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Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark can’t stay healthy during this 2025 WNBA season. Of course, this isn’t news to anybody reading this, but it’s worth re-emphasizing just how frustrating a second professional season Clark has experienced to this point; not only for her fan base and the Fever’s organization, but for No. 22 herself.
Clark had never missed time with an injury in her basketball career before this season. Now, she has missed close to two-thirds of her team’s regular season games, and there’s still no clear indication of when (if at all) she’ll make her return.
The Fever are currently hanging on without her, as their 19-16 record headed into their August 22 game against the Minnesota Lynx puts them at No. 6 in the standings, which is a full game ahead of the No. 7-seeded Golden State Valkyries.
But there’s still a lot of regular season left to play, as Indiana has nine more games (three of which are against the Lynx, who hold the league’s best record) and is dealing with a depleted roster because of their many guard injuries.
WNBA Analyst Makes Case for Keeping Caitlin Clark Sidelined for Season
It’s hard to imagine the Fever could compete in the playoffs without Clark (that is, if they even make it in the first place). But there’s also a case to be made that the Fever might be better suited in the long-term if they keep Clark sidelined for the rest of the season.
WNBA analyst Ros Gold-Onwude made this case during a January 21 episode of the Good Follow show.
After talking about how weird it was that the minor ankle injury Clark suffered on August 7 wasn’t reported on until August 20, Gold-Onwude said, “It is very mysterious. Here’s what I do know… it might be time to shut this thing down. It might be time.”
Gold-Onwude then recapped all the injuries Clark has dealt with so far this season before adding, “It’s like every time [Clark] tries to do more, there’s a new injury. You might be playing with fire. Already, the season-ending injuries have mounted… and it’s all injuries to the guards. Like, I don’t even think the Fever really have enough depth at the guard position to support a Caitlin Clark comeback. Like, do you have enough bodies to support that?”
“By the time you even bring her back, there’s barely enough time for her to really, truly catch a rhythm,” she added. “The season, it has been honorable for the Fever… But it might just be time to look on to the future,” she added.
There’s certainly a case to be made both for and against bringing Clark back this season. But her fans certainly want to see No. 22 before the 2025 WNBA campaign concludes.
