Caitlin Clark is 1 of 1: 'We've never seen a woman play like this'

Caitlin Clark is the best offensive player we’ve seen in women’s college basketball in at least the past three decades. Her points total, while massive and now unmatched, only tells part of the story. While we’ve seen incredible scorers — Lynette Woodard, Kelsey Plum, Maya Moore, Jackie Stiles, Brittney Griner — we’ve NEVER seen a woman play like this.

The consistent range on the Iowa senior’s shot, and her willingness to regularly pull up from deep, makes her different. This season, she has made 88 shots from 25 feet or beyond. In the past five years, the next highest single-season total by someone other than Clark is 51 (Indiana guard Sara Scalia in 2021-22), according to CBB Analytics. Defenders have to pick her up as soon as she crosses half court, or else she is within makeable range.

Steph Curry and Damian Lillard are the only other half-court threats who come to mind. Clark’s mere presence on the court manipulates individual and team defenses and creates better spacing for each of her teammates.

But it is her passing that elevates her above the other great scorers in the women’s game. Her passing makes her not only the best scorer but also the best all-around offensive player.

Clark is the best “get-ahead” passer since Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi.

Clark sees teammates running the floor and often launches a lead pass before they have even turned their heads to know it’s coming. She is elite in the two-man game and elite reading defenses and knowing how to deliver a pass through the smallest window.

While we celebrate Clark as the leading scorer in the history of NCAA Division I basketball for men and women after she passed Pete Maravich’s mark Sunday, we can’t ignore that she is also sixth all time in assists in the women’s game. No other player is in the top 28 of both. (Career assist data, bizarrely, only includes the top 28 players. There’s a chance no one else is in the top 65, where Sabrina Ionescu lands in scoring while fourth in assists.)

Clark is also the only basketball player in a major conference to lead it in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.

Everyone now knows that @IowaWBB ‘s @CaitlinClark22 tops the NCAA career scoring list. Not many know she’s 6th in career assists as well. (For context, no other player is in the top 25 of both.) We broke down some of her elite passes from the record-setting game. pic.twitter.com/7iQsFIyRJh

— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) February 19, 2024

Finally, she is a great teammate. While she attempts the second-most field goals in the country — her 22.6 attempts per game are behind USC freshman JuJu Watkins‘ 22.8 attempts — she rarely forces shots. I have not seen her launch a deep 3 when a teammate is open for a better look. I have never seen a teammate slump-shouldered because Clark didn’t pass her the ball when open. Does Clark sometimes look frustrated when a pass is mishandled? Yes, but you always get the sense she is frustrated with the play and not the player. And it is evident that her teammates love playing alongside her.

One of my favorite Clark moments of the season happened during Iowa’s game with Michigan. It wasn’t Clark’s eight points in the first two minutes that gave her the women’s NCAA scoring record. And it wasn’t any of her subsequent 33 points or 13 assists.

It was a decision she made right before coming out of the game. With a minute to go in the game and Clark sitting at 49 points, she got the ball in transition — and instead of coming down and trying to get the 50-piece, she sent a get-ahead pass to teammate Hannah Stuelke, who was fouled. Passing the ball was the right decision in that moment and Clark made the right — not the selfish — decision.

It’s rare that someone comes along and changes how a sport is played. Clark has done that. Her scoring, coupled with her passing, make her the best offensive player I’ve seen in my 35 years playing and covering the women’s college game.