Indiana Fever Clinch Playoff Berth Even Without Caitlin Clark

The Indiana Fever held championship expectations entering the season, but they had a nightmare season riddled with multiple season-ending injuries and a controversial midseason departure.

It’s at least going to end with another playoff appearance.

The Fever clinched their second consecutive postseason berth Sunday after defeating the Washington Mystics, It’s the first time since the 2015 and 2016 seasons that Indiana qualified for the postseason in back-to-back years.

Indiana also won its 23rd game, which guarantees a record above .500 for the first time since 2015. The team finished at exactly .500 last season (20–20), when there were four fewer regular-season games.

The achievement comes just days after the team and Caitlin Clark announced she would miss the remainder of the season and any potential playoff series due to injury. Clark played just 13 games this season, battling multiple injuries. Clark’s latest injury was her right groin, and it has kept her out since mid-July, right before the All-Star break.

The Fever were projected to be title contenders with Clark entering her sophomore campaign following a historic rookie season in which she was fourth in MVP voting. The team brought in a new coaching staff led by 2023 Coach of the Year Stephanie White and veteran help from the likes of DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson, and Sophie Cunningham.

Only one of those four names will be in the playoff rotation. 

Bonner played just nine games for the Fever. Front Office Sports reported in June that the fit was “off” from the beginning between the Fever and the 38-year-old. Colson and Cunningham each suffered season-ending injuries in August. Even Aari McDonald, a midseason addition driven by injuries and the departure of Bonner, sustained a broken right foot in August that ended her season.

Indiana managed to float in the midfield all season long and ultimately still managed to improve on its 2024 record behind strong seasons from Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. 

Despite Clark’s absence, the team has still been the biggest draw of the season, averaging 16,250 fans per game across both home and road contests, the most in the league by about 2,500, according to data from Across the Timeline. However, the majority of those games were sold out before the season when fans assumed Clark would be present.

Indiana fans have also maintained support for the team, averaging more than 16,500 fans per game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. While it’s a slight dip from last year’s average (17,035), it’s a far cry from the pre-Clark era average of around 4,000 in 2023. 

The Fever are still one of the WNBA’s biggest TV teams even without Clark, as many of their games have still drawn more than 1 million viewers in her absence. However, there are still double-digit dips in viewership compared to when Clark is in action, and the playoff should be a barometer for Clark’s impact.

The two Fever playoff games last season combined to average about 2.15 million viewers.