For First Time Since 2016, Indiana Fever Headed to WNBA Playoffs

An impressive post-Olympic break push has propelled the Indiana Fever into the WNBA playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever are playoff bound. On Tuesday night, both the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream lost, solidifying the team's spot in the WNBA postseason for the first time since 2016.

Indiana owns a 17-16 record and sits in the No. 6 spot in the WNBA standings. The top eight teams in the league earn a trip to the playoffs.

WE'RE IN.

we have officially clinched a spot in the 2024 @WNBA playoffs 🔥

📝 https://t.co/lmq97tihkJ pic.twitter.com/xK8Tg9izY4

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 4, 2024

Even with back-to-back No. 1 picks in Aliyah Boston (2023) and Caitlin Clark (2024), the year started off rocky for the Fever. The team opened the year with a 1-8 record and appeared to be in store for a long season.

But once the team's chemistry began jelling, the Fever took off. That's been evident in the post-Olympic break. Since returning from a month-long layoff, Indiana has a 6-1 record and has scored at least 90 points in four of those games.

Clark has stolen a majority of the conversation with a sensational rookie season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft is averaging a league-best 8.4 assists per game to go along with 18.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest. She's the frontrunner to win the league's Rookie of the Year award.

But Clark has received a ton of assistance, especially from Kelsey Mitchell since the end of the Olympic break. In the seven games since the return, Mitchell is averaging 26.7 points per game and has set a Fever franchise record with seven consecutive 20-point performances.

Boston has also provided a tremendous post presence for the Fever, averaging 13.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.

Clark, Mitchell and Boston were all selected to the WNBA All-Star team earlier this year. They're living up to the hype, especially in the second half of the season.

WNBA playoff format

The WNBA playoffs will begin on Sunday, Sept. 22. For those unfamiliar, here's how the format works, per the Indiana Fever's website.

"The top eight teams regardless of conference will qualify for the playoffs and be seeded based on their record. The first playoff round follows a best-of-three format where the teams are seeded based on their regular-season record. The first-round series games will include a 2-1 format in which the higher seed will host Games 1 and 2 and the lower seed will host Game 3 if necessary.

"The semifinals and WNBA Finals will each feature a best-of-five series following the 2-2-1 format with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2 and 5, and the lower-seeded team will host Games 3 and 4 in their respective series."