Caitlin Clark dubs former WNBA champion as 'GOAT' for hyping Fever rookie's new assist record

Caitlin Clark dubbed former WNBA champion Ticha Penicheiro as the "GOAT" after the Portuguese former basketball player hyped the Indiana Fever star rookie for breaking the WNBA's single-season rookie assists record. Notably, the record was previously held by Penicheiro. Clark commented on the WNBA legend's Instagram post that featured a congratulatory message for the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft.

"The goat!!!! Appreciate you always 🖤," Clark commented.

Clark dubs Penicheiro as the 'GOAT' (Image Credit: @tichapenicheiro/Instagram)

In the congratulatory message, Penicheiro lauded Clark for her hard work and how she handles the pressure and responsibility that she bears in the league:

"When you put in the work, love and respect the game, the accolades come in an organic way!! Huge congrats to @caitlinclark22, not only for breaking my former record in “most assists by a Rookie in WNBA history”, but for ALL she’s doing for the game," Penicheiro said.

"A tremendous amount of pressure and responsibility has been put on her since the draft and I couldn’t be more proud on how she has handled herself and everything thrown at her. Cheers to you and to many more records that will be broken!!," she added.

Caitlin Clark secured the rookie assists record during Indiana's matchup against the Seattle Storm on Sunday. Despite a slow start, she led the Fever to a 92-75 victory in the game with 23 points, five rebounds, nine assists, one steal and two blocks.

Caitlin Clark opens up about passing Ticha Penicheiro for rookie assists record

During an on-court interview after the home win on Sunday, Clark shared her thoughts about passing Penicheiro for the WNBA all-time rookie assists record:

"Ticha has been a big fan of mine ever since I was in college and somebody that has always been right there to congratulate me or just be somebody that's offered advice," Clark said. "To pass somebody like her, I'm just forever thankful that she's been such a legend in our game. It's super cool but hopefully there's a lot more of those."

The record is the former Iowa Hawkeye star's latest accolade after she previously secured a myriad of achievements just 28 games into her WNBA career. She continues breaking more and more records while leading the Indiana Fever's effort. Clark has averaged 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.4 steals so far in her rookie season while shooting 41.2% from the field and 32.8% from deep.

With the win on Sunday, the Fever are currently seventh in the WNBA standings with a 13-15 record and started the second half of the WNBA season with a 2-0 record. They will look to secure a spot in the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016 with Clark leading the way. Indiana hits the road to face the Minnesota Lynx next at Target Center on Saturday.