Coming off their first playoff berth since 2016, the Fever entered the year with renewed optimism under coach White’s second tenure and a series of shrewd offseason additions, such as Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham and two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner.

The 2025 season has riddled Clark with injuries. She missed the Fever’s preseason opener with left quad tightness and reinjured that same quad in May, which forced her to miss five games. The star forward missed another five games with a left groin injury.

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.