Caitlin Clark ‘felt good’ in return despite lingering back issue
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark admitted to being a bit anxious earlier than her first regular-season WNBA sport since July 15. Injuries restricted her to 13 video games final season, and right here she was, stepping back onto the court docket Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, bathed in an overhead highlight as the group strained their vocal cords.
The 2024 No. 1 choose, Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star had formally returned. She completed with 20 factors, seven assists and 5 rebounds. The 3-point shot was off, although, as she went 2-for-9 from past the arc.
“I feel good,” Clark stated after the Fever‘s 107-104 loss to the Dallas Wings. “Started off a little slow, I think just the anxiety of the first game, trying to work through that. But overall, I felt good, felt fast out there. Felt like I was literally a couple buckets away from putting together a really, really good game and helping us win.”
Clark left the bench space twice to work with medical employees away from the court docket. She stated she wanted to get her “back adjusted” however returned to the sport each instances.
“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark stated. “So just that, just getting my back put back in place a little bit. But other than that, it feels great.”
Fever coach Stephanie White added that it’s “part of maintaining the body.”
“She has adjusted her body,” White stated. “When we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens. … This is going to be an ongoing thing. Not just her. We’ve had multiple players who’ve gone back … and get adjusted and make sure that the body’s working. Hip alignment gets off, rib alignment gets off, and it’s part of being a professional athlete. Nothing outside of that.
“We would not have performed her half-hour if she wasn’t OK.”
Clark seemed unaffected on the court and certainly warmed up in the second half as she shot 50% from the field and had five of her seven assists. During one third-quarter stretch, Clark knocked down a 29-foot triple before letting loose a spinning fist pump and shouting toward the crowd. Just over a minute later, she dropped a perfect behind-the-back bounce pass in transition to Myisha Hines-Allen for a structure. Soon after, Clark went coast-to-coast for a finger-roll layup, confounding a protection Paige Bueckers in the method. To end the third quarter, Clark spun off odyssey sims for another finger roll with 1.7 seconds remaining.
The Saturday start of opening weekend was all about the stars. Clark reminded everyone of what the Fever missed in 2025. Three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell he scored 10 in the first quarter as part of the 12th 30-point game of his career. Teammate Aliyah Bostonalso a three-time All-Star, finished with 23 points. Mitchell had a clean look to tie the score with a 3-pointer as time expired, but the 32-footer was just short off the front of the rim.
Four-time All-Star and 2020 scoring champion Arike Ogunbowalewho missed the final 12 games of 2025 because of injury, poured in 22 points for the Wings. Bueckers, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and 2019 All-Star and All-WNBA selection Sims each added 20 points.
“That’s what basketball is about, the most effective making an attempt to compete in opposition to the most effective,” Mitchell said. “Yeah, I feel there’s an pleasure throughout the board for the followers, the gamers, the coaches. I feel everybody will get a bit of excited to see actually good basketball.”
