The WNBA playoff schedule is set, and the Indiana Fever’s path is laid out. On Sunday, Cailtin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and co. will face the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, in Game 1 of the postseason on ABC at 3 p.m. ET.
After a stellar rookie campaign that saw Clark break several records and help the Fever make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the question on a lot of folks’ minds now is this: How far can Clark and Indiana go in the postseason?
If the second half of the regular season is any indication, the second round seems like a real possibility. And once the Fever get there, it’s all about matchups in an anything-can-happen postseason tournament.
Consider that the Fever went 9-5 after the Olympic break, a stretch that included a five-game winning streak with triumphs over fellow playoff-bound teams like the Atlanta Dream and Indiana’s next opponent, the Sun. The Fever seem like a new team after that time off in late July and early August and have elevated their game. Indiana leads the WNBA in field goal percentage (45.6), effective field goal percentage (52.3) and is second in total points scored. Simply put, there isn’t a team in the league that the Fever can’t keep up with offensively.
It’s a unit led by Clark, who has continued to draw in new eyeballs to the WNBA this season with her absolutely electric play. The 2024 regular season was the most-viewed ever on ESPN platforms with an average of 1.2 million viewers per game; the All-Star game drew a record 3.4 million viewers; and a game between the Fever and the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 11 drew 678,000 viewers, making it the most-viewed WNBA game ever on NBATV. Much of the data for increased attention and viewership in the WNBA points in Clark’s direction, which is why Indiana vs. Connecticut is getting the ABC treatment on Sunday, with all other games aired on ESPN. Excuse the suits at Disney if you find them rooting for the Fever.
Clark, of course, has backed up the hype with her play.
She’ll likely win the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award and could find herself voted to the All-WNBA First Team, both of which would be deserved honors. Clark averaged a league-leading 8.4 assists per game this season along with 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. She also led the WNBA in 3-pointers made with 122, or 3.1 per game. For some perspective, consider that the great Sheryl Swoopes averaged north of 19.2 points per game just once in her 12 seasons in the WNBA and never posted more than 4.3 assists per game.
That assists figure puts Clark in elite and exclusive company. Only Ticha Penicheiro and Courtney Vandersloot have ever averaged eight dimes or more in a single season. And no player in the history of the WNBA, which began in 1997, has ever posted per game averages of at least 19 points and eight assists in the same year.
But what makes the Fever a threat to make a potentially deep playoff run is more than just Clark. In the second half of the season, her teammates have stepped up in a big way. Remember, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston were both all-stars alongside Clark. Mitchell is averaging 19.6 points per game this season and just dropped 30 points in a win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday. Boston is averaging 14.1 points and 9.1 boards per game and has shown that—in addition to being a defensive anchor for the Fever—she can score in bunches too, like when she scored 30 points in a Sept. 8 win over the Dream.
A game that could be a sign of things to come for the Fever is their Aug. 28 win over the Sun, which saw five Indiana players score in double figures for a well-balanced scoring attack that led to an 84-80 triumph. Lexie Hull was crucial in that game for Indiana, knocking down four 3-pointers.
Should the Fever get past the Sun in the first round, they might bump their heads against their ceiling. Since the Olympic break, Indiana is 0-2 against the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx with a pair of double-digit losses, and the Fever are 0-4 on the year against the two-time reigning champs, the Aces. Before the break, Indiana went 1-3 against the top-seeded New York Liberty.
But if the WNBA postseason is anything like March Madness, we know there are no limits on the destination with Clark in the driver’s seat.
