BREAKING: Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever clinch playoff spot for the first time in 9 years
Caitlin Clark’s rookie season just got better as the Indiana Fever clinched a playoff spot for the first time in nine years. The sixth-placed Indiana side punched their playoff ticket with the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream going down to the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury respectively.
The Fever are now the sixth team with New York Liberty taking the top seed at the time of writing. The Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx take two and three, while the Aces and Seattle Storm round up the top five. The Fever is sixth, and the Mercury sits at No. 7 as the 2024 WNBA regular season inches to a close.
Caitlin Clark help Indiana Fever clinch first playoff berth in 8 years
Caitlin Clark is just out there doing Caitlin Clark things.
By Ericka Brockish
Caitlin Clark has done what not a lot of people thought would be possible in her rookie season. Clark has helped lead the Indiana Fever to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
What makes it even better is that the Fever clinched a playoff spot without even playing on Tuesday night. The Fever were able to clinch their playoff spots thanks to Las Vegas beating Chicago and Phoenix beating Atlanta.
The Fever have not seen the playoffs since 2016 and for the last two seasons have had the No. 1 overall pick hoping to try and make their way back to the playoffs.
It might have been a shocker to a lot of people, but Iowa fans are not surprised that all it took was adding Clark to their squad to see success. Clark is currently the frontrunner for WNBA Rookie of the Year and has broken countless records this season. She most recently broke the record for most three-pointers by a rookie in a season, and most points in a season for a rookie.
Clark has had a big year from starting the year breaking the all-time NCAA Division I scoring record and making it to her second straight National Championship. Clark was unable to hoist the trophy, but she didn’t have much time to dwell on it as she was preparing to be taken No. 1 overall by the Fever.
Clark’s primary goal since her name was called at the WNBA draft was to make it to the playoffs and she has completed that goal, but she most certainly is not planning on stopping there. Making the playoffs is great, but getting that first playoff win is next, then it is just fighting to stay alive for that WNBA title.
Making the playoffs did not seem like a realistic goal after the Fever started the season 1-8, but behind the work of Clark, 2023 No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, 2018 No. 2 pick Kelsey Mitchell, and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith, the team pulled it together and are set to play extra basketball at the end of the regular season.
