Indiana Fever Could Still Feel the Impact of Caitlin Clark’s Injury a Season Later
Caitlin Clark only played 13 games last season due to injuries. So, Stephanie White had to spend her first season with the Indiana Fever without one of the team’s franchise players and offensive engines. She did a remarkable job working around Clark’s injury and the many other ailments that troubled various key players, but the 2026 season presents a completely new challenge.
Due to Clark’s injury last season, White is still in the early stages of figuring out how to best use the star guard as a creator and scorer, but the expectations for the team are already exponentially higher than last season after a surprising run to the semifinals.
Having to figure out ways to maximize Clark’s passing and shotmaking in different lineups while also having to integrate completely new pieces could slow down the Fever’s process to start the season.
Clark has off shooting night in preseason
Clark played only limited minutes in the Fever’s preseason opener against the New York Liberty, which was to be expected. Her shooting struggles weren’t as unsurprising, given how well she had played with Team USA last month. Clark finished with seven points on 2-10 shooting from the field and 1-5 from three.
White made it clear after the game that she was not concerned about Clark’s scoring.
“If we’re talking about the shot making, that’s going to come,” White said. “They play her differently in the W than they do in international basketball. And so we’ve just got to find ways to free her up and get her some easy looks.”
One preseason game shouldn’t be a reason for panic, but it is true that White didn’t get much of a chance to figure out how to create opportunities for Clark to score easy buckets last season. So, she will have to do it heading into a season with championship expectations for the Fever.
Other contenders have things to figure out as well
Indiana isn’t the only team with championship aspirations that may start the season with some growing pains and issues to iron out.
The New York Liberty hired a first-time head coach and added Satou Sabally to a core of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones. They will also have to figure out how to maximize every star’s impact on offense and how to build a cohesive defense.
Likewise, the Atlanta Dream have to integrate Angel Reese into a system that worked beautifully with a core of Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Jordin Canada, Naz Hillmon, and Brionna Jones last season. The latter is still recovering from knee surgery, which only increases the potential for some early hiccups.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.