It’s surprising that statisticians aren’t counting Caitlin Clark’s clear assist against the Mystics
Something unusual happened in Friday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics.
No, I’m not talking about Fever scoring just nine points in the second quarter, or Aliyah Boston being nothing in her second straight game. I’m talking about the statistics that refused to give two assists to Caitlin Clark, who stole a historic achievement from her.
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Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark celebrates after scoring a basket to send the game into overtime against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 15, 2026. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The two games in question:
- With less than six minutes left in the Fever’s grueling second quarter, Clark drove a lane, drew two defenders, then threw the ball to Monique Billings, who drained a catch-and-shoot corner 3 to cut the Mystics’ lead to 2. Some have said that the pass was slightly contested, but even so, the passer can’t believe that the pass scored the original score. it led straight to the basket, it did that.
- The second questionable foul came with 30 seconds left in regulation, a key play in the Fever’s brutal comeback to send the game into overtime. Clark raced up with the Fever down six, sprinting to the right side of the arc where, again, he drew a double team, leading to a shovel pass to Kelsey Mitchell, who scored a three. The pass obviously led to a basket, but no assist was called.]
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The interesting aspect of all of this is that assist decisions are usually handled by official scorers and statisticians using league statistical guidelines and judgments rather than a written play-by-play rule in the public rulebook that specifically addresses low-sloped passes or hand-offs and shovels.
If a pass to the target leads to a bucket, without significantly changing direction, or making the player make an extra effort to reach the pass, it should be an assist. It’s definitely something the league needs to look into and fix, in my opinion.
If this is indeed corrected by the league, Clark will have only the sixth 30-point, 10-assist game in WNBA history. In addition, Clark will become the first player ever to do it twice. It would have been a milestone in being the fastest player to reach 1,000+ points, 250+ assists and 250+ rebounds, and he did it in just 54 games, breaking Diana Tarausi’s record of 62 games.
Caitlin Clark celebrates a three-pointer against the Washington Mystics on Friday. (© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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I consider this a big issue from a betting point of view. What about people putting money down on Caitlin Clark to get double or more than 9.5 assists? Like it or not, betting is a huge part of the sports experience and many are betting on the WNBA’s most exciting player.
This isn’t just about Clark’s personal exploits, or the integrity of how stats are recorded, it’s about fans’ pocketbooks. WNBA, do the right thing here. Appreciate and reward Clark for his well-earned assists.
