Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark is out for the season due to injuries, but she’s been a tremendous asset on the sidelines as her team fights to advance in the playoffs, per head coach Stephanie White.
“Caitlin certainly has a great basketball IQ,” White said, per Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic. “Her ability to communicate some of the things that she’s seeing on the floor, offensively, defensive coverages, whatever it might be. Where some open opportunities are, encouraging her teammates to not pass up shots because I feel like sometimes we do.”
It’s been a brutal year for the Fever injury-wise, including Clark, the league’s 2024 Rookie of the Year who also earned All-Star and All-WNBA First Team honors.
Clark was limited to just 13 games this season due to various ailments. A right groin injury ultimately sidelined her for the 2025 season, and she also suffered a bone bruise while trying to get back on the court.
Still, Clark has been a tremendous presence for the team, as Merchant noted.
“But nothing distracts Clark from the task at hand, which is to be present for her team. That means hyping them up through good times and bad, pouring confidence into them, and adding whatever insight she can from her perch.”
One can certainly connect the dots and note the positive impact Clark’s had in light of the Fever’s trials and tribulations in 2025.
Aari McDonald, who replaced Clark in the lineup, is out for the year with a broken bone in her right foot.
Sophie Cunningham (torn MCL in her right knee), Sydney Colson (torn ACL in her left knee) and Chloe Bibby (left knee injury) are also out for the year.
Still, this team has excellent chemistry, and White noted the tremendous communication this group has shown, with Clark in the middle of it all.
“Having our injured players with us … everybody communicating together, continuing to hold one another accountable,” White said. “Having (Clark) engaged in those huddles and communicating what she sees has been really important.”
Despite being short-handed, the Fever went 24-20 and earned the No. 6 seed. Indiana has now split a pair of first-round games with the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream, with the series decider looming today at 7:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta.
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