Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is averaging 22.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists for the Indiana Fever in her third WNBA season. The scoring average is a career high and ranks third in the league. No one in the WNBA averages more assists.
She is the only player ranked in the top five in both categories. No player in league history has averaged at least 20 points and eight assists over a full season.
The rest of the MVP field is crowded. A'ja Wilson, the reigning MVP, is averaging 26.0 points for the Las Vegas Aces. Kelsey Mitchell is scoring 25.0 a night alongside Clark in Indiana. Paige Bueckers is at 20.5 points and 5.9 assists for the Dallas Wings, and Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles is at 19.7 points and 6.0 assists.
For Clark, the argument starts with 41.4 points created per game and a Fever offense scoring at a record pace. The argument against her starts with Indiana's net rating when she sits, her 4.6 turnovers a game, and a defensive value over replacement of minus-0.7.
The Gap in Points Created
Points Created combines a player's own scoring with the points generated by her assists. Clark is at 41.4 per game, the highest mark in the WNBA.
Bueckers is next among the MVP candidates at 34.8. Miles is at 34.2, Wilson at 33.6, and Mitchell at 31.9. The gap between Clark and the nearest contender is 6.6 points per game.
Clark is on the ball for 47.6 percent of Indiana's offensive possessions. No one in the league has a higher share. Nobody assisted on 70.3% of her made field goals. Wilson is on the ball for 18.2% of Las Vegas' possessions, and 23.0% of her field goals come unassisted. Bueckers is at 49.7%, and Mitchell is at 40.9%.
Among the MVP candidates, Miles is the only other player creating at least 70% of her own baskets. Clark averages 2.4 more assists per game than she does.
Clark's usage rate is 31.5%, second in the league behind Wilson's 32.5%. Her true shooting percentage sits at 60.5%, also a career high.
Caitlin Clark plays basketball this week 🥹 pic.twitter.com/C3EWQezzbO
— Real App (@realapp) September 16, 2026
The Offense Around Her
Indiana averages 97.0 points per game. No team in WNBA history has averaged more over a season. The 2010 Phoenix Mercury hold the current record at 93.9 that will be broken.
The Fever also lead the league in offensive rating at 115.9 and in field goal percentage at 49.2%.
Nobody in the league sets up more shots at the rim. Clark is averaging 4.6 of those assists a game. Only two players have a higher offensive value over replacement than her plus-4.8 per 100 possessions.
Mitchell has had the best scoring stretch of her career playing next to her. Across six seasons before Clark arrived, Mitchell averaged 16.4 points on 41.6% shooting and 37.3% from three. Across the three seasons since, she is averaging 21.4 points on 48.0% shooting and 41.6% from three.
Clark has assisted Mitchell 86 times this season. Those passes account for roughly 17% of Mitchell's scoring. The two have each scored 20 or more points in the same game 18 times, a WNBA record for a pair of teammates. Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter held the old mark with 15 in 2008.
When Clark leads Indiana in scoring, the Fever are 11-3.
Where the Season Sits Historically
Clark's combined 34.8 points, rebounds, and assists per game is the highest total ever recorded by a WNBA guard.
The second-highest belongs to Clark as well, from her 2024 rookie season, when she averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists for a total of 33.3. Taurasi's 2006 season with Phoenix is third at 33.0. Her 2008 season is fourth at 32.8. Cynthia Cooper's 1997 season with the Houston Comets is fifth at 30.9.
This season, Clark became the first player in WNBA history to post 45 points and 10 assists in a game. She reached 700 career assists in 83 games, faster than anyone before her. She also recorded the 20th 20-point, 10-assist game of her career.
August was her best month as a professional. She averaged 24.4 points and 9.4 assists and shot 40.8% from three. Her Points Created average for the month was 45.3.
Nobody logged more clutch minutes in August than Clark, who played 27.9. Indiana outscored opponents by 17.4 points per 100 possessions in that time. One player finished the month with a better clutch net rating.
Breanna Stewart won Rookie of the Year in 2016 and her first MVP in 2018, her third season. Wilson won Rookie of the Year in 2018 and her first MVP in 2020, also in her third season. Clark won Rookie of the Year in 2024, and injuries cut her 2025 season short.
The On/Off Question
Indiana has posted a better net rating with Clark off the floor this season. In her 1,155 minutes, the Fever are plus-6.0. They score 117.6 points per 100 possessions with her on the court and allow 111.6.
Indiana has played roughly 500 minutes without her. A large share came in the four games she missed with an injury. The Fever won all four: by 17 at the Portland Fire, by 24 against the Los Angeles Sparks, by three against the Phoenix Mercury, and by 14 against a Las Vegas team playing without Wilson. Portland was 15-21 at the time. Los Angeles and Phoenix were each 13-24.
Since July 28, Clark has been part of the WNBA's best five-player lineup among groups with at least 50 minutes together. That unit has a plus-27.2 net rating over 101 minutes, 4.9 points ahead of the next-best lineup in the league.
Caitlin Clark's teammates were HYPED after she gifted each of them pairs of her Caitlin 1s. 🤩
— WNBA on NBC and Peacock (@WNBAonNBC) September 16, 2026
(Via ig/@caitlinclark22) pic.twitter.com/nnPVZncAOq
Turnovers and Defense
Clark averages 4.6 turnovers per game. Miles averages 3.1, and her 1.97 assist-to-turnover ratio is better than Clark's 1.81. Miles also has the better clutch plus-minus, plus-2.5 per game to Clark's plus-1.6.
Miles' usage rate is 27.2%, 4.3 percentage points lower than Clark's. Clark generates 19.0 points per game off assists. Miles generates 14.5.
Indiana is 14-5 when Clark commits at least five turnovers and 8-9 when she commits fewer.
On defense, Clark's defensive value over replacement is minus-0.7, which ranks in the 23rd percentile. She averages 1.0 steal and 0.5 blocks per game, both above the league average. Her 3.2 points per game off turnovers rank in the 93rd percentile.
Bottom line, Clark is a serious MVP candidate and if she wins it, it would certainly be deserving if the advanced stats are any indication.
Dallas Wings reporter writing this while they have an MVP on their own team is so crazy and nasty behavior.