It’s the midway point of the WNBA season, and we’ve gotten some sensational performances already.
The Toronto Tempo’s Marina Mabrey had 53 points against the Los Angeles Sparks, tying the single-game scoring record. Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever had the WNBA’s first-ever 45-point and 10-assist game against the Seattle Storm. The Phoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper had a similarly impressive double-double of her own with a 41-point and 10-rebound game against the Sparks.
While players are putting
up jaw-dropping numbers in individual contests, one stat line for the season remains slightly out of reach: 50-40-90.
These numbers signal what’s considered the elite of the elite shooting: converting on 50 percent of all field goal attempts, 40 percent of shots from the 3-point line and making 90 percent of one’s free throws.
In WNBA history, only two players, Napheesa Collier and Elena Delle Donne, achieved this feat. Currently, no one is on track to join the 50-40-90 club, but a few are close.
Here are three players who might improve enough to be the third player in league history to join this exclusive group of players. In the comments, be sure to share any additional candidates.
Sophie Cunningham (Indiana Fever)
Sophie Cunningham is having a very productive season for the Fever. She has embraced her role as a backup wing who can score in bunches. This year, Cunningham is averaging 9.4 points while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from 3-point range and 89.4 percent from the charity stripe.
These are career marks in all three shooting categories for Cunningham. If she gets just a bit better, it’ll be historic. Cunningham has her deep shot above 40 percent, and if she can improve on her free throws by just .6 percent she’ll have that mark as well.
Improving her overall shooting by 1.6 percent will be tough. Among perimeter-based players who have logged at least 10 games, just eight are meeting or exceeding the 50 percent mark. It’ll be difficult for Cunningham to enter this group, but don’t count her out. She’s demonstrated that she can improve as a shooter over time, and a little more accuracy will place her in rarified air.
Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
It’s not a shocker that Paige Bueckers is a legitimate contender for the 50-40-90 club.
She is shooting 51.8 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from deep and 87.2 percent from the free throw line. Bueckers has the overall shooting numbers, but needs to improve marginally from the charity stripe and beyond the arc.
Considering that Bueckers takes 4.5 3s per game, she’ll have enough volume to get her numbers up if she knocks down more of her attempts. Bueckers has seen tremendous improvement on her outside shot. During her rookie season, she only made 33.1 percent of her 3-pointers, improving by over five percent just a year later.
In contrast, Bueckers’ free-throw shooting has taken a slight dip. Last season she made 88.8 percent of her free-throw attempts, but a strong second half of the year could push her past 90 percent and have Bueckers in position for one of the best shooting seasons by a guard in WNBA history.
Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever)
Kelsey Mitchell is having a career year, and that’s saying something since she is a four-time All-Star and was on the All-WNBA First Team last season.
She is averaging 23.3 points per game while making 49.5 percent of her shots, converting on 42.3 percent of her 3-point attempts and 85.2 percent of her free throws.
The 0.5 percent gap she needs to improve by to reach 50 percent shooting from the field is doable. Mitchell is taking a career-high 16.3 shots per game, so she’ll have plenty of chances to reach that mark.
Her 3-point shooting clears, so her biggest obstacle will come at the foul line. She’s never been a 90 percent shooter from the free throw line. Her best season average from the charity stripe came back in 2021 when she made 88.2 percent of her free throws. However, with half of the season left, there is time to improve enough to reach that percentage.
It’ll be intriguing to keep an eye on this trio and see if they can reach the 50-40-90 club.
There are also other players like the Minnesota Lynx’s Olivia Miles and Las Vegas Aces’ Jackie Young who aren’t far from these standards and could make things interesting if they have a monster August. Having so many players in contention for this achievement is an indicator of just how good players have gotten at offense. They are taking a ton of shots at a high rate and still finding ways to improve their efficiency.
It took 23 years for the WNBA to have a player in the 50-40-90 club and just another six for the next addition to come. Given how well these players shoot, I’d bet the next player to join comes much sooner, if not as early as this season.
