Uncertainty continues for Fever and
Caitlin Clark as her healthy teammates carry their playoff hopes
[July 22, 2025]
By MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Fever thought Caitlin Clark's return
might solve their wild first-half ride. They were getting healthy,
beating good teams and starting to meet expectations.
Then the two-time All-Star got hurt again in the final minute of
last Tuesday's game at Connecticut. Indiana lost by double digits
the next night to defending champion New York.
Clark missed last weekend's All-Star festivities in Indianapolis and
is likely to sit out Tuesday night when the Fever again play the
Liberty. It's all creating uncertainty about Clark and Indiana's
championship aspirations.
“These soft tissue injuries sometimes nag until you can actually
have time to really allow them to heal in the offseason,” Indiana
coach Stephanie White said after Sunday's practice. “So we'll just
take it one day at a time and we'll continue, as a group, to
progress together.”
Neither White nor Clark have provided a timetable for Clark’s
return.
As a rookie, Clark helped the Fever snap a six-year playoff drought
and during the three-game winning streak before her latest injury,
she had 40 points, 29 assists, six steals and 10 turnovers in 79
minutes.
Her name and that of the league's other superstars have packed
arenas and been the focal point of broadcast deals.
Amid a rash of injuries, the WNBA needs its top players on the court
more than ever. According to The Next, which tracks injuries in the
league, there have been more than 140 injuries so far this season.
Those numbers fed into last weekend's debate over whether league
officials should consider extending the season next year now that
teams are playing 44 games instead of 40.
“I feel there's been quite a few injuries over the course of the
beginning of this season for quite a few people,” Clark said
Saturday, noting some injuries created minutes restrictions for
other All-Star selections. “A lot of people have been in the same
boat as myself.”
Simply extending the season creates yet another problem — competing
against the NFL and college football telecasts deeper into
September. That's something that could be resolved in a new
collective bargaining agreement.
Until then, though, Indiana must learn to deal with Clark's third
absence this season, so far resulting in 10 missed games. Clark did
not miss a single game in college or her rookie season with the
Fever.
Indiana has maintained a winning record (12-11) and playoff
positioning despite the injuries. The Fever were also able to win
the Commissioner's Cup over Minnesota with a 74-59 win without
Clark.
The team also overcame the departure of DeWanna Bonner, who lost her
starting job after three games and played in only nine before being
waived and returning to Phoenix.
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Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (0) puts up a shot against Atlanta
Dream's Brittney Griner during the second half of a WNBA basketball
game, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
And, of course, it took time for everyone to get on the same page
following a massive offseason overhaul that included the hiring of a
new general manager, Amber Cox; the return of White — Indiana’s
original No. 22; and the addition of other players with
title-winning experience.
“I think it’s been a rollercoaster ride with peaks and valleys,
injuries, switching lineups,” three-time All-Star guard Kelsey
Mitchell said. “I think that’s part of being a professional athlete.
But I think you need to go through things like this to be one of the
teams they talk about at the end of the season.”
The Fever believes it still can be one of those teams.
With Mitchell leading Indiana in scoring at 19.1 points per game and
All-Star center Aliyah Boston showcasing a niftier passing game to
go along with averages of 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds, Indiana
still has two of its foundational pillars on the court.
Indiana also has more options such as forward Natasha Howard and
backup guard Sophie Cunningham to help fill in the gaps until Clark
returns.
“Consistency, attention to detail, making sure defensively we're a
beast unit,” Cunningham said as she identified other needed fixes.
“I think it all starts on the defensive end with our intensity and
our aggressiveness. When we do that, we tend to win those ballgames.
You're going to have a little bit of slippage every now and then,
but you can't have landslides.”
Ultimately, though, the lingering question is whether Clark can stay
healthy long enough to push Indiana into championship position.
“Working your way back into it is really difficult," White said.
“She has to give herself some grace. She's coming back from an
injury."
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