Are Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever built for a WNBA title now? - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — On a weekend with the Indianapolis 500 qualifying in town and the Pacers preparing for the Eastern Conference finals, the Indiana Fever's season opener took a backseat to no one.

Last season, Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm and helped the Fever snap a seven-year playoff drought.

After an aggressive offseason focused on supplementing the star power of Clark and Aliyah Boston, the Fever entered 2025 thinking much bigger.

«My expectation is for us to try to win a championship,» Clark told media members before Indiana's opener against the Chicago Sky. «But when I take the court, that's not what I'm thinking about. It's what can we do every single possession to win the game.»

Indiana then torched the Sky 93-58, and Clark had a triple-double. Led by Stephanie White, in her second stint as coach, the Fever had a perfect start to the 2025 season.

A week later, they took the undefeated, defending champion New York Liberty to the final seconds before falling 90-88. After going 1-3 against the Liberty last season, including two blowout losses, the Fever now looked like they were on more common ground and led by 12 at one point. It was the kind of game that seemingly validated the team's championship talk and offseason makeover.

But things quickly got a lot more complicated.

Clark, the 2024 first overall draft pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year, was sidelined May 26 by a left quad strain, the first time in her pro or college career she has missed any games. The Fever are 4-5 overall, 2-3 without her. They hope she might return Saturday when they again host the Liberty (ABC, 3 p.m. ET).

«Since the start of the season, Steph has told us that things aren't going to be perfect and not everything is going to go the way