BERLIN (Germany) - Caitlin Clark's debut in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup has been an interesting one.
While fans might be used to Clark being a high-volume scorer, she has shifted her role in this USA national team setting to be more of a facilitator.
Caitlin Clark assists in Berlin
Date | Opponent | Assists |
|---|---|---|
September 4 | China | 11 |
September 6 | Italy | 1 |
September 7 | Czechia | 7 |
September 10 | Hungary | 9 |
Right from the very first game, she dished out 11 times without a single turnover - an impressive record.
She'd then record 7 assists against Czechia to end Group Phase play.
In a record-breaking game to tip-off the Quarter-Finals for USA, Clark was close to a double-double with 9 assists.
It is still only her debut campaign in the competition, but with the way she's been feeding her teammates and considering that this is unlikely to be her only World Cup in her career, an intriguing question arises:
Could Caitlin Clark be on track to become the Women's World Cup Assists Queen?
The throne is currently safe and secure, for now, though. Belgium's Julie Allemand firmly holds the claim, leading the all-time ranking in both assists per game and total assists made - a milestone she impressively reached just a few days ago. She also has the highest assist average in the competition.
Top 5 All-time assists leaders in Women's World Cup*
Rank | Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Julie Allemand | Belgium | 111 |
2 | Laia Palau | Spain | 108 |
3 | Sue Bird | USA | 107 |
4 | Dawn Staley | USA | 103 |
5 | Kristi Harrower | Australia | 99 |
Top 3 All-time assists per game leaders in Women's World Cup* **
Rank | Player | Team | Games | Assists per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Julie Allemand | Belgium | 15 | 7.4 |
2 | Yannick Souvre | France | 10 | 4.9 |
3 | Steph Talbot | Australia | 18 | 4.5 |
* Since 1994 ** At least 10 games played
Clark will have to play in another World Cup, at the very least, to even qualify for the all-time ranking. But 4 games in, she seems to be very much on track to challenge the throne.
Player | Team | Games | Assists per Game |
|---|---|---|---|
Caitlin Clark | USA | 4 | 7.0 |
The rising USA star already threatened to join Julie Allemand as the second player ever in the Women's World Cup to record at least 10 assists in a game on two different occasions.
Can Clark keep it up - maybe even as soon as the Women's World Cup in Japan in 2023?
FIBA