Women's Fastbreak On SI

Caitlin Clark Defended by Fever Fans Amid Fake Assist Allegations

Caitlin Clark's fanbase is bringing out the receipts to shut down a discourse about "fake assists" the rookie is getting credited for.
Grant Young|
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) points to the other side of the court Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) points to the other side of the court Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

During the second quarter of the Indiana Fever's game against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, rookie sensation Caitlin Clark broke the WNBA record for the most assists in a single season, with 317.

This is a remarkable achievement from somebody who hasn't even been in professional basketball for six months, and who people think of first and foremost as a sharpshooter.

Yet, there are always going to be those detractors who try to poke holes in another person's greatness.

On Sunday, social media lit up about allegations of "fake assists" from Clark that were being counted. What people mean by this is that they felt that Clark's assist in the above video shouldn't be considered an assist because it was an inbound and the player she passed it to took too many dribbles before shooting.

As this discourse attracted more attention, members of Clark's loyal fanbase brought the receipts to prove that Clark deserved an assist on that play.

X user @Ramsfordmaster included a series of videos showing some of LeBron James and Alyssa Thomas' assists and wrote, "The first video is a Lebron James NBA credited assist. The last three are Alyssa Thomas’ assists during her record breaking season. The assist crediting method has been consistent for decades.

"Y’all always look foolish tryna discredit Caitlin Clark."

That same user then reposted an NBA explanation of an assist, which wrote, "An assist is credited to the player tossing the last pass leading directly to a made field goal, but only if the player scoring the goal demonstrates an immediate reaction toward the basket after receiving the pass. Note also that an inbound pass can be credited as an assist if it leads directly to a field goal. By rule, no more than one assist can be credited for each field goal.”

Given that explanation, Clark's assist clearly is within the rules.

In fact, Clark even had an assist omitted during Friday's game that it seems like she should have been credited for.

It seems that Caitlin Clark haters will need to find something else to gripe about.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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