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Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks with guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the second quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on June 6, 2026. (Photo credit: Wendell Cruz | Imagn Images)<\/p>\nIndiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks with guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the second quarter against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on June 6, 2026. (Photo credit: Wendell Cruz | Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Welcome to Basketball Insider, presented by The BIG EAST Conference. I\u2019ve spent most of this week, including Saturday night at Barclays Center, trying to understand the yawning chasm between how the 2026 WNBA season has gone for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever by virtually any measurement, and the endless noise and rage directed towards them from across the internet.<\/p>\n
The phrase I keep coming back to is \u201creality distortion field\u201d. It doesn\u2019t seem to matter, essentially, what the Indiana Fever do or don\u2019t do. The narrative around the team will take on its own momentum, every unasked question about a circumstance that doesn\u2019t exist driving engagement on a thousand social media posts.<\/p>\n So I put it to Stephanie White on Saturday night in Brooklyn: why, when I dig into the numbers, or talk to folks inside or outside the Fever organization, is there no \u201cthere there\u201d when it comes to the most dire declarations about the Fever? She grinned slyly.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you used a good word,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, you\u2019re talking about it from a rational perspective, so that\u2019s my first thought.\u201d<\/p>\n Can you even imagine being Stephanie White right now? This is a woman who has accomplished virtually everything one can as a player and coach. Few I\u2019ve ever met are more driven not only to win, but also to try and figure out the ever-changing chess match that basketball presents. She\u2019s never missed the playoffs as a head coach across three separate tenures for two franchises (Indiana and Connecticut) and is open with both the media and, more importantly, her players.<\/p>\n But, to a fan wearing a \u201cFever 22\u201d jersey whom I spoke with on my walk to Barclays Center, there was genuine surprise that White was not engaging in a conspiracy to undermine Clark, her own starting guard and franchise player.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting: this is one of many, many conspiracies alleged in the darkest corners of the internet about the Indiana Fever every single day.<\/p>\n Notably, this fan was open to the possibility, when I raised it, that there might not be a conspiracy engineered by Clark\u2019s own coach against her. (There are loads of normal, reasonable Fever fans!)<\/p>\n It\u2019s a two-step process, really: noise is generated by certain sectors of the online world, in places where the loudest and angriest takes are encouraged, and where normal people come to believe if there\u2019s this much smoke, there must be fire. Then, investigating what the fire is produces its own smoke: every time White and her players are forced to deny the silliest rumors, the denials themselves serve as proof they are all lying.<\/p>\n And for those of us covering it all? If we ask about these things, we fan the flames. If we don\u2019t, players and coaches can\u2019t put them to rest, and we\u2019re complicit in the cover-up to boot. I would be lying if I said I\u2019ve figured out how to combat misinformation on a systemic scale.<\/p>\n Clark herself is masterful at staying even-keeled in a media setting, but even she expressed frustration about it on Saturday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I don\u2019t really know why we\u2019re still on this,\u201d she said. \u201cWe talked about it, and I think, especially for our team, we didn\u2019t like blatantly sit there and talk about like everything you guys were writing and what\u2019s in the media. We\u2019re just talking about how we can be better as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n It is agonizing for me or any media member studiously trying to get at the truth, to be lumped in with those building entire business models around Caitlin Clark headlines. Though it is worth noting that the \u201cmedia\u201d is not a single-minded entity that comes up with a narrative collectively. Most of the time, even those of us within a single outlet can\u2019t agree on everything we saw in a single game. Even further, those perpetuating misinformation are seldom the people who show up to do the actual work of reporting.<\/p>\n To that point made by Clark: yes, the Indiana Fever can get better. They are 6-5, with a net rating of 3.6<\/a>. They\u2019ve played like the median team in the league by most metrics, falling short of expectations for a franchise that reached the semifinals in 2025 and employs a healthy Clark in 2026.<\/p>\n But progress takes time. Reintegrating Clark into the group, replacing Natasha Howard<\/a> at the 4 with Monique Billings<\/a> and Myisha Hines-Allen<\/a>, and incorporating rookie point guard Raven Johnson<\/a> into the rotation, all take a collective toll on early season results.<\/p>\n Even still: Kelsey Mitchell<\/a> is scoring at an impressive, efficient pace, with a .570 true shooting percentage. Aliyah Boston<\/a> has successfully incorporated her 3-point shot, hitting 41.7% of them on 2.4 attempts per game, a number which drew a satisfied smile from her when I mentioned it on Saturday night. Against New York, Billings showed herself to be a versatile 4 who complements Boston and should elevate the Fever on both ends. At point guard, perhaps the league\u2019s most difficult position, Johnson is holding her own in spite of the questions and comparisons to Clark, who has moved off the ball in many lineups with Johnson.