96 WNBA Players Warned About Caitlin Clark in NBC Sports’ Strong Indiana Fever Prediction

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The Indiana Fever was a team built around Caitlin Clark. The growth plan, a vision to build a dynasty, the championship aspiration– it was all accelerated with the reigning ROTY’s presence. So when she went down with the first injury, things slowed down; the team slipped down the standings. But Stephanie White & Co. weren’t giving up. “A championship,” they had all agreed on, so the struggling locker room snatched the script and rewrote it. So good that the deep-run predictions are back on the table.

When the quad injury first sidelined Caitlin Clark, the Fever almost felt exposed, losing to lower-ranked teams like the Mystics and the Connecticut Sun. But Coach White looked for an opportunity in the adversity. “Learning to play without [Caitlin]… is important because that’s gonna pay dividends down the stretch of the season for us,” she had said and it worked out just as well.

From 5-6 to 7-7, the Fever have learnt to adjust without their star guard. We are talking the Minnesota Lynx, the Aces, and the 3rd-ranked Phoenix Mercury. Kelsey Mitchell & Co. have now landed 3 dubs in a row without Clark, and so national analyst Ros Gold-Onwude has a message.

“Still being a team that’s very dangerous. I think anyone on the other side of them is sleeping on them because there’s an injury to Caitlin Clark would be very foolish,” Gold-Onwude warned on WNBA on NBC. The Fever may be missing their sharpshooter, but Mitchell and Aliyah Boston are ensuring no void is felt on the offensive front. The 8-year veteran is averaging over 20 points while Boston is leading with an impressive 54.8% field goal average.

We have further seen Lexie Hull and Natasha Howard step up defensively, bringing the rating to 100.8. For a cherry on top, Aari McDonald, who came in as DeWanna Bonner’s replacement, just put up a stunning, career-high, 27-point piece against the Mercury. So, Sophie Cunningham rightly admitted, “if we have Caitlin, great, and we know how to play with her. If we don’t have Caitlin, great. We know how to play without her.” 

If that’s the team without their best player on court, you could only imagine their force with Clark fully healthy. So Ros Gold-Onwude did not hesitate to make a bold claim, something to keep the 96 players — who will enter the playoffs this season — on their toes. “You know they could be very spicy in the playoff run.” Natalie Esquire did not argue, though she does believe the team’s ceiling will be limited if Clark is not back. And the Fever’s ensuring it doesn’t get to that.

 

Natalie Esquire and Ros Gold-Onwude discuss if Fever can make a deep playoff push if Caitlin Clark returns from her groin injury:

“I dont think she should be rushed”
“If Caitlin comes back, they could be very “SPICY” on a playoff run”

Noticing all the switch up pic.twitter.com/w1Y0i6gd2S

— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) July 30, 2025

Now sidelined for the 3rd time this season, the Fever guard’s return timeline still remains uncertain. ESPN has estimated it to be around mid-July, but Stephanie White and the staff are ensuring Clark gets plenty of practice and gets into the rythm before she suits up again. Because in the last two situations, her shooting percentages dropped drastically, and she hardly played 5 games in a stretch.

Moreover, soft tissue injuries are no easy heal. They could pop right back up with one wrong step. So Clark’s return is going to take a while, but the Fever look right on track for the playoffs placed 6th with a 15-12 record. But it isn’t just the Indiana roster adjusting to her absence.

Caitlin Clark’s absence fetches revenue for the league

When Caitlin Clark announced that she would be missing the All-Star weekend, there was a looming concern surrounding the footfall. Surprisingly, the All-Star games saw a successful response from fans and followers. A whopping 1.3 million spectators witnessed the Skills and the 3-point challenge, while nearly 2.2 million people tuned in for the All-Star game.

But it did not end here. As Indiana Fever locked horns with Chicago Sky without their star athlete, the ESPN had an interesting report to share. The official ESPN PR account took to X to announce, “This past Sunday, ABC aired another of its most-watched WNBA games EVER with the Indiana Fever’s win over Chicago Sky. 1.5M avg. viewers (1.7M peak). WNBA on ESPN up 6% from last season.”

As Indiana Fever has a domineering presence on the hardwood without the star player, the love and support has only gotten three-fold. After all, her absence helped generate massive viewership and revenue for the league. Is this the lingering influence of the Caitlin Clark Effect? Guess, we’ll have to wait it out.

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