A nineteen-day downward spiral was not on anyone’s 2025 WNBA bingo! There’s no denying that Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever point guard, is tied intrinsically to the success of the league. And let’s face it–the W has been suffering ever since she strained her quad against the New York Liberty on May 24th. Sales, viewership, support, everything has taken a plunge! We’ve all felt the effects firsthand, but how bad has it really been?

Well, CC’s absence has harmed WNBA TV ratings by a significant margin. According to USA Today, nationally televised WNBA viewership is down 55% since her injury, and the Fever alone have gone down 53% in terms of national TV viewers. Going from 1,810,000 average viewers to 847,000 is a monumental drop, amounting to almost a million viewers, but it might not be the worst thing on Indiana’s plate right now.

According to Indiana Fever beat journalist Tony East on the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast, the team’s offense feels incomplete. “They can claim they can play the same way without her, but they can’t,” he said, pointing out just how important CC is to Stephanie White’s planning.

“She’s just a central part of ‘pace and space’ and shooting that, yeah, they can try to play that, and they have players who can fit that style still, but it’s different without her in terms of what passes are available and what spacing is there.” And it’s true! Indiana’s offense just has not been the same since CC’s departure, and they don’t look like they’re functioning as smoothly.

A team that averaged 88 points per game in her presence has dipped down to 76.4– that’s the second worst since May 25. As for the assists, we do not have to sell it as a shocker. When you lose an average of 9.3 assists from your star player, the Fever has shown what the impact looks like– down from 20 apg to 17.8, ranking 10th in the league. The fast break points further complete the story with a nosedive from third league-best 12.3 points to the bottom-of-the-table 3.8 in the last five games.

“When she’s on the floor, their offense just wrecks,” Tony East agreed.

Clark’s fast-tempo offense, brilliant facilitation, and stellar shooting open up the game for the Fever in a way that they simply cannot replicate right now. And though the Fever team won two games without her, they also suffered a major blowout against the Atlanta Dream. There have been bright spots and things to celebrate for Indiana, considering players like DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Aliyah Boston have managed to steal some limelight each. But it just hasn’t been ticking the right boxes for a team having come in with a win-now mentality.

So, when can we expect Caitlin Clark to be back on the floor? What’s the status of her injury? Will we end up seeing her play against the Liberty? Let’s find out

The Indiana Fever vs New York Liberty matchup has all the makings of a movie. Both teams are fan-favorites to win this year, and their storylines are running in parallel! Even though the Liberty have been flawless so far, winning 9 straight games without breaking a sweat, they’re battling through a major injury with Jonquel Jones, their All-Star center. Sound familiar?

Sure, the Indiana Fever aren’t winning nine straight, and they aren’t coming off a championship, but they’re contenders in the eyes of the public. A lot of that has to do with Caitlin Clark, who is currently battling injury, drawing a direct parallel to New York’s predicament

However, the wait might be drawing to a close! According to Chloe Peterson of the IndyStar, Caitlin Clark participated in the Indiana Fever’s practice on Tuesday! Honestly, this news was long awaited. It would almost be poetic for CC to make a return to sport against the very same team that she suffered injury against, and maybe this time, bag a win.

It will be interesting to see how the Indiana Fever’s lineup looks if Caitlin Clark does truly return. Aari McDonald has been holding down the fort quite well, but there’s a chance that her time as a Fever might come to an end. There is a myriad of roster variations and decisions that Stephanie White and Amber Cox will have to make, however nothing will beat the feeling of seeing Clark back on the court again!