Caitlin Clark is more than ready to star in another WNBA campaign and the Indiana Fever icon believes there cannot be any excuses for not achieving their goals

Caitlin Clark hailed the signing of DeWanna Bonner and the rest of Indiana Fever’s offseason additions – but warned her team-mates that there is no excuses for failure this year.

Last year, Clark broke numerous records in the most extraordinary campaign any rookie player has ever enjoyed. However, her personal success did not quite extend into her team as a whole, as the Fever finished third in the Eastern Conference with a frustrating 20-20 record. In the playoffs, Clark and her team-mates were left disappointed, after losing to Connecticut Sun.

The Fever refreshed their roster with ten new players and new coaching staff. The arrivals of Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sydney Colson have seen them inject experience and defensive nous to their roster.

While referencing the trio, Clark also told her teammates that their aspirations cannot be anything lower than the WNBA Championship. When asked about what the trio’s best traits are, Clark told WNBA.com: “It’s their selflessness.

“D.B (Bonner) is the one who really stands out for me. She has won championships, but she is here to provide knowledge to our young players and to get over that hump and be able to win.

“Same goes for Syd (Colson) and Tash (Howard). All of them are here to be that voice for us and to have somebody to lean on. I really admire that, because people don’t always want to do that.

“For us young players and for people that haven’t really won championships before, we are leaning on them, relying on them, asking them questions – we can count on them.

DeWanna Bonner joined the Fever in the off season(Image: NBAE via Getty Images)

“At the same time, I want to win for them. Seeing how selfless they are, them choosing to come here and choosing to be a part of the Fever, they didn’t have to do that. I want to win for them and they deserve it and they have been great and they will continue to be great.

The Fever’s training camp began last Sunday, and while the new team and coaching staff have only been together for a matter of days, Clark believes everyone in the team has to set their expectations high.

When asked if the Championship is the target, she frowned slightly, almost like she was offended, and said: “Yeah. I mean, absolutely.” When asked to clarify what is considered success within her team, she bluntly replied: “A Championship.”

Clark was devastated when the Fever lost in the playoffs(Image: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Considering her views on what the team looks like now, she believes the Fever are more than ready to challenge for titles. She added: “There are so many different weapons on this team and a lot of great leadership. There are people that have won championships.

“Then we have our young core and young players, a lot of people who are really hungry to win. I think that’s what we were lacking last year.

“We got to the play-offs and not only have we not won championships, we really had little play-off experience. That was a glaring thing we had to fix. Those vets that have won and been on really great teams, wanted to come here and we are really thankful for that.

“Just through these first few days of practice, everybody has been really great and it’s been fun. You can tell everyone has been really selfless, are really excited to be here and are excited to be a successful team.”