Caitlin Clark - Playoffs 'a big moment' for Fever, but expected - ESPN

Caitlin Clark said she watched the endings to the two games that put the Indiana Fever into the WNBA playoffs Tuesday night then fell asleep. For one thing, it was around midnight ET. But also, Clark wasn't really surprised — even if it did end the Fever's seven-year playoff drought.

«It's definitely a big moment for this place, but at the same time, I came in with the expectation that this is what's going to happen,» Clark said prior to the Fever's game Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks. «For me, this isn't a party. Yeah, it's great. But there's so much left to be done. I'm not just happy to be in the playoffs. I feel like we have the type of team that can win and advance.»

Las Vegas' win over Chicago and Phoenix's against Atlanta guaranteed the Fever a playoff spot for the first time since 2016. Indiana had been to the playoffs for 12 consecutive years, including a run to the 2012 WNBA championship, before the drought.

Back-to-back No. 1 draft picks in Aliyah Boston (2023) and Clark (2024) helped the Fever return to prominence. Indiana started the season 1-8 and faced a lot of outside criticism, but Clark talked about how the team overcame that.

«It really was difficult, but for our group, we never hung our heads,» she said. «We were able to block out the noise, and that's allowed us to be really good. It was just a matter of when we were going to figure it out.»

On Wednesday, Clark was named both WNBA Rookie of the Month and Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August, while the Fever's Christie Sides was named Coach of the Month.

Clark said she was grateful but thought teammate Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever's leading scorer, deserved the Player of the Month award.

«Just what she was doing, and the