INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark knows what she’s best at.
“I think I’m the best transition player in the league,” Clark said at the Indiana Fever media day Wednesday. “That’s where I thrive. Everybody knows that’s my game. So. getting the ball rebounder in transition, like, that’s probably why I’m going to be the primary ball handler more than anything.”
She specializes in grabbing a rebound, sprinting past opponents, and keeping defenses out of position as she goes in for quick points. She can also be laser-accurate with full-court passing, catching her teammates on a run near the opposite basket for an easy layup and assist.
Clark, above all, likes to play fast. And that’s what the Fever are aiming to do this season.
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The Fever brought in players this offseason to help with that goal. Monique Billings, who signed a two-year deal with the Fever and is projected to start at the 4, is a strong rim-runner who is able to catch Clark’s fast passes.
“I think we were fifth in the league in pace (in 2025), and we want to be in the top two or three,” Fever coach Stephanie White said Sunday. “We want to play faster, you know, we’ll look and see what we have in combinations.”
The Fever also want to make sure Clark isn’t overdoing anything on the court, especially coming back from injury. So, they made sure to bring in adequate backcourt depth behind her and fellow starter Kelsey Mitchell, signing combo guard Tyasha Harris and drafting point guard Raven Johnson.
Johnson has a learning curve, as all rookies do, while she adjusts to the WNBA. But she’s getting guidance from some of the best guards in the league.
“Caitlin Clark, she was helping me do all the hard times (learning plays), she was helping me,” Johnson said. “I was like, ‘What do I do here? Where should I cut? I was asking her a lot of questions. And I think, you know, with being a rookie and having a vet like that, you should ask questions that you want to know. I think I asked her, probably, like, 1000 questions yesterday.”
Clark, of course, will remain the primary ball-handler for the Fever. She broke the league’s assists record as a rookie and sees the court in a different way than most, finding miniscule cracks in defenses for assists no other point guard could pull off.
But having a player like Johnson, who has honed her game under legendary point guard Dawn Staley at South Carolina, can allow Clark to take an adequate break every once in a while without taking her off the court.
Making Clark a credible threat off the ball, as well, will only make the Fever more dangerous.
“It is exhausting bringing the ball up 94 feet versus pressure every single time,” Clark said. “So we certainly need to find somebody that can handle the ball a little bit and give me a little bit of a break. And I think Raven and Ty and even other people through camp have done a great job … So I think there’s a lot of different things that can give us a lot of different looks and just make us harder to guard.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark is primary ball-handler, but appreciates depth to give ‘a little bit of a break’
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
