Breaking: Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever clinch playoff spot for the first time in 8 years

Caitlin Clark's rookie season just got better as the Indiana Fever clinched a playoff spot for the first time in eight years. No. 6 Indiana punched its playoff ticket with the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream going down to the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury respectively.

The Fever are now the sixth team with New York Liberty taking the top seed at the time of writing. The Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx take two and three, while the Aces and Seattle Storm round up the top five. The Fever is sixth, and the Mercury sits at No. 7 as the 2024 WNBA regular season inches to a close.

Indiana was one of the teams that bore a massive brunt of the initial scheduling quirk and went 1-8 at the start of the season. The turnaround came in midway when the Fever went on a winning run. They continued their ascent after the Olympics break, winning, and are on a four-game winning streak at the time of writing.

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Caitlin Clark plays key role in Indiana Fever's playoff run

Much of Indiana Fever's success this season can be attributed to Caitlin Clark. The No. 1 draft pick of this year has been a force averaging 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and a league-high 8.4 assists per contest this season.

The former Hawkeyes guard also dropped a career-high 31 points and added 12 assists in their dominant win over the Chicago Sky last week, making her the first player in WNBA history with a 30-point, 12-assist game. She also broke the WNBA rookie 3-point record last week. Her feats have firmly cemented her case for 'Rookie of the Year' honors, while also adding her as one of the candidates for MVP this season.

Earlier, head coach Christie Sides shed light on how Clark had changed the team's fortunes.

"I think the numbers just speak for themselves. You know, when you talk about greats in this game, the Michael Jordans and the Kobe Bryants and the Steph Currys, they are putting her in that category. The Diana Taurasis, has that level of competitiveness in her. She wants everyone on her team to have that, and she has given several of our players more of that competitive spirit."

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever have another seven regular season games remaining. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the upcoming matchups and the playoffs.