The unpredictability of the WNBA hit Aari McDonald hard during the offseason. Coming off her first season with the Los Angeles Sparks, a successful campaign when she started a career-best 10 games, McDonald went into free agency as one of the better pure point guards on the market. But when this season began, she wasn’t on a roster for the first time in her WNBA career.

“I was very anxious,” McDonald said. “It felt weird, you know, sitting at home just watching the games this time of the year.”

But the beauty and challenge of the WNBA is that while doors are constantly closing, they’re also constantly opening. L.A. was settled with its backcourt, but the Indiana Fever presented a new opportunity for McDonald with a hardship contract when star guard Caitlin Clark suffered a quadriceps injury late last month. (Since late May, the Fever have also been without guard Sophie Cunningham, who suffered an ankle injury.)

In McDonald’s first appearance with Indiana on June 3 against Washington, she did exactly what the Fever needed, playing in a way she has become known for in her basketball career — applying ball pressure on defense and setting up her teammates on offense. In addition to her seven points, McDonald posted three steals and five assists, two of those helpers coming in the final two minutes with the Fever nursing a three-point lead. Most importantly, Indiana ended a three-game losing streak, collecting its first victory without Clark.

“Aari was terrific,” Fever coach Stephanie White said after the win. “She came in, and she was the ultimate point guard. She got us settled when we needed to. Five assists, zero turnovers. That’s huge. And not just that, she set the tone on the defensive end, and that was big time for us.”

McDonald is averaging 11 points, three assists, and two steals per game for the Fever while making 38 percent of her 3-point attempts over three games. She also has the second-best net rating of any rotation player (plus-15.2 points per 100 possessions) behind only Lexie Hull (plus-15.7). The Fever have gone 2-1 with her in the lineup, beating the Washington Mystics and the Chicago Sky before falling to the Atlanta Dream.

Though McDonald has made a strong impression in Indiana, her future remains murky.

When Clark returns, possibly as soon as Saturday against the Liberty, Indiana cannot retain her because a hardship contract requires teams to roster fewer than 10 available players. However, the Fever could cut another player to keep McDonald. Although Sydney Colson wasn’t the pure point guard Indiana needed in Clark’s absence, her defense and championship experience are assets; plus, another injury in the backcourt would leave the Fever short-handed just as they were before acquiring McDonald. Six-year center Brianna Turner would be the more obvious candidate to waive as an extra big with a non-guaranteed contract; she is currently averaging less than five minutes per game.

If Indiana makes no moves now and keeps its current roster, the Fever could have enough cap space to bring McDonald back as a 12th player in July.

“I’ve always been impressed with her ability to defend, her activity level on the defensive end of the floor, her ability to get to the paint and make decisions once she gets there,” White said.

McDonald’s skill set wasn’t what Los Angeles needed — the Sparks had extended a restricted qualifying offer to McDonald, but the two sides couldn’t come to a contract agreement, as L.A. needed bigger guards to pair with its star acquisition, Kelsey Plum. However, McDonald’s defensive acumen and playmaking made her valuable to Indiana. In the WNBA, if you aren’t a superstar, fit is paramount.

Timing is also key. McDonald happened to be available when the Fever needed a point guard and had the ability to sign her.

Regardless of her future in Indiana, McDonald has kept herself on the radar for other teams. The Chicago Sky just lost Courtney Vandersloot for the season with a torn ACL and have been without Moriah Jefferson (leg injury) all season. They can qualify for a hardship exception due to those two long-term injuries, and since Vandersloot and Jefferson are point guards, signing McDonald as their new point guard is the logical conclusion. She scored an efficient 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and had three steals and two assists in Indiana’s win over Chicago Saturday.

Dallas could also be a potential landing spot for McDonald, especially after the Wings announced Ty Harris will miss the rest of the season following a knee procedure. With Teaira McCowan at EuroBasket, the Wings are one injury away from qualifying for an emergency hardship, and point guard is a need without Harris. Furthermore, general manager Curt Miller has familiarity with McDonald after coaching her last season in Los Angeles.

It isn’t uncommon for players to rehab their value on hardship contracts. In 2024, then-six-year veteran Monique Billings, like McDonald, was cut by the Sparks during training camp. She landed in Dallas due to injuries in the Wings’ frontcourt, parlayed that performance into a contract with Phoenix to end the year, and has settled in with the Golden State Valkyries after they selected her in the expansion draft. Odyssey Sims similarly signed a hardship contract in Dallas in June and ended up in Los Angeles following her release from the Wings. The Sparks signed the 32-year-old to a full-season deal after a couple of seven-day contracts and identified her as their starting point guard for 2025.

McDonald could find herself on a similar path, using this time in Indiana to once again prove her worth as a pro.

“I’m in survivor mode right now,” McDonald said. “This is my job, so just gotta be ready, gotta leave it all out on the court. This is an audition, either for the Fever or for another team.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.