Caitlin Clark Can Up Her WNBA Scoring Clip With Improvement to Famed Part of Game
The origin of Caitlin Clark's basketball appeal is often attributed to her penchant for knocking down logo threes. And while it's true that is an exciting part of watching her on the court, other aspects of Clark's game, like her passing and playmaking, also standout.
One interesting note about Clark's sensational WNBA rookie season with the Indiana Fever is that she actually didn't shoot the three at the rate one might expect. Of course that didn't stop her from setting the rookie record for three-pointers made and hitting the second most ever in a single season by any player (trailing only Sabrina Ionescu).
Still, despite the volume and prowess on shots from extremely deep range, Clark was not as efficient from beyond the arc as she was at Iowa.
Clark hit at nearly 38% from distance across her tenure with the Hawkeyes. That compared to 34.4% during her first WNBA season. The NCAA moved the women's three-point line to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches (the same as the WNBA) before the 2021-22 season, meaning in all but her freshman year that is where Clark shot from in college.
Caitlin Clark has an average 3PT shot distance of 28ft 🤯
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) August 26, 2024
That's more than Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard & Trae Young have averaged in a season. pic.twitter.com/4ThmLrq9Xw
Obviously shot distance has never been a hindrance for Clark, but her percentage was down in the pros. This could be for a myriad of reasons, including tired legs with barely any break from the national championship game to the WNBA season and the increased defensive pressure faced at the next level.
Regardless, had Clark hit at her college clip, she would have been an even tougher cover and would have crossed over the 20 point per game mark over her rookie season as a whole (she finished averaging 19.2 points).
Caitlin Clark shot 50-for-54 from three on her birthday.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) January 22, 2025
read that again. pic.twitter.com/bCEVvYdLNl
Which is why the sight of her fine tuning her shooting in the offseason and entering the 2025 season with fresh legs (and new coach Stephanie White scheming to free her up for clean looks) is a welcome one for Fever fans.
Because along with all the roster adds the team made and the other improvements to her game she surely has worked on, by simply being a bit more efficient at her most famous skill, Clark can strike even more fear into opposing defenses.
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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 popular YouTube channel. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak On SI and Indiana Fever On SI!