Caitlin Clark Leads A'ja Wilson In Surprising Category
The Indiana Fever are set to host the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday.
The highly anticipated showdown will feature a matchup between two of the WNBA's leading MVP candidates, and arguably the league's two best players, in Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson.
Assuming Wilson, who has been dealing with a minor ankle issue, is cleared to play.
Ahead of any such contest there is always a lot of information and discourse shared amongst basketball fans. One statistic that made waves online was particularly surprising.
As pointed out by StatMamba, Clark is actually shooting a higher percentage on layups than Wilson is. In fact, Caitlin is the only guard ranking in a top 5 that otherwise consists of only standout bigs.
Highest FG% on Layups this season:
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) September 10, 2024
72.6% — Brittney Griner
70.1% — Jonquel Jones
67.3% — Breanna Stewart
63.7% — Teaira McCowan
63.1% — Caitlin Clark
62.9% — A'ja Wilson pic.twitter.com/HCYEpQ28IT
When digging even deeper, the trend continues. Given Clark is actually shooting better than Wilson on all 2-point attempts and is top 10 overall in the league in that regard, per Basketball-Reference.
It should be noted that Wilson takes far more attempts from midrange, which skews the overall number in Clark's favor. As the bulk of Caitlin's shots that are not near the basket come from beyond the arc.
Of course none of the above takes anything away from the season A'ja is having and Caitlin was quick to offer praise to the Aces star.
Clark had this to say about Wilson from Fever practice. "She's pretty incredible. You watch her and it's unguardable...she's just that dominant."
CC went on to praise specific aspects of A'ja's game, including her midrange shot and ability to put ball on the floor.
She also complimented Wilson for impacting the game on both ends. Before adding, "Everybody in the league knows you can’t guard it, you basically live with what she’s going to do to you every single night. You contain it as best you can."
Caitlin Clark on A’ja Wilson’s numbers this season: “she’s pretty incredible. You watch her and it’s just unguardable… everybody in the league knows you can’t guard it, you basically live with what she’s going to do to you every single night. You contain it as best you can.” pic.twitter.com/qwPI74lBCo
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) September 10, 2024
Clark's assessment of Wilson is obviously correct. But the same could be said for how opposing defenses approach dealing with Caitlin.
Especially when accounting for the combination of her outside shooting, playmaking, and aforementioned finishing ability.
Because as good as A'ja is, most wouldn't have expected Caitlin to be even better at the rim.
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!