Caitlin Clark Sends Clear Message About Her Role Before WNBA Season

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever took the court for their first preseason game of the 2026 WNBA season on Saturday, facing off against the New York Liberty.

Clark missed the vast majority of the 2025 WNBA season and the entire playoffs last year as she dealt with a variety of injury issues. But now, the All-Star point guard is fully healthy as she heads into her third professional campaign.

Earlier this week, Clark answered questions regarding her role as the Fever’s primary ball handler moving forward.

“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.”

“I’m the best transition player in the league,” she added. “That’s where I thrive. Everyone knows that’s my game. So, getting the ball off a rebound in transition, that’s probably when I’m going to be a primary ball handler more than anything.

“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.”

Before Saturday’s preseason matchup against the Liberty at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Clark clarified these previous comments.

“We wanna play in transition, we wanna play with pace,” Clark said, via Liberty beat reporter Myles Ehrlich. “You’ll see me off the ball a bit, especially in dead ball situations. … You’ll see a good variation, but I’m still the primary ball-handler and that’s never going to change.”

The Fever lead the Liberty 32-24 at the end of the first quarter. Clark has seven points, two assists and two rebounds on 2/5 shooting from the field and 1/3 shooting from behind the 3-point arc.

Indiana will begin its regular-season schedule with a matchup against the Dallas Wings on May 9.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 3:36 PM.