How Clark's extended absence impacts Fever's WNBA playoffs - ESPN

The Indiana Fever said Thursday that guard Caitlin Clark is out for the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season, missing the team's final three regular-season games and any potential postseason play. The announcement ended weeks of speculation about when Clark, who hasn't played since July 15 due to a right groin injury, would return — a frustrating chapter for Clark and the Fever, who currently are the No. 8 seed for the WNBA playoffs.

Clark didn't miss a game during her four seasons at Iowa or her first season in the WNBA, when she won Rookie of the Year and led the league in assists and 3-pointers. But she has struggled to stay healthy throughout 2025, appearing in just 13 of Indiana's 41 games so far.

Three different injuries forced her to miss the Commissioner's Cup final on July 1, won by the Fever over Minnesota; the All-Star Game, for which she was a captain for the contest in her home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse; and the final seven weeks of the season.

What does it mean for the Fever and WNBA that Clark won't be in the playoffs? And what's next for the 23-year-old, who is one of the biggest stars in professional sports?

The Fever have been through so many injuries and new players added and subtracted this season that they've proved they just roll with the punches. And they won't be surprised by this news — they're around Clark all the time and know how her recovery has been going. Despite all the difficulties, four Fever players have appeared in all 41 games: guards Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, and posts Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard.

That's still a very good and experienced quartet of players to take into the postseason if the Fever can lock up their playoff berth. Mitchell and Boston are both averaging