Caitlin Clark has begun light on-court work for the Indiana Fever, but head coach Stephanie White stressed Tuesday that the star guard still has multiple hurdles to clear before returning to game action.
Clark has been sidelined since July 15 with a strained right groin and has missed 16 consecutive games, 24 overall this season. While she went through shootaround with teammates Sunday in Minnesota, she has not yet practiced.
“I want to see her in practice, live in practice,” White said. “I want to see her continue to work to not just build endurance, but to be able to handle contact 94 feet as it’s going to be in-game. And to be able to do that and sustain it from an endurance standpoint, and that’s going to take multiple practices to make sure that there’s no regression.”
“As most of us know, when we get fatigued, we look different, and see how she plays through fatigue,” she added
White offered no return timeline, raising the possibility Clark may not be back before the regular season ends. Indiana has six games remaining in the playoff race, where every win counts.
Indiana Fever Handle Seattle Storm
On Tuesday, the Fever delivered one of their most complete performances without her. Aliyah Boston scored 27 points with nine rebounds, Odyssey Sims added 22 points, and Kelsey Mitchell had 21 in a 95-75 victory over the Seattle Storm.
The win completed a three-game season sweep of Seattle and pushed Indiana (20-18) past both the Storm (20-19) and Golden State Valkyries (19-18) into sixth place in the WNBA standings. The top eight teams advance to the WNBA playoffs.
this trio balled out 🏀 pic.twitter.com/oLqoSys4jC
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 27, 2025
Mitchell fueled the offense early with 16 first-half points as Indiana built a 50-39 lead. Boston scored seven during a 14-4 run to open the third quarter, and the Fever broke the game open with a 15-3 spurt to start the fourth.
Indiana also dominated the boards 42-21, with Lexie Hull collecting nine rebounds. The Fever were 6 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half before cooling to 6 of 17 overall.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points for Seattle, 12 before halftime, while Brittney Sykes added 12 and Skylar Diggins finished with eight assists. The Storm’s three-game winning streak was snapped.
Caitlin Clark’s Impact Still Looms
2024 Rookie of the Year, Clark has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 13 games. The Fever have also lost Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald for the year, but White’s group has stayed afloat with timely contributions from Boston, Sims and Mitchell.
Off the court, Clark’s influence continues to be felt. On Tuesday, Nike announced her as its newest signature athlete.
“There’s very few people who get the opportunity to say they have a logo and to make the impact she makes — not just in the sport but globally — just by being who she is,” White said. “She’s a connector. She brings people together.”
Whether Clark returns in time for Indiana’s playoff push remains uncertain, but the Fever’s win in Seattle showed they are finding ways to keep pace in the standings while waiting for their star guard to get back.
