Why Caitlin Clark can’t play for the Fever as they advance in WNBA playoffs

The Indiana Fever stunned the Atlanta Dream in the winner-take-all Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2015. There, they’ll take on A’ja Wilson and the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces, who snuck past the Seattle Storm in Game 3 of their matchup. Game 1 is Sunday.

Fever star Caitlin Clark, however, will not be in action for Game 1 in Las Vegas or at any point in the series. The second-year star is ineligible to return in the playoffs this year regardless of how far the Fever go.

Even if Clark were to be deemed fully healthy by the team’s medical staff at some point while the Fever are still alive in the postseason, she was left off the team’s active roster for the playoffs, a league source confirmed to CBS Sports. The Indy Star first reported that Clark was not on the active playoff roster. 

Clark dealt with a series of lower-body injuries this season — left quad, left groin, right groin and left ankle — which limited her to 13 appearances and forced her to miss both the Commissioner’s Cup championship and All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. She last played on July 15, and though the team gave her every opportunity to recover, she eventually ran out of time. On Sept. 5, she announced that she would not return to play. 

Caitlin Clark’s injury-plagued sophomore season was a disaster for the WNBA, the Fever and herself

Jack Maloney

“I had hoped to share a better update, but I will not be returning to play this season,” Clark wrote on social media. “I spent hours in the gym every day with the singular goal of getting back out there, disappointed isn’t a big enough word to describe how I am feeling. 

“I want to thank everyone who had my back through all the uncertainty. This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good. The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective. I am so proud of how this team has only gotten stronger through adversity this year. Now it’s time to close out the season and claim our spot in the playoffs.” 

Even when Clark was on the floor, she was not 100% and rarely looked like herself. Though she still averaged 16.5 points, five rebounds and 8.8 assists, she shot just 36.7% from the field, including 27.9% from 3-point range. Notably, she had three games without a made 3, snapping a 140-game streak dating back to her sophomore season at Iowa, and shot 2 of 35 from 3 on the road. 

While the Fever had championship expectations entering the season, no one expected them to be one of the last four teams standing after they lost five players, including Clark, to season-ending injuries. Chloe Bibby (knee), Sydney Colson (torn ACL), Sophie Cunningham (torn MCL) and Aari McDonald (broken foot) all also went down over the last few months. 

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