WNBA Coach of the Year praises Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever: “They don’t fear anyone”

Ahead of Wednesday night’s match-up between the Connecticut Sun and the Indiana Fever, Sun head coach Stephanie White praised Indiana for their growth this season.

The two teams have faced off three times already this year — Connecticut emerging victorious all three times — but White noted that the team they’re facing today is a completely different team than the one they played in May and June.

“Anytime you’re a young team that’s that’s really growing into yourself, the understanding of one another, the timing, the pace, the connectedness just wasn’t quite there early,” White said of Indiana. “It’s there now.”

The Fever began their season 1-8 and seemed destined for the lottery. But, they turned things around in mid-June, and have won 11 of their last 17 games. They now, ave a 2.5 game over the Sky for the #7 seed. If the playoffs started today, the Fever and Sun would face off.

White — the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year — attributed the Fever’s growth to their improved chemistry and comfortability with one another, and in particular, with Caitlin Clark. Clark is averaging a league-best 8.2 assists per game, and set an all-time WNBA record for most assists in a game back in July.

“Everybody on the floor understands how, when and where Caitlin Clark can get them the ball. And so they get there,” White said. “Kelsey Mitchell’s obviously playing at another level now, and so it gives you another player on the floor that you have to be mindful of, on and off ball in isolation and in two-man.”

Mitchell has been the league’s leading scorer in August so far, averaging 26.3 points per game. Aliyah Boston has recovered from a slow start to the season and is now averaging 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Both Mitchell and Boston have played well off of Clark, and the wins have followed.

“They make quicker reads, and play with a lot more rhythm, better timing, and multiple weapons on the floor,” White said.

As a result, the Fever look dangerous. On a recent episode of her podcast, “A touch more,” WNBA legend Sue Bird said that the Fever are a team that no one will want to see in the playoffs.

“In 2018 and 2020, the years we won, that was our whole mantra – pace, pace, pace, pace,” Bird said. “And what I see in Caitlin, what I see in Kelsey Mitchell, they’re just ramming it down people’s throats. And it’s really hard – it can have your head spinning.”

In her pregame presser on Wednesday night, White seemed to echo that sentiment.

“It’s a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence,” White said. “They don’t fear anyone. They just go out and they play and enjoy the game — that’s a tough matchup.”