After a decade-long playoff drought, the Indiana Fever finally broke through, stunning third-seeded Atlanta to reach the semifinals. The arena overflowed with hugs, cheers, and tears of relief. Even sidelined by injury, Caitlin Clark’s energy was impossible to miss as she jumped, shouted, and celebrated with her teammates. And, as excitement mounted, fans began dreaming of CC’s return despite the long odds. But before hope ran too far, Fever insider Scott Agness delivered a reality check, quashing the rumors.
The rumors of Caitlin Clark’s potential return sprang up when clips of her practicing with the team and shooting the ball around went viral. But Agness nipped this notion in the bud, stating that while the former is true, it does not mean she’ll return. “She’s out there. She was even at shootaround, and I saw her shooting. But Caitlin is not active. Even if she is able to or wants to return or is physically cleared to return, she cannot. We got that clarification today from team officials,” declared Agness.
Then the Fever insider made the obvious revelation, Clark cannot return even if she wanted to for the 2025 season. Although Clark could have returned during the regular season, playoff rules require each team to submit an active roster in advance. Only players listed on that roster are eligible to participate in the postseason, and Clark is not. “Going into the playoffs, they have to set an active roster. Caitlin’s not on that roster.”
Still, even that rule cannot stop people from daydreaming about a Disney Movie ending. More on that later.
The Fever insider continued, “None of the injured players are, in fact, and they can’t be, or else you couldn’t have any of the hardship players that signed rest of season contracts to be eligible for the postseason. Ariel Powers, Shey Peddy, Odyssey Sims, as well as those players who signed rest-of-season contracts. So, Caitlin’s not on that active roster; even if she is 100 percent healthy tomorrow, she cannot play.”
The current active roster for the Indiana Fever during the playoffs consists of 11 players, namely:
Aliyah Boston (starter)
Bree Hall
Damiris Dantas
Natasha Howard (starter)
Lexie Hull (starter)
Kelsey Mitchell (starter)
Shey Peddy
Aeriel Powers
Odyssey Sims (starter)
Makayla Timpson
Brianna Turner
However, Indiana has navigated the playoffs so far with only 10 active players, as Damiris Dantas has sat out all three games this past week due to a concussion. She would be eligible to return in later rounds since she is included on the Fever’s official playoff roster.
With this revelation, Agness closed the doors on Clark’s return this season. In her sophomore year, the Fever guard only played 13 games out of 44 regular-season games, averaging 16.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 8.8 assists. Compared to last year, she played in all Fever games and raked in 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. Now, the earliest her fans can see her play is in the 2026 season. Or in Unrivaled if she accepts their offer.
But as for the 2025 season, she is literally not allowed to play the rest of the season. Still, following the Indiana Fever’s advancement to the WNBA semifinals, Yahoo Sports analysts Jason Fitz and Caroline Fenton couldn’t help but urge Cathy Engelbert to change the rules this once for CC.
“Cathy Englebert, do the right thing here, even if it will enrage the entire community,” Fitz began, further adding what every fan is thinking. Just imagine what Fitz is describing, and you will be delighted, as delusional as hope is here.
“I need a Disney movie ending. I need just out of nowhere during the opening player introduction. They’re introducing all of the players and then all of a sudden, in dramatic fashion, walking out from the tunnel, like not just with their team, just walking out from the tunnel. The lights dimmed down, everything starts strobing, fog is going everywhere and Caitlyn Clark comes out just in warmups, rips off the warm-ups and bam, she’s back on the court. I understand it’s not allowed, but look, I don’t care what’s allowed. This is what we need. This is what we want. I want Caitlyn to come in and somehow will Indiana to their first WNBA championship”.
But despite sitting on the bench, Clark will have had a major role to play if the Fever do win it all. Her coach-like antics and, most importantly, her support has been consistent throughout. This recent time, though, she was joined by Sophie Cunningham.
Caitlin Clark & Co.’s shenanigans from the sidelines vs Atlanta in Game 3
While the on-paper Indiana Fever roster might be limited to 11 players, on the court, all 16 players are present with the team. This brings them a lot of energy, some useful tips during times-outs, and sometimes a bit of chaos. And it was the latter that happened during the deciding game in Atlanta. Midway through the fourth, chaos broke out as Odyssey Sims hit the deck after a hard collision with Allisha Gray.
The officials immediately went to the monitor to check for a possible flagrant, but what happened during the break stole the spotlight. Sophie Cunningham, never one to back down, marched straight to midcourt with Caitlin Clark and Chloe Bibby right behind her, all three visibly concerned for their teammate. That’s when the tension spiked. A police officer stepped in, signaling for Cunningham to move back from the midline.
Instead, she planted her feet, hands on her hips, and exchanged words before reluctantly retreating a few steps. It was a fiery moment that perfectly summed up the Fever’s grit in this playoff fight. And if that wasn’t enough, the postgame scene had even more drama. As Indiana walked off the court to a chorus of boos, Caitlin Clark spun around, flashing ‘W’ signs to the Atlanta crowd. A defiant celebration of their series-clinching win. But they have a stronger opponent in front of them now. The Fever will face the Aces on Sunday in Las Vegas.