacing to possibly break the all-time record for assists in a season by any player. If she averages about 8 per game the remainder of the year, she will topple that mark. CC is averaging 11.2 assists per contest in July and leads the entire league in dimes. Caitlin is also coming off a stretch where she produced more points between her own scoring and scores off her passes than any player ever has. No player in the W is generating more offense than she is.
Caitlin Clark is on pace to be the first player in NBA/WNBA history to lead the NCAA in APG and then lead the league in APG as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/0hyHD8lsxr
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) July 14, 2024
Turnovers are also commonplace for high usage stars historically. They have the ball in their hands and are tasked with making plays. Extra attention defensively and some mistakes often come with that. For instance, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic led the NBA in turnovers this season and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the all-time leader in turnovers. That doesn't take him out of the GOAT debate.
You can acknowledge Caitlin Clark has a record number of turnovers and that's the area she needs to clean up the most.
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) July 15, 2024
You can also recognize it's had little impact on her team's W-L record:
Indiana is 7-7 when she has 6+ turnovers
Indiana is 4-7 when she has < 6 turnovers
To act as if her turnovers are some hindrance to her greatness is disingenuous. Sure they need to be cleaned up but Caitlin's team is winning due to her style and she is producing in almost every way imaginable. Clark is going to set a lot of records during her career, the turnovers are simply a part of that process.
The only WNBA players this season ranking in the top 20 in PPG • RPG • APG • SPG • BPG:
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) July 14, 2024
Caitlin Clark
Napheesa Collier
Breanna Stewart pic.twitter.com/RSJHKxX9KR
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!