The WNBA playoff picture is taking shape, and with four games left in the regular season, the Indiana Fever has already caught the attention of a former champion. With the postseason quickly approaching, Caitlin Clark and Co.’s recent form has earned public endorsement.
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During an episode of the Bird’s Eye View podcast, host Sue Bird asked former teammate and two-time WNBA champion Lauren Jackson who her pick was to lift the WNBA championship, and Jackson was clear in her assessment.
“I actually want Indiana to win, believe it or not,” she said in a clip on X.
“I’ve said this before: I love watching Caitlin Clark. I love the way that she plays. When she gets hot, she is just, it’s epically awesome to watch. I love Kelsey Mitchell. I love the way that she plays. And so, yeah, and [assistant coach] Tully [Bevilaqua]’s an assistant coach there, so of course I’m like, Oh, Indiana.”
Jackson’s prediction comes at an interesting time. Right before the WNBA took a nearly three-week-long break for the FIBA Women’s World Cup, Indiana had been one of the hottest teams in the league, behind the efforts of their star guard duo.
The team had gone 7-2 over their last nine games, and during this period, Clark and Mitchell had been having perhaps their strongest stretch of the season. Clark had been averaging 25.4 points per game on 48.6% from the field and 45.3% from three while also adding 9.4 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Mitchell had averaged 28.1 points per game, including a blistering 50.8% from three, continuing the most productive season of her career as one of the best scorers in the league. That combined production was on display during their last two games before the World Cup break.
First, against the Chicago Sky on August 23, Clark dropped 37 points and 10 assists in one of the best games of her season, while Mitchell added an efficient 30 points. Then, against the Connecticut Sun, Clark and Mitchell combined for a monstrous 34 points each, with Clark also adding 12 assists, beating the Sun 111-91.
Even the WNBA recognized the Fever for their play. In the Week 14 power rankings posted on the WNBA’s website, the Fever were ranked the fourth-best team in the league behind the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, and Las Vegas Aces. The post noted that Clark had “become the first player in WNBA history to post back-to-back games with 30+ points and 10+ assists,” while Mitchell had become the only player to score over 1,000 points in a season along with A’ja Wilson in 2024.
Notably, Jackson giving her support to the Fever on Bird’s podcast is interesting, considering that the host has expressed favor for the Fever before.
Back in May, Bird, who was covering the WNBA for NBC, highlighted the team’s fast-paced offense, which had started revving up after a slow start to the season.
“I absolutely love the pace they play with,” Bird said back then. “That is my type of pace, my type of team. I think that the type of thing people don’t understand is how much that wears other teams down when you play that fast. Of course, Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston – I’ve got my eye on those forces. Monique Billings, Myisha Hines-Allen – the more they get acclimated in that offense, the better it runs.”
Her observation from back then still holds. The Fever play at the second-highest pace in the league this regular season, at 82.3, behind only the Chicago Sky, who sit at 82.4. However, out of the seven highest-paced teams in the league, the Fever, along with the Atlanta Dream, are the only teams with a winning record. The Fever are making an otherwise chaotic style work, and that matters to Bird.
Now, the pressure shifts back to Clark, Mitchell, and the rest of the Indiana squad to prove Jackson and Bird right. Only time will tell if her assertion ends up being true, but if the stellar guard production holds, a championship might be within reach.