Caitlin Clark: WNBA Playoffs Run Was a ‘Little Taste of What’s Possible’ for Fever

Julia StumbaughSeptember 26, 2024

Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

The Indiana Fever’s 2024 playoffs may be over after two games, but Caitlin Clark is expecting deeper postseason runs for her team in the future.

“It’s a good little taste of what’s possible for this organization and for this franchise,” Clark told reporters after the Fever’s elimination loss to the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday in Game 2, per ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “There’s a lot for us to hold our heads high about. This team won five games two years ago. We’re a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, but we came together and had a lot of fun playing together.

“Sometimes the worst part of it is like you feel like you’re really playing your best basketball, and then it has to end.”

Clark continued: “The fun part is I feel like I’m just scratching the surface, and I’m one that’s nitpicking every single thing I do. I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my teammates get even better, and I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve. So that’s what excites me the most. I feel like I could continue to get a lot better, and before we know it, I’m sure we’ll all be back here and ready for the next year.”

Despite setting a WNBA playoff rookie record with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists, Clark was unable to power her team to victory on Wednesday night as Alyssa Thomas and the Sun clinched the opening-round series with an 87-81 win at home.

The shortened postseason run still marked significant progress for a club that had missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons prior to selecting Clark at the top of the 2024 draft.

Led by Clark and two other former high draft picks, 2018 No. 2 selection Kelsey Mitchell and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, the Fever climbed to 20 wins and a .500 season record for the first time since 2016.

Led by its young stars, the Fever at times struggled with inexperience throughout the season, as showed during Clark’s playoff debut in Sunday’s Game 1 against the Sun.

The loss became a blowout in the second half as Clark struggled from behind the arc, making two of 13 three-point attempts as she finished with 11 points in the 93-69 loss.

The Fever were once again trailing by nine points heading into the fourth quarter of Game 2 before a late surge of offense by Clark helped pull the visitors into the lead with four minutes remaining.

Veteran DeWanna Bonner pushed the Sun back ahead before late Fever fouls allowed Connecticut a series of free throws that put the elimination game out of reach.

The Sun are now set to face the Minnesota Lynx when the WNBA semifinals begin on Sunday.

The Fever will meanwhile enter the offseason with Clark, signed through 2027, and Boston, locked in through 2026, as the young core of what will be a playoff hopeful next fall.

The biggest offseason question for Indiana will be the expiring contract of Mitchell, who tied Clark for the team lead with 19.2 points last season and is likely to be in demand during free agency.

If the Fever are able to work out a deal that will keep the 28-year-old guard in Indiana while using this winter to add more depth around Boston and Clark, this team could be set for a longer postseason in 2025.