<\/p>\n Again, the reality distortion field is always in place.<\/p>\n \u201cI think for us, it\u2019s really just looking at how we are each and every game,\u201d Boston said when I asked how she navigates this. \u201cWe can\u2019t get too high from the highs or low from the lows. We\u2019re not even where we want to be. I think each game you see improvement in certain areas, but there are certain areas where we have to continue to improve. We want to be top of the top by the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/strong> About that: I spoke to a half-dozen WNBA talent evaluators about the Fever. No one views the Fever, when given the chance to speak freely on background, as a team in crisis. Like, at all. Several noted that White\u2019s teams consistently get better as the season progresses, and with a staff that includes Briann January<\/a>, Karima Christmas-Kelly<\/a> and Austin Kelly (all three good candidates for future head coaching positions) that isn\u2019t likely to be any different this year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not even clear what the massive hole other teams will exploit is supposed to be. The idea is that White doesn\u2019t play fast enough, yet the Fever are running 17.7% of their offensive possessions in transition, per Synergy, up from both 2025 and 2024, and second in the WNBA to the Atlanta Dream. The idea is that the Fever aren\u2019t good enough defensively to contend, but they\u2019re fourth in the WNBA in defensive net rating,<\/a> all while continuing to learn from each other. Supposedly they can\u2019t share the ball, yet they\u2019re somehow third in the league in assist percentage. Or maybe they aren\u2019t rebounding the ball enough, yet they\u2019re third in the league in rebounding percentage and first in defensive rebounding percentage.<\/p>\n As for Clark herself? Through 63 games, she dwarfs any other WNBA player in assist percentage, at 41.8%. No one else even reached 38 in their first three seasons, Ticha Penicheiro<\/a> second at 37.8%, Sue Bird<\/a> fifth at 35.1%. Notable, too, about Bird: she had a true shooting percentage in her first three seasons of 55.6%. Clark through 63 games over three seasons? IDENTICAL. Diana Taurasi<\/a> checks in over her first three seasons at 27.1% assist percentage and a true shooting percentage of .548.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t need to waste time on this, do I? Clark compares favorably so far to the early careers of the two best guards in WNBA history. This is not someone failing to meet expectations or someone a team can\u2019t build a championship roster around.<\/p>\n Everyone who actually needs to face the Indiana Fever knows this. In the final seconds Monday night, Indiana\u2019s Sophie Cunningham<\/a> inbounded the ball to Clark. Washington\u2019s Cotie McMahon<\/a> raced to intercept the pass. The implicit decision she made? If the ball made it into Clark\u2019s hands, she\u2019d hit the shot, the game was over. McMahon didn\u2019t make the interception, and her judgement was right.<\/p>\n Never mind that Clark had missed two free throws moments earlier, shots which would have put Indiana ahead. The theory of folks around the league and Clark alike is a simple one: winning will solve everything and quiet the noise.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody\u2019s going to look back and be like \u2018oh well the Fever probably should have lost this game but made a buzzer beater,\u201d Clark told reporters in Washington after Monday night\u2019s game. \u201cNo, it\u2019s a W. It\u2019s a win for us.\u201d<\/p>\n From a rational perspective, Clark is right. But that\u2019s just not the world the Indiana Fever live in these days.<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark\u201d<\/strong> is out now!<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Howard Megdal\u2019s newest book is here! \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar\u201d captures both the historic nature of Clark\u2019s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.<\/p>\n This week in women\u2019s basketball<\/p>\n Love seeing a Dave Sheinin byline on a WNBA story.<\/a><\/p>\n Jackie Powell throws an Elphaba comp on Cheryl Reeve. (Complimentary!)<\/a><\/p>\n Lindsay Whalen is mentoring Olivia Miles. (It shows!)<\/a><\/p>\n Loved this from Jenn Hatfield on Shakira Austin.<\/a><\/p>\n And don\u2019t miss Powell on the return of Sandy Brondello to New York.<\/a><\/p>\n Five at The IX: Caitlin Clark, Stephanie White and Lexie Hull<\/p>\n Soccer: Annie Peterson,\u00a0@AnnieMPeterson<\/a>,\u00a0AP Women\u2019s Soccer Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the group that owns the Washington Mystics, holds a minority stake in The IX Basketball. The IX Basketball\u2019s editorial operations are entirely independent of Monumental and all other business partners.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Previous_Big_East_Conference_logo-4.png\"){kind=logo}
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We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n
Tennis<\/strong>: Joey Dillon,\u00a0@JoeyDillon<\/a>,\u00a0Freelance Tennis Writer<\/strong>
Basketball<\/strong>: Howard Megdal,\u00a0@HowardMegdal<\/a>,\u00a0The\u00a0<\/strong>IX Sports<\/strong>
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus<\/a>, The IX Sports<\/strong>
Golf<\/strong>: Marin Dremock,\u00a0@MDremock<\/a>, The IX Sports<\/strong>
Hockey<\/strong>:\u00a0@TheIceGarden<\/a>,\u00a0The Ice Garden<\/strong>
Gymnastics<\/strong>: Jessica Taylor Price,\u00a0@jesstaylorprice<\/a>, Freelance\u00a0Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n