Caitlin Clark felt good despite lingering back issue in official return to court

INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark admitted to being a bit anxious before playing in her first regular-season WNBA game since July 15. Injuries limited her to just 13 games last season, and here she was, stepping back onto the court Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, bathed in an overhead spotlight as the crowd strained their vocal cords.

The 2024 No. 1 pick, Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star had officially returned. She finished with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The 3-point shot was off, though, as she went 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.

“I feel good,” Clark said 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 area twice to work with medical staff away from the court. She said she needed to get her “back adjusted” but returned to the game both times. “It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “So just that, just getting my back put back in place a little bit. But other than that, feel great.”

Fever coach Stephanie White added that that’s “part of maintaining the body.”

“She has adjusted her body,” White said. “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 wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes 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 layup. Soon after, Clark went coast-to-coast for a finger-roll layup, confounding a defending Paige Bueckers in the process. To finish 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 scored 10 of her game-high 30 points in the first quarter for the 12th 30-point game of her career. Teammate Aliyah Boston, also 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 Ogunbowale, who 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 best trying to compete against the best,” Mitchell said. “Yeah, I think there’s an excitement across the board for the fans, the players, the coaches. I think everybody gets a little excited to see really good basketball.”