Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles past half court against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena (Photo: Ben Geffner | The Podium Finish)
LOS ANGELES — The stroll through Crypto.com Arena’s visitor tunnel is a familiar one for Caitlin Clark.
Last summer, the star guard emerged from the carpeted path in street clothes. She took time to sign autographs for the hundreds of Indiana Fever fans wrapped behind the road bench long before tipoff.
But, harboring a lingering groin injury that limited her to just 13 appearances last season, she didn’t play in any of her team’s four meetings against the Los Angeles Sparks in 2025.
The purple and gold took advantage, winning all but one of those games and holding the Fever below 80 points in two. Clark’s offensive absence was felt against an L.A. team that allowed a league-worst 88.2 opponent points per game last season.
Wednesday night proved why.
She repeated the pregame process before Indiana’s (1-1) first road game of 2026. The difference? For the first time since 2024, throngs of road fans watched her take the hardwood against L.A. (0-2) in a dominant 87-78 Fever win.
Huge crowd of road fans behind Indiana’s bench ahead of Sparks vs Fever in L.A.
Caitlin Clark has spent the last few minutes signing autographs for most of them. pic.twitter.com/MJbTv9HrzV
— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) May 14, 2026
It marked just her second career game inside the 20,000-seat venue, something Clark said was on her mind entering Wednesday. She nearly poured in a triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) in her first appearance at Crypto.com Arena on May 24, 2024, a game that gave Clark her first career WNBA win.
“That was one of my first really good memories in this league,” Clark said. “I just remember the environment being incredible … it was obviously, certainly hard to sit on the bench and have to watch last year.”
She met the moment on Wednesday, logging 24 points and nine assists while embracing a playmaker-heavy style in reaction to L.A.’s defensive gameplan.
Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike called L.A.’s 105-78 season-opening loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday one of her “worst one-on-one defending nights.”
But Ogwumike, who left the Seattle Storm as a free agent in April to reunite with the Sparks, entered Wednesday knowing what it took to limit Clark’s firepower. The Storm held Clark to a season-low six points on 3-for-13 shooting, along with eight turnovers, in 31 minutes last June.
Ogwumike made a promise ahead of her next meeting against Clark.
“The defense is definitely not something that you guys should be sitting here watching and hoping we get it down by the end of the month,” she said after Sunday’s blowout loss. “You should see it on Wednesday.”
The statement held true in one department — Clark was limited to an abysmal 1-for-7 three-point shooting clip. But the Fever refuted it in almost every other.
L.A. was forced to adjust defensive coverages to compensate for Clark’s presence — something it hadn’t had to worry about a year prior during coach Lynne Roberts’ first season at the helm.
Caitlin Clark is up to 20 points and seven assists for Indiana.
Fever lead Sparks, 80-65, with 4:05 left. pic.twitter.com/pQRrVYUz5e
— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) May 14, 2026
The Sparks’ backcourt defense keyed in on Clark early. But sagging off-ball help defense allowed Clark, who hunted swing passes off drive sequences to shooters along the wings and corners, to thrive in a facilitating role.
The six-foot guard was shadowed by L.A. guard Rae Burrell for the majority of the first quarter, then Chance Gray and former Fever teammate Erica Wheeler in the second half.
“We have our hands full,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said pregame. “You can’t lose sight of her for a minute.”
But Indiana’s supporting cast largely overshadowed Clark’s scoring. That was a purposeful decision by the star guard.
According to Clark, the “best thing” she can be for the Fever is a playmaker.
“I can score the ball, I can make threes. But what I can do best for this team is make plays for my teammates, and I know that,” she said postgame.
Planting feet inside the paint to find open perimeter shooters is Clark’s primary point of focus — it takes her mind away from “feeling like I have to make every shot.”
Caitlin Clark, seen here in the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings, has averaged 22 points per game in 2026. (Photo: Garrett Hall | The Podium Finish)
Clark said the hardest part of injury is the “mental hump,” something she’s self-admittedly still “battling” and “almost struggling” with. Wednesday’s win was just the second time she’s played 30-plus minutes in a game in the last 300 days.
But in front of a raucous road crowd, there wasn’t much rust.
“Whenever I get asked in interviews … what some of my favorite places to play [are], this is always one that comes to mind,” Clark said. “It’s definitely special to play in a place that has had so many legends in this building.”
Now, her name is on that list.
