Caitlin Clark fans slam claims Indiana Fever are better without her after LA loss
Caitlin Clark was still voted as one of the two captains for the WNBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Indianapolis in two weeks.
Caitlin Clark's fans are pushing back hard after some people claimed the Indiana Fever are better without her. That talk started earlier this week when the Fever won back-to-back games against the Minnesota Lynx and the Las Vegas Aces while Clark was out with a groin injury. But on Saturday night, the Fever gave up a late lead and lost 89-87 at home to the Los Angeles Sparks. It was their second loss to LA in just over a week
Clark missed her fifth game in a row due to the injury and watched the game from the bench. After those earlier wins, some WNBA fans started saying maybe the Fever were playing better without her. But after losing again to a struggling Sparks team, those arguments seem to have died down.
Earlier in the week, Indiana had something to celebrate, they won the Commissioner’s Cup against the Lynx, their first trophy since 2012. Then they beat A’ja Wilson and the Aces by 27 points. With those wins, the Fever improved to 5-5 without Clark this season. With her, they’re 4-4. So far, the team has been about the same either way, record-wise.
Fans defend Caitlin Clark
On X, fans quickly came to Clark’s defense after Saturday’s loss. One fan wrote, “It turns out the Fever are not more dangerous without Caitlin Clark.”
Another added, “Some strange coaching at the end. I miss Caitlin Clark. Idc if this team thinks they can continue to win without her, it's better with her."
A different user added, “Caitlin Clark is the WNBA. She’s the Jordan and Tiger of her generation and moves the needle.”
Clark might return on Wednesday night when the Fever host the Golden State Valkyries. There’s still no official word on when she’ll be back. She also missed the first five games of the season with a quad injury.
Clark voted as one of the two captains for the WNBA All-Star Game
Even though she’s missed time, Clark was still voted as one of the two captains for the WNBA All-Star Game, which will be played in Indianapolis in two weeks. She earned the role by being one of the top vote-getters from fans. She’ll draft a team alongside Lynx star Napheesa Collier, picking from the rest of the All-Star players.
This is Clark’s second All-Star selection in just her second year in the WNBA. Last season, she played for Team WNBA against Team USA before the Paris Olympics.
Before this recent injury, Clark had been going through a tough stretch. In her return game on June 14 against New York and again against Connecticut, she didn’t look like her usual self. Against Seattle, she went just 3-for-13 from the field and missed all six of her three-point attempts. In the two games before that win, she shot 1-for-17 from three — way off from her usual shooting standards.
