Take a peek at the WNBA all-time assists list. It kicks off with Sue Bird, wraps up with Becky Hammon, and in between… mostly guards. nine out of ten, to be exact. That leaves an odd one out, daring to crash the guard party, the only forward in the top ten. Now, look at the 2025 season, and the story repeats itself. Among the top assist leaders, only one forward makes the cut. Sure, today’s basketball is more position-fluid than ever, but historically, playmaking has been a guard’s domain. And the trajectory of growth begins in the traditional way.

So, for a forward to stand out in a stat usually reserved for point guards? That’s borderline rebellious. And that forward has again made her way into the conversation.

When Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA, some whispered about her needing a ‘reality check’. Yet, she handed one out instead, both to fans and a few legends. Beyond her famous ‘logo threes,’ she racked up 337 assists, shattering the single-season record just months after tossing up 19 assists in a single game against the Dallas Wings. Come 2025, and she was supposed to break her own record. However, Clark only managed 13 games thanks to pesky soft tissue injuries. And almost before anyone could say ‘triple-double,’ her prized assist record had already been snatched away. By the same forward, Alyssa Thomas. #7 in the all-time record and #1 this year.

The official Polymarket Hoops account took to X and broke the news. They shared a poster of Thomas with a caption that read, “Alyssa Thomas has passed Caitlin Clark for the most assists in a single season ever.” With an average of 15.9 points, 9 rebounds, and 9.2 assists across 37 games, Alyssa Thomas surpassed Caitlin Clark’s record in the team’s recent game against the Connecticut Sun.

As one of the Big 3 athletes of the franchise after Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas set the Mohegan Sun Arena on fire by dishing out 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. This record belonged to Alyssa Thomas before Clark took it away last year in her 40th game. With eyes set firmly, she snatched it back by setting a new benchmark of 342 assists on a corner three from Kathryn Westbeld with 4:45 left in the second quarter. And though the fourth-seeded team in the league succumbed to a three-point deficit, they had a remarkable feat to celebrate.

Now, some might shrug and say, ‘A veteran drafted in 2011 breaking a rookie’s record? Big deal.’ Sure, last year Thomas nudged past her own 316-assist mark with 317, but then along came rookie Caitlin Clark, who blasted past that milestone, making the achievement feel that much bigger. Context matters, though. Comparing Clark to Thomas in their rookie seasons, Thomas managed just 51 assists against 58 turnovers over 34 games. But here’s the thing we hinted at before: Thomas is a forward.

Look at other elite forwards as context. A’ja Wilson had 74 assists in her first year, Sheryl Swoopes notched 62 in her sophomore season (after only nine games as a rookie), and Elena Delle Donne recorded 53 in 30 games. Now toss in the point guards. Take Sue Bird, for instance, who had a whopping 191 assists in 32 games as a rookie. Also, let’s not forget that era and team style influence these totals, and yes, Clark’s numbers reflect today’s high-possession, fast-paced offenses.

The bottom line, though, is that Clark is a generational point guard, while Thomas is a generational forward.

Alyssa Thomas was surprised after breaking Caitlin Clark’s record

Alyssa Thomas had no clue she was about to snatch back the WNBA’s single-season assist record. She was too busy just trying to help her team win, and maybe secretly hoping for a better playoff spot, because, you know, priorities.

“Honestly I didn’t know that I was even close,” Thomas said. “I didn’t focus on that, but definitely credit to my teammates I can’t do it without them. It’s been a great change for me this year with a new offense that just allows me to go out there and make the reads that I need to make.”

For Thomas, it was a poetic achievement: she stepped onto the court against the Sun, her former team, needing just six assists to surpass the 316 she had previously set with them.”It was my home for 11 years and it was awesome to be able to do it in front of them,” Thomas said. “It all started here, so yeah, it’s cool, a full-circle moment.“

Caitlin Clark and Alyssa Thomas are probably going to be swapping this record for years, and honestly, that’s a win for the game. It’s fun, it’s competitive, and we’re all here for it. And each time one claims the record from the other, it’s bound to come as a surprise, at least for Thomas.