Indiana Fever rule out Caitlin Clark hours before Portland game with back injury

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark won’t play tonight against the Portland Fire due to a back injury. The team ruled her out just hours before the contest.

The news comes as a bit of a surprise, as Clark had not had any on-court issues in recent games. Fever head coach Stephanie White addressed the injury to reporters ahead of the game. She said that Clark missed Tuesday’s practice, instead receiving treatment on the injury.

“Just woke up with some stiffness and some soreness,” White said. “We like to see, again, like I always say, like how do you respond after a workout? Is it, for us, it’s, again, it’s not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious.”

Asked whether there was any concern beyond tonight’s game, White initially answered. Then she backtracked a bit.

“No, there’s not,” she said. “Or I don’t know.”

Caitlin Clark dealt with slight back issues during the team’s season opener earlier this month. But she had not appeared on any injury reports.

Indiana is playing its fourth game in eight days. It’s a trying stretch, and the Fever are trying to preserve Clark’s long-term availability.

When healthy, Caitlin Clark has been every bit the star she was billed as coming out of Iowa in 2024. She was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Fever then.

As a rookie, Clark played in 40 games and was outstanding. She averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest. She earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2025, though, Caitlin Clark’s availability was hampered by injury. She suffered both a quad and a groin injury during the season and was limited to 13 games.

So far this season she has appeared in four contests. Clark is averaging a career-high 24.3 points, 9.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Caitlin Clark to serve as Indy 500 grand marshal

While Caitlin Clark’s back injury was the story on Wednesday, she was in the news for a different reason a day earlier. Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced on Tuesday that Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark will serve as grand marshal of the 2026 Indy 500.

Sunday’s running of the Indianapolis 500 will be the 110th in the race’s history. Clark becomes the latest sports icon to serve as grand marshal of the event, joining the likes of Peyton Manning, Lance Armstrong, Reggie Miller, Dick Vitale, Larry Bird and fellow WNBA icon Tamika Catchings.

As noted Clark is having a tremendous start to the season on the court. After scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists in Indiana’s loss to the Washington Mystics on May 15, Clark became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple games of 30+ points and 10+ assists.

On3’s Daniel Hager also contributed to this report.