The WNBA’s exciting and ‘uncertain’ phase is upon us. While the top three teams have confirmed their qualification in the playoffs, teams at six, seven, and eight still need to make a push. Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever stands in sixth position, and the star herself is out of action due to a groin injury.
With Clark’s return date not confirmed, the qualification race becomes even more intense. A WNBA legend talks about the team’s possibility without the playmaker.
Sheryl Swoopes Predicts Indiana Fever’s Playoff Chances Without Caitlin Clark
The Iowa Hawkeyes were just one of the teams from the Big 10 conference for the NCAA tournament until CC joined them. She won three Conference Tournaments for the side and pulled them to back-to-back NCAA finals before entering the ‘W’.
Such is the gravity and potential of the superstar playmaker, who took women’s basketball to new highs. In 2024, she also did the impossible, breaking 60+ records in her rookie season. The 2025 season was supposed to be her year, but injuries kept her sidelined for more than half of the regular season, putting pressure on her star-studded roster.
Analyzing their chances to make it to the playoffs, former player Sheryl Swoopes made some bold claims.
“I think they have the pieces even if Caitlin doesn’t come back. It has been really impressive, some of these wins that they have been able to get without her. And we look at, you know, how they finished off July. They were on a five-game winning streak, and they were able to down teams like the Mercury, the Aces, the Storm,” Swoopes said on The Women’s Hoops Show.
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Swoopes lauded Kelsey Mitchell’s output but highlighted Aliyah Boston’s struggles in the Iowa star’s absence. But the team’s performance so far validates the 54-year-old former player’s theory. They won the Commissioner’s Cup, defeating the Lynx, and had a solid run in the regular season, which also put them in sixth position.
The team has a one-game advantage over the seventh-placed Golden State Valkyries, and with just nine games remaining, there is little margin of error for the team.
Is Caitlin Clark Nearing Her Return?
Even though the analysis was based on CC’s absence, there are strong chances of the 224 Rookie of the Year winner returning to action in August. As per ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco, the star would be back for the game against the Seattle Storm on August 26.
Till then, the Fever would have played against back-to-back games against the Lynx, clearing the qualification scenario a bit.
Clark could play in seven games, including the game against the Storm, and four matchups against qualification competitors like the Sparks, Valkyries, Storm, and Mystics.