Just days after she set the WNBA’s all-time single-game assist record with 19, Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark made more history by setting the All-Star Game rookie assist record with 10 in Team WNBA’s upset win over Team USA in the 2024 All-Star Game on Saturday.

Clark, who was named a starter in her All-Star debut by Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller, didn’t appear overwhelmed by the occasion. She handed out her first assist just two minutes into the game on a feed to Nneka Ogwumike, and never looked back.

At one point, Team USA even trapped Clark in the backcourt to prevent her from getting the ball, which tells you all you need to know about her playmaking ability. Despite facing plenty of defensive pressure, Clark was a constant source of easy buckets for her teammates.

To little surprise, she made a number of highlight-reel plays, including dishes to Jonquel Jones and her Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston.

Early in the third quarter, she wrote her name into the record books by finding Arike Ogunbowale for her ninth assist of the night. That moved Clark past Shoni Schimmel, who had the previous record for assists by a rookie in an All-Star Game with eight.

At that point, it seemed like Clark was well on her way to setting the all-time All-Star assist record — 11 by Sue Bird in 2017 — and even joked about it on the broadcast.

“Oh it’s Sue’s, then I’m breaking it,” Clark said. “She’s been talking crap all game. Then I’m breaking it. If it’s anybody else, they can keep it, not Sue Bird. Thank you for telling me that, that’s really important.”

Alas, Clark sat out much of the second half and only got to 10 assists. That one was a beauty to Angel Reese, which is what everyone had been waiting to see.

With the way Clark passes the ball, it won’t be long until she has the All-Star assist record to her name. Though she is only halfway through her rookie season, she has already established herself as arguably the best playmaker in the league. At the Olympic break, Clark leads the league with 8.2 assists per game, and is well on her way to smashing the single-season rookie assist record of 225, set by Ticha Penicheiro back in 1998.

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