Fever's record, stats without Caitlin Clark are becoming impossible to ignore

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Fever's record, stats without Caitlin Clark are becoming impossible to ignore originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

In 2025, the Indiana Fever learned how to play without Caitlin Clark.

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In 2026, the Fever has perfected and enhanced how they play when Clark isn't available, as was the case on Thursday night against the Phoenix Mercury.

MORE: Caitlin Clark’s absence saw Kelsey Mitchell flourish against the Mercury

Clark on Wednesday made her return from a two-game absence as she recovered from a lingering back problem. Though she was on a minutes restriction in Los Angeles, Clark still found time to miss eight of her 12 shots and record on average one turnover every four minutes in a 106-92 blowout loss to the Sparks.

The next night, with Clark resting on a back-to-back, the Fever trimmed their turnovers by nearly 40 percent. Indiana shot 50 percent from the field and won 92-89 against a rested Mercury team.

The dichotomy when Clark plays in 2026 versus when she does not is growing too large to wave away. The Fever now is 4-0 this season when Clark doesn't play compared to 9-9 when she does. The efficiency of their top-ranked offense doesn't drop much without the three-time All-Star in the lineup.

Indiana has allowed 100 points or more on eight occasions this season, one off the WNBA record. All of those 100-point showings have come with Clark on the court.

The Fever ranks 13th out of 15 teams in turnover rate with 14.6 per game, and Clark leads the WNBA in total turnovers. However, when Clark is out and Ty Harris is the starting point guard, the Fever average under 11 turnovers per game.

Those extra possessions matter, and Clark -- whose 32.5 percent usage rate ranks in the 99th percentile of WNBA players -- throws more of them away than Harris.

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The discourse that says the Fever's record without Clark is an accident, and Indiana clearly is better with her, could have been dismantled last fall.

Clark missed all but 13 games in the 2025 season due to various soft tissue injuries. She was shut down for the season in September, and Indiana -- relying on the brilliance of Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell -- came within one game of reaching the WNBA Finals anyway.

Individually, there is little argument that Clark is one of the WNBA's most exciting players. She has brought heaps of new fans to the league and driven up interest in the WNBA like few before her. Most nights, she can be pencilled in for 20-plus points and close to 10 assists. Few others share her passing ability and shooting range.

But Indiana is showing that it is much more than Clark, who can earn roughly $1.3 million per year if she signs a max contract extension with the Fever next season. That contract would come with obvious caveats beyond the salary cap implications that would come with employing Clark, Boston and Mitchell on million-dollar contracts.

Clark still doesn't have much variation in her shot diet, which consists largely of stepback 3-pointers and drives to the rim. She is one of the league's most dangerous players in transition, but many of her offensive gains are negated by her turnover rate and her continued poor defense.

If the Fever want to live with Clark's limitations, they will retain an All-Star point guard who has a known performance baseline. Clark is a strong cultural fit in Indiana and she drives engagement like no one else.

However, they might be better set up for sustained on-court success if they no longer want to live within those limitations, which include continued negativity and abuse toward opponents from her fans.

The record doesn't lie. Indiana is unbeaten without Clark this season. It's a glimpse into a future that maybe does not need to include her.

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