Indiana Fever 2025

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Clark, Collier draft All-Star teams, flip coaches

All three Indiana Fever All-Stars will be on the same team for the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis on July 19. The rosters, as chosen by captains Caitlin Clark of the Fever and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx, were announced Tuesday.

Clark and Collier, the two leading vote-getters in fan balloting, first drafted from the eight remaining starters then filled out their teams picking from the 12 reserves. They also made one trade: swapping head coaches.

Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve initially was assigned to guide Team Clark, since the coach of the team with the league's best record as of July 3 went to the player with the most votes. The New York Liberty's Sandy Brondello, coach of the team with the second-best record at that point, was originally assigned to Team Collier. But since Reeve is Collier's coach with the Lynx, the captains opted to switch coaches.

Clark chose both her Fever teammates available in the roster draft: forward/center Aliyah Boston (pick No. 1) and guard Kelsey Mitchell (pick No. 10). Rounding out Team Clark's starters, along with herself and Boston, are Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (pick No. 3), three-time WNBA MVP center A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces (No. 5) and Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally (No. 7).

Team Clark's reserves were headed by Mitchell then Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams (pick No. 12), Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (No. 14) and forward Kiki Iriafen (No. 16), Aces guard Jackie Young (No. 18) and Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton (No. 20).

Collier chose her former UConn and USA Basketball teammate, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, with the second pick. The rest of Team Collier's starters are Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (pick No. 4), Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (No. 6) and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (No. 8]

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Fever's Caitlin Clark expects to return from injury on Wed.


Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark said she expects to return to action on Wednesday against the Golden State Valkyries after missing the past five games with a left groin injury.

Clark participated in the 5-on-5 portion of practice on Monday for the first time since she suffered the injury on June 24 -- a crucial step in her getting cleared to return. Barring any setbacks over the next 24 hours, she'll be available to play.

It's nice to get back out there and get back into the flow of playing with my teammates again," Clark told reporters at practice Tuesday. "It's going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again.

"It's obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I'm excited to get out there."

While Clark was out, the Fever went 3-2, including a victory against the Minnesota Lynx in the championship game of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup.

It was Clark's second injury of the season, as she has missed 10 of the Fever's 18 games this season. She also missed five games last month due to a left quad injury.

Clark, who has expressed her dislike for minutes restrictions, said she doesn't know what her workload will be against the Valkyries on Wednesday.

"I hope to play a decent amount -- in the upper 20s. I guess it depends on how the game goes and how I feel and what the team needs," Clark said. "But I feel pretty good. But I'm going to try to not overdo it and put myself in a good position moving forward."

Clark had 32 points in 31 minutes against the New York Liberty when she returned from her quad injury on June 14. She cooled over the next four games, however, averaging 14 points per contest.

For the season, Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.9 assists.

Her return comes with five games remaining until the All-Star break, with that game to be played in Indianapolis with Clark serving as a team captain. She and Napheesa Collier, the other captain, will make their team selections on Tuesday night.

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Wings move potential Clark-Bueckers matchup to Mavericks' arena

DALLAS -- The Dallas Wings will try again showcasing a Caitlin Clark-Paige Bueckers matchup at the home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.

The Wings said Monday the club is moving the Aug. 1 game against Clark and the Indiana Fever to American Airlines Center.

What was supposed to be the first matchup of the past two No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft was held at the AAC on June 27. Clark missed the Fever's 94-86 victory due to a groin injury. Bueckers scored 27 points, the second-highest total of her rookie season.

If Clark returns this week from the groin injury that has sidelined her the past five games, the first meeting with Bueckers could come Sunday at Indianapolis.

Despite Clark's absence last month, the Wings' first game at the home of the Mavs drew 20,409 fans. It was the eighth regular-season game in WNBA history to draw at least 20,000.

Included in the crowd were nine-time NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks, star Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons and Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Mavericks last month.

The Wings normally play at the 7,000-seat College Park Center on the Texas-Arlington campus, about 20 miles from downtown Dallas. The Wings, who relocated in 2016 from Tulsa, Oklahoma, are planning to move into a renovated arena at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas in the next year or two.

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Kelsey Mitchell scores 25 and the Fever use a 59-point second half to beat the Dream 99-82


INDIANAPOLIS -- — Kelsey Mitchell scored 25 points, Aliyah Boston had 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and the Indiana Fever used a 59-point second half to beat the Atlanta Dream 99-82 on Friday night.

Caitlin Clark was 5 of 17 from the field, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range, for 12 points and added nine assists for Indiana (10-10). Sophie Cunningham had 16 points and 10 rebounds

Indiana trailed 63-60 with 3:38 left in the third quarter before holding Atlanta without a field goal for the rest of the frame. The Fever scored the final four points of the third and opened the fourth on a 11-2 run to take an 80-67 lead. Indiana led by double figures the rest of the way.

Jordin Canada set career highs with 30 points and six 3-pointers for Atlanta (12-8). Rhyne Howard added 14 points and four 3-pointers, and Brittney Griner had 10 points and eight rebounds. Brionna Jones fouled out with 6:17 remaining in the fourth.

