Caitlin Clark recorded more WNBA history after her third assist of the night on Thursday against the Golden State Valkyries, which led to a Sophie Cunningham layup. The Indiana Fever superstar became the fastest player to record 500 assists, doing so in the 59th game of her career. She also passed Courtney Vandersloot as the WNBA’s all-time assists per game leader. Vandersloot averages 6.6 assists per game.
Clark averaged 2.0 assists more than her at 8.0 before Thursday’s contest. She needed to record 500 assists to qualify and snatch Vandersloot’s title. Clark did it with one of her signature plays after throwing a surgical pass to Cunningham up the court. Here’s the video:
This season, Caitlin Clark averaged 9.0 assists before Thursday’s game at Golden State. That would put her on course for a career-high season. Her best remains her rookie season average of 8.4 apg. Clark averaged 8.8 apg in 2025 but played only 13 games, which technically doesn’t qualify as her career-high.
Caitlin Clark breaks new WNBA assists record but can’t lead Fever to a win
Caitlin Clark couldn’t put the cherry on top with her record-breaking night on Thursday as she failed to lead the Fever past the Valkyries. Indiana lost 90-88 after a valiant effort down the stretch. Clark finished with 16 points, six assists and three steals. However, her night was overshadowed by a 3-for-12 shooting performance and five turnovers.
Two of them came at the worst time possible on consecutive possessions as the Fever looked to tie the game with 1:32 left in the fourth. Clark got trapped for the first one, which was fourth overall, and had her pass deflected. The second one, her fifth of the night, saw Clark step out of bounds, with 1:06 left in the quarter.
The Fever still had a lifeline as the Valkyries missed. Clark had the chance to tie it with 41 seconds left, but missed her attempt from 3-point range. The Valkyries converted this time and took a five-point lead with 31 seconds to go.
Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham made it a one-point game after scoring four straight. They fouled Gabby Williams on the Valkyries’ final offensive possession, who made one of her two free throws, keeping it a two-point game. The Fever had the chance to tie it after Clark fed the ball to Aliyah Boston in the post, who missed the fadeaway shot at the rim.
The Valkyries avenged Friday’s loss in Indiana and tied the season series 1-1. The Fever fell to 4-3, ending their three-game winning streak, while Golden State improved to 4-2.
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