Caitlin Clark getting reacclimated to Fever digs as she returns to practice for training camp
Caitlin Clark looked right at home inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. But the NCAA Division I’s career scoring leader never fully recovered from what turned out to be a season-ending injured right groin just before the All-Star break.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark looked right at home inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. She wore her favorite Indiana Fever practice gear, stretched and ran with teammates and, of course, flashed her trademark smile. And while she didn't line up any 3-pointers during the open portion of the team's first training camp practice, everyone knows those will be back — in time.
For now, just getting back to work in her adopted hometown served as a welcome respite after enduring so many frustrating twists during her injury-plagued 2025 season. “It’s hard, it’s very isolating to come to practice every single day and spend two hours getting treatment and rehab and then you come out here and you have to show up and be the best teammate you can be,” she said. “I think that taught me a lot about what I can do if I’m not on the court, and I got to be their biggest fan.
I think that was a great experience for me because through a lot of my career, everyone else was my biggest fan. That doesn't mean I wasn't cheering for my teammates. It was like I was playing the most minutes, I had the ball in my hands and when you’re not doing that you have to find another way to impact the team.
Clark did her part last year, serving essentially as the WNBA's highest-profile coach on game days while working relentlessly behind the scenes to get back to full strength. But the NCAA Division I’s career scoring leader never fully recovered from what turned out to be a season-ending injured right groin just before the All-Star break. The seemingly indestructible Clark appeared in just 13 games, missed the All-Star Game and surrounding weekend's festivities in Indianapolis, and embraced the Fever's inspirational playoff run, which ended one win short of the WNBA Finals despite a rash of injuries.