Canada made six 3-pointers and tied her career high with 26 points in the first half to help Atlanta take a 45-40 halftime lead. The Dream closed the first half on a 6-0 run after Indiana turned it over on its final three possessions.

Canada entered the game 6 of 29 from 3-point range this season and made 6 of 9 in the first half against the Dream.

It was the fourth and final meeting in the regular season between the Fever and the Dream, with the series tied at 2-all.

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Fever bounce back vs. Dream behind 'floor general' Clark
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Entering Friday's matchup against the Atlanta Dream, the Indiana Fever were desperate for a confidence-boosting win, particularly coming off Wednesday's 19-point loss to the Golden State Valkyries that guard Kelsey Mitchell deemed a "butt-whooping."

Indiana got the bounce-back it was hoping for: The Fever cruised to a 99-82 dub over the fifth-place Dream -- a team that had been a difficult matchup for them earlier this season -- to get back to .500 (10-10) with three games left before the All-Star break.

After bemoaning their inconsistency earlier this week, the Fever showcased the offensive firepower that, with a healthy Caitlin Clark and when firing on all cylinders collectively, makes them one of the most potent squads in the league. Indiana's 59 second-half points marked the most points the franchise has scored in any half this season and tied for their most in any half in the past seven seasons. Their 99 total points reflected their second-best scoring output on the season, while their 11 3-pointers were tied for their second most in a game this year.

"I thought we just played with a really great pace," Clark told ESPN. "We moved the ball, we cut hard, which opened up the 3-point line for us, and then we knocked down some shots, but also I thought our defense was really good. I think it was both sides of the ball. It kind of felt like how we should get back out there and play every single game."

Our team has enough offensive threats that we should have five to six people in double figures every single night when we move the ball," added Sophie Cunningham, who finished with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. "When the ball is popping, we're a really hard team to guard."

In her second game back from a five-game absence with a left groin injury, Clark finished with just 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting (1-for-7 from 3) but was most pleased with how she directed the offense, where she chipped in 9 of their 27 assists on 35 made shots.

I know [my shot] is right there and it's going to fall, but I thought honestly this is probably one of the best games where I've just managed the entire pace of the game and managed the way we need to play, especially in the second half, took care of the ball really well," Clark said. "I thought I was just a really good floor general tonight, and I think that's something I can be more proud of than making shots. That's exactly what this team needed."

Clark, who missed five games in May/June with a left quad strain, is now 4-for-35 on 3-pointers in her past five games (three of which were in June, prior to being sidelined with injury). That 11.4% clip is the worst 3-point field goal percentage over a five-game span in WNBA history (minimum 35 attempts). The star guard, whose 3-point shooting has long been a hallmark of her game, showed some frustration throughout the evening as she struggled to convert from deep. But when she was not finding her teammates, she also found success attacking the rim against Atlanta's pressure.

I'm not worried about Caitlin's shot," coach Stephanie White said. "She's recovering from injury. She plays heavy, hard minutes. Every defensive scout, she's the top of the scouting report. So her shot quality that she's getting has not been great. We're just so used to her making tough shots, and to be able to do that while she's recovering from injury is going to be more difficult. That's part of the reason that we want to try to make her life easier.

"For her to stay patient ... we just have to help navigate her own frustration. She's a perfectionist, as most elite players are, and she needs to be able to give herself grace in those moments."

Atlanta (12-8) had much of the momentum early, buoyed by a hot shooting night from veteran guard Jordin Canada. Canada caught fire in the first half, where she knocked down six of her nine 3s and went into the locker room with 26 points -- both of which were already career highs. Though the Dream led by as many as seven in the third quarter, Indiana kicked its offense into another gear as the frame went on, outscoring Atlanta 39-19 and hitting 56% of its shots in the final 13:37 of the game.

"We were a little bit lackadaisical in our box-outs and allowed them to get second-chance opportunities," Canada said. "And in the fourth quarter, we just miscommunicated on a lot of things. It started in the third quarter and just continued into the fourth quarter and we weren't able to adjust like we should have."

Added Atlanta's Brittney Griner: "Every possession matters. Those little lapses that we had ... they're a good team and they capitalized on it. If we play like this against any team in the league, you know this is the outcome."

The Fever said doubling down defensively helped fuel their offense. As part of that, they slowed down Canada, who managed just four points in the second half.

"I think when the ball pings and we get to two and three sides, you get to see more of who we are," said Mitchell, who paced the team with 25 points. "And I think that's tied with how effective our defense can be."

Trying to build consistency will remain a focus for the Fever entering the final game in their current five-game homestand, in which they've gone 2-2. The Dallas Wings, led by 2025 No.1 pick Paige Bueckers, come to town for a Sunday afternoon tilt on ABC.

This is [our second game] with our whole roster, with everyone in our rotation," White said. "I think building consistency in habits for us, continuing to work consistency in rotation, now that [Clark]'s back, now that [Damiris Dantas]'s back, what does it look like ... it's one game, it was a big one, we needed it, but we've got to continue to stack days and build on it."