Aug 22, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) passes the ball against the New York Liberty during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Caitlin Clark has continued to showcase glimpses of the form that made her a WNBA star during the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. So much so that the Indiana Fever guard leads all of Team USA in one notable statistic.
According to FIBA’s official stat tracker, Clark is averaging 21.9 minutes per game despite coming off the bench. Moreover, she is leading Team USA in assists (6.3 APG). This comes after she dished out game-high 11 assists against China, one assist against Italy, and game-high seven more against the Czech Republic.
Clark is closely followed by Breanna Stewart, who ranks second among Team USA’s minutes leaders at 20.3 per game. Paige Bueckers and Team USA’s leading scorer, Jackie Young, are tied for third, with both averaging 19.2 minutes per game.
Considering Clark’s influence and impact on the WNBA, it’s quite surprising for fans to not see her in the starting lineup and instead be coming off the bench.
Team USA head coach Kara Lawson was heavily criticized for the benching Clark for all three group stage games. Regardless, Lawson has been supportive of Clark.
USA Coach Supports Caitlin Clark Amid Shooting Woes
Throughout the group stage, Clark averaged 8.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game. However, her shooting numbers have not been up to her standard.
According to FIBA, Clark shot just 30.4% from the field across three games against China, Italy, and the Czech Republic. She also made only 25% of her three-point attempts.
That hasn’t prevented Kara Lawson from boasting her support for the Fever star. “I didn’t even know that, I don’t count how many they miss, I just want their shot quality to be high,” Lawson said after Team USA win over Czech Republic.
“I think Caitlin’s done a solid job in this tournament taking the right shots at the right times. That’s normal for any shooter, to have stretches where you’re hot and stretches where you’re a little bit cold.”
“But she provides a great playmaking aspect to her game on our team. We rely on her at the point guard position when she’s in to run the team. We saw that in the first game when she had 11 assists and zero turnovers. She’s another young player that’s feeling her way through her first World Cup. She’s really motivated and wanting to help our team win and I think that’s a great place to be.”
The Americans finished the group stage in first place within the Group D standings, getting six points. They finished above China, Italy and the Czech Republic in that order. As a result, they automatically advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Team USA will anticipate their path to the championship round to get difficult now that they’re in the FIBA World Cup knockout stage. They prepare for an encounter with Hungary, who beat Japan, 84-63, on Tuesday.