Caitlin Clark’s 2026 season gave the Indiana Fever plenty of reason to celebrate, as she had the best season of her young career. However, buried under the stuffed stat sheets and historic offensive numbers lies a statistic that the team would rather forget.
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That statistic was revealed by ESPN analytics expert Dean Oliver, and it had to do with her turning the ball over at a high volume, something that has long been a weakness in her game. He posted about it.
“For the regular season, these are the WNBA players who allowed the most points off live turnovers,” he wrote on his X page. “In watching yesterday, Clark and Austin both had 5, third most for the day. Olivia Miles actually had 8 and Kiki Iriafen had 6.”
He attached a list he had compiled of the most live turnovers. For those wondering what makes a turnover live, it refers to a moment when the turnover does not result in the game clock being stopped. These include stolen dribbles, passing lane interceptions, or loose ball recoveries from the floor.
The reason why this matters is that live-ball turnovers immediately reward the opposing team with fast breaks, which usually result in uncontested rim attempts or open perimeter shots, some of the easiest shots for pro athletes.
According to Oliver’s list, Caitlin Clark was the leader in live-ball turnovers by a significant margin, which also meant that she gave up the most points off live-ball turnovers and the most fast-break points off live-ball turnovers. She sat at 120 giveaways, 34 ahead of second-place Carla Leite, who sat at 86. The Portland Fire guard was also second in fast-break points off live turnovers, 28 behind Clark’s 105.
When it comes to total points off live turnovers, Clark sat ahead of Washington Mystics star Shakira Austin, who gave up 122 points to Clark’s 148.
This is an unfortunate blemish on a stellar season for Clark, especially since she made history with the very same playstyle that led to all the turnovers.
Notably, Clark scored 891 points and logged 333 assists in the regular season, making her the first player in league history to reach at least 800 points and 300 assists in one season. She also became the first player to log 40+ points and 10+ assists in a single game, doing so against the Seattle Storm on July 17.
She also had five games with 30+ points and 10+ assists this season, more than every other player in the league. Caitlin Clark’s high-volume playmaking and passing are exactly what has brought her to lead the league in turnovers at 183. Importantly, Clark generated 41.2 points per game for her team, the highest mark the league has ever seen. The same skill that helps her power the team’s offense is the same reason she gave her opponents over 105 easy points.
The Fever’s overall offensive success seems to suggest that they’re willing to let Clark set the table despite that pitfall. Indiana averaged a league-leading 96 points per game, while leading the WNBA’s most efficient offense, with a 115 offensive rating, per WNBA Stats.
Before entering the playoffs, Caitlin Clark achieved another WNBA record, becoming the first player in WNBA history to finish in the top two for average scoring and the top two for average assists in the same season. The Associated Press named Clark as their Comeback Player of the Year for 2026 and made her a part of the All-AP First Team alongside backcourt partner Kelsey Mitchell.
Caitlin Clark and Mitchell became only the second pair of teammates in league history to average at least 20 points each, and combined for 47 points per game this season.
What makes Caitlin Clark’s 2026 season interesting is that she constantly pushed the limits of how much a single player can do for an offense. For the Fever, that might mark the next part of Clark’s evolution. The production and high-volume playmaking are already there; if she can fix her turnover mistakes, Clark could become even more dangerous than she already is.