Unrivaled Injury Update Raises Questions About Fever Guard's Future
Indiana Fever guard Aari McDonald has had some rough injury luck of late.
McDonald, who joined the Fever on a hardship contract because of the bevy of injuries Indiana suffered, was ruled out for the remainder of the WNBA season in August due to a broken bone in her right foot.
This is why she expressed excitement about returning to the floor for Unrivaled in January, posting "Today is my first time playing in almost 5 months 🥹," at the time.
Unfortunately, McDonald was injured in her first game for Breeze BC on January 5 and hasn't returned since. And on Monday, Unrivaled announced she would be out for the remainder of the season with a "right lower extremity injury."
Update: Aari McDonald is out for the remainder of the season. pic.twitter.com/ejzMtVnSIk
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) February 9, 2026
Of course, the first concern is that McDonald gets healthy, but the update and the vague wording around the specific injury certainly raise questions for the Fever ahead of WNBA free agency.
If and when a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between the league and the players' association, the Fever will be faced with a myriad of decisions.
RELATED: Indiana Fever Face Big Decisions Once WNBA CBA Is Done
The team will have to determine which players to protect in the expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, and who to prioritized in a free agency period where the majority of the league will be available and many of their players will be on the market—including McDonald.
And it's fair to wonder if her injury status may factor into how the Fever approach possibly bringing her back.
McDonald Became a Favorite of Fans and Teammates
McDonald made quite the impression on Fever fans and her teammates during her short stint in Indiana. She admirably filled in for the injured Caitlin Clark and provided a spark as a point of attack presence on both ends.
This earned her tremendous support inside the locker room and out. In fact, on a recent episode of the podcast she launched with Rachel Banham from Unrivaled, teammates Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell made it clear how they feel about McDonald.
Kelsey is thankful for the young bucks on the Fever and her last two years at the Fever “put us on top”. Kelsey’s career with Indy hasn’t been easy and she says “having a good team effing matters” pic.twitter.com/VS6ftNXYiU
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) February 6, 2026
"Once Aari started playing with us, it was like yeah she can't stop playing with us," Mitchell stated, with Boston adding an enthusiastic confirmation.
Perhaps McDonald is just being extra cautious to preserve herself for the WNBA season and her future. And it is quite clear that the other Fever players want to see her stay in Indiana.
But the injury update out of Unrivaled raises more questions than answers.
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Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his popular YouTube channel. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak On SI and Indiana Fever On SI!
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