UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Kaitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever’s championship version couldn’t have been built in one season. No one, from the general manager to the competitive Clark, knew it.
“It’s a nice little taste of what’s possible for this organization and this franchise,” Clark said after wrapping up the final 40 minutes of his incredible rookie season. “And there’s a lot we have to hold our heads up high for.”
The Fever almost forced a Game 3 against a much more experienced Connecticut Sun squad at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wednesday night, and the final minutes carried the tone of a classic Clark storybook ending that has enticed millions for nearly a year.
She started a mini-Fever run with a fadeaway bucket and a pass to Lexi Hull with five minutes left, which set up a Temi Fagbenle 3-pointer, then finished with a 3-pointer to give the Fever its first lead since 1:29 of the first quarter. The Fever then took the lead again with a pass to Aliyah Boston.
But the rewards don’t come so quickly. Not even for Clark in Iowa. The Fever offense creaked, and the Sun won where the year began, ending Indiana’s best season since 2016 with an 87-81 win.
“This team won five games three years ago,” Clark said. “So we’re a young, inexperienced team, but we’ve had a lot of fun coming together and playing against each other. Sometimes the worst part is when you think you’re playing your best basketball and it’s over.”
Clark improved from a franchise-record 10 turnover debut as the season progressed to 25 points with nine assists, six rebounds, a steal, a block and three turnovers in the final. She played all 40 minutes alongside backcourt mate Kelsey Mitchell and lit the game with an opening 3-pointer, showing that this wasn’t the poor shooting night fans saw in Game 1.
She finished fourth in MVP voting and is a WNBA First Team contender. The Associated Press unanimously named her Rookie of the Year. The league’s ROY award is almost certainly hers. Both the rookie and overall record were in the dust.
And the Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, a goal they’ve been fairly open about, having spent years as a league punchline. From 2017-2022, the Fever went 45-147 (. 234) and had only one season over . 300. The lottery pick wasn’t useful. It was wasted.
In 2022, the Fever were a franchise-worst 5-31 (. 139) and general manager Lin Dunn hired Christie Sides as head coach. They acquired the No. 1 pick and drafted Boston, the national champion from South Carolina. The 6-foot-5 center led them to a 13-27 season (tied for the franchise’s most wins since 2017) and won ROY.
“I think my rookie year was a rebuilding year,” Boston said. “And when you look at a rebuilding year, I mean, everyone wants to go for a championship and bring a ring home. But when you look at basketball as a whole, and where we’ve been from where we started, I think it’s about stepping stones. I think we’ve taken the right steps forward over the past two seasons, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.
“We’re on the rise. I think it’s important to keep that in mind.”
The Las Vegas Aces drafted #1 in three consecutive seasons from 2017-19, but lost in the 2020 Finals and haven’t won a title with their core group since 2022. The Seattle Storm did the same every time they drafted #1 in consecutive seasons.
Still, the Fever were expected to be good. Great, even. Expectations were sky-high, even as they blasted through an opening slate of the game’s best teams and veterans. The outside noise grew louder as they started 1-9. They bounced back, became one of the favorites after the All-Star/Olympic break, and secured the No. 6 seed at 20-20.
“We started off 1-8 and then made the playoffs, which is an incredible story to tell,” Sides said.
There was no gloom in this defeat, no overwhelming frustration after the Game 1 loss. Sure, there was disappointment in the way they played and the way they deviated from their game plan. But this was a learning opportunity for the future.
Boston is under contract through 2025 with an option for 2026. Clark is under contract through 2026 and ’27, respectively. Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent who will likely need solid pitching to keep the Fever. They have key free agents to tempt and a deep draft to fill out the bench.
“We definitely have the potential to do well in the coming years. [with] “Look at the young talent we have,” Sides said.
Sides said it will take her a few weeks to relax and “not wake up all the time with a good night’s sleep and talk about basketball.” Boston, who worked in the studio for women’s college basketball last year, said now that the Fever feels more up to speed, she’ll have a better gauge for her offseason training plan.
Clark was ready to catch his breath.
“I feel like basketball has completely taken over my life for a year,” Clark said.
The “crossover at Kinnick” that began her senior season at Iowa was almost a year ago, on Oct. 15, 2023. She chased and broke Pete Maravich’s all-time NCAA scoring record, a feat many believed would be out of reach. The record holder led Iowa to its second consecutive Final Four after the Hawkeyes had never made it before. That same week, she appeared on “Saturday Night Live” to officially become the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. The crowd greeted her in Indianapolis and didn’t leave her all summer long as the Fever broke attendance records.
She has no time to reflect on anything, and can’t even pick a favorite moment out of it all. She’s more focused on the relationships she’s built and the people around her when she’s accomplished all of that.
When it comes to evaluating her rookie season, she is also picky. She is a strict evaluator and a fierce competitor who always strives for more.
“I think I had a solid year,” Clark said. “But the fun part for me is I feel like I’m still scratching the surface, and I’m a nag about everything I do. And I know I want to help this franchise, get better like my teammates have done, get better for my teammates. And I know we have a lot of work to continue to do to improve. So that’s what I’m most excited about. I think we can continue to get a lot better, and I’m sure before we know it, we’ll all be back here and ready for next year.”
Fever & Clock’s Championship version is closer, but still has a lot of loading.
