It’s been almost 10 months since Caitlin Clark last suited up for the Indiana Fever.
Clark made her long-awaited return Saturday against the New York Liberty in both teams’ first preseason games of the year, with the Fever notching a 109-91 win. The 2024 rookie of the year played just 13 games during her sophomore season as she navigated injuries before officially being shut down in September.
As Clark enters her third season in the WNBA, the anticipation might rival that of her rookie year, considering her lengthy absence. All 44 of the Fever’s games will be national broadcasts.
The Fever and Liberty both have continuity on their side, with their cores remaining intact year over year. For the Fever, that meant re-signing guard Kelsey Mitchell to solidify their big three, which includes Clark and Aliyah Boston. The Liberty, meanwhile, re-signed Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. They all asserted that it was always their plan to return to the Liberty and extend the team’s championship window. Each of them inked three-year deals, keeping them with New York through the 2028 season.
Despite a certain level of synergy both teams had coming into the season, they are each far from final form: Neither team’s roster is finalized yet and both had lengthy injury reports.
Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s preseason game.
Clark said ahead of Saturday’s game that she expected to play between 20 and 25 minutes. She ended up logging just 17 minutes, finishing with 7 points while shooting 20 percent from the field.
Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark’s shot-making will come.
“We’ve got to find ways to free her up and get her some easy looks,” White said.
The two-time All-Star talked through the first week of training camp about how new teammates like Raven Johnson and Tyasha “Ty” Harris would allow her to play more off the ball. But she emphasized Saturday that she will be leading the Fever’s offense with the ball in her hands more often than not.
“We want to play in transition,” Clark said. “And we want to play with a lot of pace. We want to outlet to the near guard. If that’s not me, I need to get down the court, and that allows people to come screen for me and get open. It also makes the other team get cross-matched.
“You’re going to see a good variation of both, but I’m going to be the primary ball handler, that’s never going to change.”
Saturday wasn’t Clark’s first game action since last season. She made her USA basketball senior national team debut in March at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. Clark was named MVP of the tournament and led the national team to a 5-0 tournament record while averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 assists.
Still, her return to the WNBA came with heightened emotions. White said Clark’s joy is what’s been most noticeable through the preseason thus far.
“Her energy is different,” White said. “She’s carrying herself in a different way. You started to see it a little bit at USA basketball and then in training camp. You could tell she was a little bit itchy and antsy before training camp started. Then, day one of training camp, it was like, ‘I can just breathe and I can play. I can enjoy playing the game again.’”
One piece of advice from South Carolina coach Dawn Staley echoed in Johnson’s mind Saturday afternoon as she logged her first WNBA minutes.
“When your number is called, be ready,” Staley said.
Johnson heeded that advice, starting with training camp. She came in Day 1 displaying attention to detail and asking questions of her veterans, which she said instilled confidence in her when she took the court in New York. She finished the game with 6 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots.
The two-time NCAA champion is a known commodity on the defensive end with her “’Go Go Gadget’ arms,” as White called them. White acknowledged her room to grow on offense.
“She’s going to learn on the offensive end,” White said. “Learn what we’re looking to get out of certain actions, how to create the matchups that we want and how to create advantage. It’s different than in college, and she’s a sponge.”