WNBA season preview: How an improved Caitlin Clark can elevate the Indiana Fever to a 2026 championship

How Clark can become more consistent as a distributor

While Clark has acknowledged that she needs some off-ball time, she will still often have the basketball in her hands and run the offense. So, her decision-making will greatly impact how good the Fever’s offense will be. Clark averages 8.5 assists per game, making her one of the WNBA’s best ball distributors. She generally does a great job of initiating the offense, but there are moments where she gets flustered and frustrated playing through contact. In those moments, she’s prone to jawing at referees, turning the ball over and jacking up bad shots in an attempt to get out of the scenario. A lot of this won’t go away completely, but reducing as much of it as she can will be pivotal to her growth. The more Clark can play through contact and make the right passes, the better off the Fever will be. Also, hopefully, watching the Fever excel even in her absence showed her that her teammates can be trusted as scorers, and even if she *can* do it all, she doesn’t have to.

How Clark can become a passable defender

Whenever Clark gets a statue made in her honor, you can bet the pose used for her won’t be a defensive one. While defense is a weak spot in her game, it doesn’t have to be debilitating. For her, it’s all about discouraging hunting her on that side of the ball. If Clark can handle her one-on-one defensive assignments enough, then that’s a huge win for the Fever. So far, Clark has shown signs that she can do this. She is respected as a help defender. Clark averages 1.6 steals per game and does a solid job in the paint, holding onto her space on the court until help arrives. Her growth in this aspect will be necessary, perhaps not during the regular season, but absolutely in the playoffs when teams are game planning for just one opponent for games on end. If she can improve this aspect of her game, then head coach Stephanie White can avoid subbing her out for defensive possessions. With Clark back, the Fever are one of the teams to beat in the league. Her growth this year will decide if they are just a top-four team or a legit title contender. Knowing how hard she works, the players in place, and the coaching happening in Indiana, it seems like a pretty safe bet that more will go right than wrong for the Fever in 2026. Fever fans, tell us what you’re hoping to see from Caitlin and the team as a whole in 2026. Are you confident that Clark can maximize her strengths, mitigate her weakness and lead Indy toward a title? Or, do you have some concerns about the team’s ability to balance the talents of Clark, Boston and Mitchell?