Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are out of the playoffs. With a roster of that caliber, it’s hard to deny this season was nothing short of a failure, especially when Indiana almost defeated the same Las Vegas Aces in the semifinal without Clark. While Clark seemed too hard on herself during the exit interview, Amber Cox, the Fever’s general manager, mostly saw the positives in her franchise star.
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“I’ll take this opportunity to talk a little bit about Caitlin… When the season ended last year, I think the next day she was in the gym and hasn’t stopped since. So, the work that she has put in behind the scenes has just been tremendous.”
“I think you saw that translate in her game. Her ability in the mid-range game, I thought she really took a step forward. Her ability to finish through the rim with contact.”
Cox told reporters in the exit interview that last season’s injury had only made Caitlin Clark even more effective.
Last year, Clark was limited to just 13 games, dealing with multiple injury issues, including quad and groin. The Fever guard was seen crying during the Connecticut Sun game at TD Garden when she injured her groin for the second time in July.
This year, Clark had her best regular season in terms of scoring, and that included a substantial increase in two-point attempts. The improvement in her stats was undeniable. This season, she attempted 9.2 two-point shots per 36 minutes, which was a significant increase from her rookie season (5.7). Her shots from 3 to 10 feet from the basket also improved from 47.2% in 2024 to 53.4% in 2026.
The inclusion was necessary for Clark because when teams tighten their defense, her mid-range shots came in handy to keep the scoring going.
However, according to Cox, it wasn’t just the offensive side that Clark made a big improvement on. The Fever GM claimed that her franchise star had also made significant improvement on the defensive side.
“I don’t think we talk enough about how great a rebounder she is. [She] took a big jump defensively as well… She had an MVP-caliber season, and it was wonderful to see coming off of her injury.”
Clark was one of the frontrunners for the MVP award this season alongside A’ja Wilson and Olivia Miles. However, she couldn’t translate her improved defense on the court. She posted a 111 defensive rating per 100 possessions, which was the worst across her first three seasons.
She also recorded the lowest rebounds of her career, and she couldn’t get her turnover problem in control either.
However, Clark’s impact on the Fever fanbase and her ability to fill arenas hasn’t diminished. She remains arguably the WNBA’s biggest crowd puller, helping the league pull record numbers, and that’s something Cox appreciated as well.
“I never want to take her for granted [for] what she has meant to our team, what she has meant to the league, and what she’s meant to women’s basketball. She remains the tipping point.”
“You look at the ratings, and you look at the full buildings, you know, that started in 2024 when she came into the league, and that is because of Caitlin Clark.”
This season, the Fever had all of their games nationally televised. Throughout the season, Gainbridge Fieldhouse was filled to over 94% of its total capacity, per Sports Business Journal. They pulled an average of 16,379 fans per game, the third-most in the WNBA, behind the Golden State Valkyries and the New York Liberty. The league also saw an increase of an additional 191,000 attendees.
This year marked the second time in her three-year career that Clark has exited in the first round. Cox and the Fever front office might have to make some good moves during the offseason.