The Indiana Fever are set to welcome back superstar Caitlin Clark for the 2026 WNBA season opener this Saturday against the Dallas Wings. After missing all but 13 games last season due to persistent lower-body injuries, Clark's return has fans buzzing about the Fever's championship potential. Despite her injury-shortened year, Indiana pushed the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to a thrilling Game 7 in the semifinals, proving their resilience.

However, not everyone is convinced that Clark's return is an automatic upgrade. In a surprising take on ESPN Thursday, former college basketball player and analyst Lawrencia Moten argued that the Fever might actually be tougher to defend without their star guard. "This is my hot take," Moten said. "Honestly, the Indiana Fever played some of their best team basketball without Caitlin Clark, and that's because she's like the sun that that offense kind of orbits around. The ball is constantly in her hands, which just made their offense extremely easy to guard."

Moten explained that without Clark, head coach Stephanie White was forced to spread the wealth. "Now, without her in the lineup, White had to decide who else was going to get in the mix, and their offense became so much more diverse. We saw Kelsey Mitchell have a tremendous season. Lexie Hull got in the fold. Aliyah Boston had another dominant season. All because they had to do it without Caitlin Clark, and that made their offense extremely hard to guard."

While it may sound counterintuitive, there's evidence that White agrees—at least in part. Ahead of the season, the Fever head coach has emphasized a plan to take Clark off the ball more than in her first two professional seasons. If Clark can blend her ball-dominant brilliance with a Steph Curry-like threat away from the play, the Fever could be unstoppable. With a healthy Clark and a more balanced attack, there's no reason Indiana can't chase a title as early as this year.