Caitlin Clark Leads Fever to Postseason for First Time Since 2016

Without Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever were the worst team in the WNBA. With Caitlin Clark, the Fever could go from worse to first.

That’s a long way off. For now, the Hoosier hoopers are merely the three-seed in the Eastern Conference standings and on the way to the playoffs. However, the Fever are also the hottest team in the WNBA, having won six out of their last seven, and they have Caitlin Clark.

However, the team’s rise to prominence this season was far from assured.

Skeptics, critics, and even fans had their doubts after Indiana limped out of the gates to a 1-8 start. Doubts only grew as it became clear that WNBA veterans were determined to subject Clark to unprecedented verbal and physical abuse while the league sat back and did nothing about it.

And those are but a few examples.

Clark not only didn’t allow the hate directed her way to throw her off her game, but she used it to get even better. For a point of comparison, one can look at the statistical comparison between Clark and WNBA Hall of Famer ( and Caitlin Clark hater) Sheryl Swoopes.

Swoopes narrowly edges Clark in scoring with a negligible .1, 18.5 points per game to 18.4. However, Clark beats Swoopes in average assists and rebounds per game and is doing it all more efficiently than Swoopes.

Since that rough start, the Fever have won 16 of 24 games, while their arch-rivals, the Chicago Sky, have lost seven in a row and are barely clinging to the final playoff spot.

The Fever continues their march to increase their playoff seeding against the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, September 4th.