THE WNBA playoffs have been set.
And the Indiana Fever know their route to the championship without Caitlin Clark.
Injured Caitlin Clark will be cheering her Indiana Fever team-mates on in the WNBA playoffs[/caption]
Star player Clark, 23, was ruled out for the season with groin and ankle injuries in August.
Before that, she had missed various spells through other physical problems – and in total played in just 13 of the 44 regular WNBA matches.
But her side clinched a postseason spot by finishing sixth in the table.
And that sees Fever pitted against the Atlanta Dream in the quarter-finals.
Dream finished third in the regular season.
The winners of the best-of-three tie will face either second-placed Las Vegas Aces or the Seattle Storm, who came seventh, in the semis.
The semis will be best of five with the final best of seven.
On the other half of the draw, the Minnesota Lynx’s reward for coming top is a playoff match-up against the Golden State Valkyries.
The other tie sees the Phoenix Mercury face the New York Liberty.
The series begins on Sunday with all four Game 1 matches taking place tomorrow.
This is how the 2025 playoffs shape up[/caption]
The Games 2 and 3 are split across Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The semi-finals are from September 21-30 with the finals underway on October 3.
Fever will hope to go all the way for Clark – and know they have a decent shot even without the 2024 No1 overall pick.
But three-time WNBA champion and two-time MVP Candace Parker paid tribute to Clark for her response to the setback.
Parker, 39, said: “I have been a player that has had a number of injuries, and I think later in my career, especially some of those injuries would have been less or preventable had I listened to my body earlier and taken the time
“I know it’s difficult to look at the big picture, especially if you’re living with tunnel vision and you’ve worked so hard to get to where you’re at.
“But it’s the smart thing.
“I’m proud of this generation for taking the time they need to look at the bigger picture, and making sure that they get healthy.”
WNBA 2025 All-Star Roster
Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier have been named captains of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.
Guards:
- Paige Bueckers* – Dallas Wings
- Caitlin Clark* – Indiana Fever
- Sabrina Ionescu* – New York Liberty
- Allisha Gray* – Atlanta Dream
- Kelsey Mitchell – Indiana Fever
- Skylar Diggins – Seattle Storm
- Kelsey Plum – Los Angeles Sparks
- Brittany Sykes – Washington Mystics
- Natasha Cloud – New York Liberty
- Jackie Young – Las Vegas Aces
Frontcourt:
- Napheesa Collier* – Minnesota Lynx
- A’ja Wilson* – Las Vegas Aces
- Breanna Stewart* – New York Liberty
- Aliyah Boston* – Indiana Fever
- Nneka Ogwumike* – Seattle Storm
- Satou Sabally* – Phoenix Mercury
- Angel Reese – Chicago Sky
- Kiki Iriafen – Washington Mystics
- Gabby Williams – Seattle Storm
- Alyssa Thomas – Phoenix Mercury
*Voted as a starter
