4 incredible 2024 WNBA stats that have nothing to do with Caitlin Clark

It's not hyperbole to say that this is not only the best, but the most important season in WNBA history. The arrival of Caitlin Clark and a dynamite rookie class has catapulted the league into a new stratosphere, with ratings and attendance obliterating previous records.

Clark has fulfilled her end of the bargain after being the No. 1 pick in the draft. The former two-time Naismith Award winner has dazzled on the court, and she already has her Fever to within two wins of matching their mark from a season ago thanks to her scoring and passing ability.

Clark has endured some learning-on-the-job moments, but whether it's been catching more than her share of physical play or learning to limit turnovers, she's handled herself with a veteran's professionalism. By any metric, she's not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it, and the number of new fans she has drawn to the women's game are the biggest reason why the WNBA was able to sign a new rights deal on Thursday that's worth more than triple the league's old one.

One ancillary benefit to Clark's popularity is that it has given many other talented players in the WNBA a chance to shine like never before. The spotlight has been bright on Clark, but it's been more than big enough to benefit the entire league.

In short, although Clark has been incredible on her own, there have been a plethora of exciting things worth watching in the WNBA this season, even if you're not just tuning in to every Fever game. Here are four stats that highlight that while it may be Caitlin Clark's world, other WNBA players are not just living, but thriving in it.

4. Angel Reese's streak of 15 straight double-doubles is the longest in WNBA history

Let's begin with another rookie, one that has been tied at the hip to Clark since their college days. Angel Reese has refused to take a backseat to her rival, and after a tremendously successful college career, she's now blazing her own trail in the WNBA.

Reese's Chicago Sky are just a game behind Clark and the Fever for the seventh seed in the playoffs, and the Rookie of the Year race may be just as tight. That's because Reese has been a double-double machine that has shown startling consistency for a rookie, and her recently-broken string of 15 consecutive double-doubles is already the most in WNBA history.

Reese has been relentless on the boards, leading the league with 12 per game. She's recorded double-digit rebounds in 18 of her 23 games, and she's complementing that with an assertive finishing ability that has gotten better as the season has gone on.

Reese has anchored the Sky frontcourt, even as fellow rookie big Kamilla Cardoso has worked her way back from an early-season shoulder injury. Since the beginning of June, she's double-doubled in 16 out of 18 games, but her rebounding prowess and solid 13.5 points per game belies the fact that she is also capable of taking over offensively. She put up 27 points in a win at Seattle two weeks ago, and her best game of the season was a 25-16 gem in a come-from-behind win over Clark and the Fever.

Reese has been special in the first half of her rookie year, but she's just getting started. This record may not last long if she has anything to say about it.

3. There are more assists per game than at any point in the WNBA's 28-year history

To be fair, this one does have just a little bit to do with Clark, who recently set the WNBA single-game assist record with 19 against the Dallas Wings. Clark isn't the only one dishing the ball at heretofore unseen levels, though. The league as a whole is on pace to have more assists than ever before.

Offense has steadily increased in the WNBA, with the top eight league-wide scoring averages of all time occurring in the past nine seasons. Assists have also been on the rise, but this year has seen an average of 20.6 assists per game. For reference, the only other time that number eclipsed 20 was in 2022.

The league is filled with floor generals, from traditional point guards like Skylar Diggins-Smith of the Seattle Storm and Natasha Cloud of the Phoenix Mercury, to combo guards that can find teammates or light it up themselves, such as Sabrina Ionescu of the Liberty and Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings. Then there's Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun, a point forward who is a triple-double threat every night.

It's no coincidence that the WNBA is experiencing an upshot of popularity at the same moment that its teams are playing such an aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball. With so many talented guards in the league, expect assist rates to keep on rising.

2. A'ja Wilson is on pace to destroy the single-season scoring record

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are undoubtedly the most exciting rookies of the '24 class, but the best player in the league is unquestionably A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces. Wilson has won two MVP awards and two WNBA titles, yet somehow she's still improving in her seventh year.

Wilson has been the prime beneficiary of Clark's impact on the WNBA's popularity, because she was already the league's best player when Clark and her legions of fans started following the pro game. Like Clark, she announced her own shoe line with Nike earlier this year, and she'll also be featured on the cover of the next NBA2K video game.

Wilson is the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year, but she may be even better offensively. Even on a team as star-studded as the Aces, which boasts Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young, Wilson shoulders by far the largest burden, but she makes it look easy.

Diana Taurasi holds the single-season scoring record with 25.3 points per game. The Phoenix Mercury legend set that mark back in 2006, but Wilson is on pace to smash it this year. She currently stands at 27.2 points per game, and she's showing no signs of slowing down. Her last six point totals before the All-Star Break were 28, 28, 33, 24, 28, and 35.

Wilson has put up such gaudy numbers by being ruthlessly efficient. She rarely shoots threes, but she is shooting 53.4% from the floor and 87.2% from the line on a league-leading 7.0 attempts per game. The Aces are attempting to become the first WNBA team to three-peat since the Houston Comets won the first four titles in league history. As long as they have Wilson, it wouldn't be wise to bet against them.

1. The New York Liberty have a chance to put up the best record in WNBA history

If there's one team that could challenge the Aces for WNBA supremacy, it's the New York Liberty. Last year's WNBA Finals runner-up immediately rocketed into the league's upper echelon after signing Breanna Stewart and trading for Jonquel Jones in the offseason, but ultimately fell just short in the franchise's first WNBA Finals appearance since 2002.

Now in their second season together, Stewart, Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu have raised the bar. The Liberty have blown past the league since handing the previously undefeated Connecticut Sun their first loss in the 10th game of the season, and they've gone on to win both subsequent meetings, as well.

Outside of a loss in the Commissioner's Cup Championship to the Minnesota Lynx (which doesn't count in the regular season standings) and an upset loss to the Indiana Fever, the Liberty haven't lost another game since late May. Their 21-4 overall record is a game-and-a-half better than the Sun, and four games clear of the rest of the league.

With just 15 games left on the schedule, it's time to start putting the record books on notice. The Aces set the standard by going 34-6 last season, but that mark may be in jeopardy. New York would have to go 14-1 to beat the record, and 13-2 to tie it, but with the way this team is playing, it's very possible.

The Liberty are 9-1 in their last 10 regular season games. Like the rest of the league, they'll have nearly a month off for the Olympics, then return to face the L.A. Sparks on August 15. Eight of their final 15 games are against the four teams that are currently out of the playoff picture, but a late-season date with the Lynx, who have beaten them twice this year, and two games against the Aces, stand out as the toughest tests. Vegas would love to play the role of the 1985 Miami Dolphins, who kept the Chicago Bears from equaling the '72 Dolphins undefeated mark with a late-season Monday Night Football win.

Watching the Liberty chase the all-time wins record will be exhilarating, but more than anything, Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu would love to be able to bring home the first championship in franchise history. The Liberty are one of the charter members of the WNBA, and though the league has seen its share of teams come, go, and relocate, they've been a rare constant. The record would be sweet, but a title would be sweeter.