Considering how the 2025 season has evolved, it’s hard not to view the Fever as snakebitten. All-WNBA First Team selection Caitlin Clark — the engine behind their revival and the face of a WNBA resurgence — went down again the other day with a right groin pull. That it was a non-contact injury near the end of a game already in hand served only to highlight the absurdity of the situation. She tossed a bounce pass, pulled up, grabbed her leg, and walked off the court with tears in her eyes.
At this point, it’s anybody’s guess as to how long Clark will be sidelined. What’s clear is that the Fever will again need to scramble in her absence. Tellingly, they didn’t do too well against the Liberty on Thursday, losing by a whopping 21 points. They scored the first basket to claim the lead a minute into the first quarter, and then spent the remainder of the set-to playing catch-up ball. Which was just too bad, because they seemed to have been on a roll, claiming three straight victories and, in the process, showing — if slowly — their capacity to be better than the sum of their parts.
The numbers don’t lie: The Fever are 8–5 with Clark and 4–6 without her. Left unspoken amid all the adjustments is the weight Clark carried as not simply their main draw, but THE draw; for all intents, she’s their ratings driver, the headline. And on the court, she’s expected to do everything: score, facilitate, take hits, take blame, and steer them to triumph. From rough screens to hostile crowds, and now nagging injuries, her second season has been a grind — physically and mentally. She never missed a game in college, and en route to taking home the Rookie of the Year award last year. Now, she has been compelled to sit out double-digit outings even prior to the All-Star break.
Meanwhile, the Fever need to prove they can tread water without her. That means getting something — anything — from their backcourt. That means Aliyah Boston stepping up consistently. That means head coach Stephanie White keeping her charges locked in. The task won’t be easy. They’re stuck in a cycle: every time they appear to build momentum, an unforeseen turn of events stunts it. That said, they have no choice but to plod on, if for nothing else than to show all and sundry they deserve to be lumped with the league elite.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
