Caitlin Clark helps Fever pause eight-year playoff drought

The “Caitlin Clark enact” isn’t any longer in actuality being felt with just a spike in attendance, tv ratings and the total ardour level in females’s basketball. It is in most cases impacting worthwhile.

On Tuesday, the Fever formally clinched a berth within the WNBA playoffs for the vital time since 2016, ending the longest filled with life playoff drought in league history. The excellent turnaround comes just a year after they done with a 13-27 story to miss the postseason for a seventh consecutive year. 

While Clark’s Fever did no longer rob the court docket on Tuesday, they benefited from losses suffered by the Sky and Dream in other video games. Those losses meant the Fever (17-16) climbed to sixth build within the playoff standings, slack the Liberty (27-6), Solar (24-9), Lynx (24-9), Aces (21-12) and Storm (20-13). 

Ideally suited turnaround 

It is price stating that things weren’t as hunky-dory for Clark and the Fever initially up of the season. The Iowa alum struggled to impress worthwhile factual out of the gate, with the Fever struggling 5 losses to originate up the season in May per chance per chance per chance per chance also just. By the 10-sport build, they comprise been 2-8 and gave the impression destined to miss the playoffs again. 

By the third of June, although, the Fever started to build up their mojo as they knocked off 5 wins in a six-sport stretch at a time when Clark’s backcourt mate, Kelsey Mitchell, picked up her aggression. 

Then, the Paris Olympics-prompted damage labored more wonders for Clark and Co. For the reason that WNBA season resumed, the Fever comprise maintained a story of 7-1, which could well perhaps unhappy the one within the league. 

For the length of that eight-sport stretch, Clark is averaging an very excellent searching 24.5 capabilities, 5.1 rebounds and 10.3 assists whereas shooting forty eight.5 p.c from the sphere and 36.7 p.c from three. The stellar crawl earned her abet-to-abet Jap Convention Participant of the Week honors. 

Clark’s most modern stretch has also sparked some chatter about her worthwhile the MVP as a rookie. While it be unlikely a player from the sixth seed will acquire the award, Clark has launched herself as a surefire future MVP. If she retains along with her recent exploits, there isn’t any longer any restrict to what she will be able to assemble.