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Caitlin Clark’s added to her growing list of WNBA accomplishments by breaking the rookie scoring record during a 35-point performance. The first-year player continued her incredible year while leading the Fever to a win over the Wings.
While she is now the new record holder, sitting all alone at 761 points, some have put an asterisk next to her name for one specific reason.
Clark just competed in her 39th game! She still has one more on the schedule to add to her total.
Previous rookie scoring champ Seimone Augustus set the old mark back in 2006 when the WNBA employed a 34-game regular season.
I’ll be the Devils Advocate here. Seimone Augustus set the record back in 2006 when there was only 34 games played. This is Caitlin Cark’s 39th game in a 40 game season. But still is a huge accomplishment for Caitlin Clark.
— Chris| Sports Fanatic (@SportsWinn) September 15, 2024
Augustus averaged 21.9 points per game as a rookie with the Minnesota Lynx. Caitlin Clark, meanwhile, boasts a scoring average of 19.1 with the Fever.
An almost 3-ppg difference!
That said, digging into those numbers could provide Clark with some defense.
While Seimone Augustus played in fewer contests, she actually recorded more shots, converting on 283 of her 620 attempts. Clark has 575 shots to her name.
She’s certainly been aided by her three-point abilities, with around 50% of her makes coming from long distance. It’s no coincidence her record-setting shot came from a familiar place!
Rewriting the history books has been nothing new to Caitlin Clark, who has passed Seimone Augustus (744) for most points by a rookie in a single WNBA season 🙌
📲Live on X pic.twitter.com/PUbf8QDupA
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 15, 2024
The rookie scoring mark has given her yet another WNBA record in Year 1. Caitlin Clark also holds the marks for most assists by a rookie and most three-pointers by a rookie.
There’s been some debate as to whether she’s deserving of this latest tag. Depending on how you look at the numbers, there’s a case to be made for each side!