Caitlin Clark's Playoff Debut: Can the Fever Take Down the Sun?

The WNBA playoffs are here, and rookie Caitlin Clark will play in her first post-season game with the Indiana Fever on Sunday when they face the Connecticut Sun. Despite the fact that the Fever lost their last game of the regular season on Thursday to the Washington Mystics, there's still, well, a fever around the team thanks to Clark's record-setting performances over the last several months and her first appearance in the WNBA post-season. The Fever will play the Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut with a 3 p.m. tipoff on ABC. The game can be streamed after it concludes on WNBA League Pass. Are you ready to watch Caitlin Clark's first WNBA playoff game? Here's what you need to know ahead of the Fever vs. Sun game this afternoon.

Where to Watch

The Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun game tips off at 3 p.m. ET today.

The Fever vs. Sun game will air on ABC.

You can watch ABC live on platforms including Fubo, DirecTV, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. The game will also be available to stream after it concludes on WNBA League Pass.

How to Watch on Fubo TV

At $90/month, Fubo TV's Elite tier gives you access to ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBA TV, Ion and 200-plus more live channels. The live TV streaming service is one of the priciest options on this list, but it still leaves you with major savings compared with a traditional cable package and will get you access to the most WNBA games you can watch with just one subscription. Fubo subscribers also get 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage.

The platform offers a free trial period, and right now you can get $30 off your first month of any tier after the trial period ends.

How to Watch on DirecTV

Yes, DirecTV will be carrying ABC and all ESPN channels again after a brief disruption in coverage on the platform. DirecTV subscribers will be able to watch every playoff game of the WNBA.

WNBA Playoffs Schedule

Round one of the WNBA playoffs begins on Sunday, September 22. The playoffs are scheduled through October 18 if necessary.

There are eight confirmed teams in the 2024 WBNA playoffs, they are:

New York Liberty (32-8)
Minnesota Lynx (30-10)
Connecticut Sun (28-12)
Las Vegas Aces (27-13)
Seattle Storm (25-15)
Indiana Fever (20-20)
Phoenix Mercury (19-21)
Atlanta Dream (15-25)

WNBA Playoffs TV Coverage

While this season's WNBA games aired across upwards of 10 channels and streaming platforms, including Prime Video, ION, and other national broadcast networks, the playoffs will be exclusive to ABC and ESPN. Note that they will not be carried on ESPN+.

WNBA Playoffs Format

The WNBA playoffs feature an eight-team bracket; participating teams are decided based on their regular season record. During the first-round, games are played on a best-of-three series. Semifinal and final games are played as a best-of-five series.

2024 WNBA Playoffs Schedule

Sunday, September 22:

Dream-Liberty, Game 1 - 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Fever-Sun, Game 1 - 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
Mercury-Lynx, Game 1 - 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Storm-Aces, Game 1 - 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Tuesday, September 24

Dream-Liberty, Game 2 - 7:30 p.m. ET
Storm-Aces, Game 2 - 9:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, September 25

Fever-Sun, Game 2 7:30 p.m. ET
Mercury-Lynx, Game 2 - 9:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, September 26

Dream-Liberty, Game 3 (if necessary) - TBD
Storm-Aces, Game 3 (if necessary) - TBD

Friday, September 27

Lynx-Mercury, Game 3 (if necessary) - TBD
Sun-Fever, Game 3 (if necessary) - TBD

Sunday, September 29

Matchup #1, Game 1
Matchup #2, Game 1

Tuesday, October 1

Matchup #1, Game 2
Matchup #2, Game 2

Friday, October 4

Matchup #1, Game 3
Matchup #2, Game 3

Sunday, October 6

Matchup #1, Game 4 (if necessary)
Matchup #2, Game 4 (if necessary)

Tuesday, October 8

Matchup #1, Game 5 (if necessary)
Matchup #2, Game 5 (if necessary)

Thursday, October 10

Game 1

Sunday, October 13

Game 2

Wednesday, October 16

Game 3

Friday, October 18

Game 4 (if necessary)

Sunday, October 20

Game 5 (if necessary)

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Indiana Fever's Record-Setting Season

The Fever and the Mystics play in front of a sellout crowd of 20,711, which is the most attended game in WNBA history. (0:21)

WASHINGTON -- Sika Kone scored a career-high 20 points and the Washington Mystics pulled out a 92-91 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Thursday night before a record crowd of 20,711, the largest in WNBA history.

The Mystics (14-26), who led by 16 points entering the fourth quarter, began the regular-season finale with a shot at the final playoff spot, but that hope ended when the Atlanta Dream (15-25) won at New York to secure the No. 8 seed.

Ariel Atkins and Emily Engstler scored 17 points apiece for Washington, while Brittney Sykes and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough both contributed 12.

Indiana (20-20) had already locked up the No. 6 seed and pulled its starters midway through the second half. Clark, the record-setting rookie, had 8 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes, while Kelsey Mitchell had four points and was pulled after only five minutes. For Clark, it was her first time being held under double figures in scoring since June 13.

Kristy Wallace led the Fever, who will face No. 3 seed Connecticut in a three-game series beginning Sunday, with 17 points. NaLyssa Smith had 16 points, and Aliyah Boston and Katie Lou Samuelson both had 10.

The record attendance was made possible by the game's being played at Capital One Arena, which is not the Mystics' usual home. Washington plays at Entertainment & Sports Arena, which has a capacity of 4,200.

Washington went just 3-of-15 in the fourth quarter, but Indiana, with mostly reserves on the floor, missed three shots in the last minute after Wallace scored to make it 92-91 with 1:13 to play.

Samuelson missed with 7.7 seconds remaining and Grace Berger grabbed the offensive rebound but missed a short jumper at the buzzer.

The Fever jumped out to a 20-2 lead to start the game as Washington missed its first 10 shots. A three-point play from Kone at the 4:29 mark ended that run, and Indiana's lead was down to 24-22 by the time the quarter came to a close.

By halftime, the Mystics were on top 52-45 as they shot 60% from the field in the second quarter.

Washington started the second half with a 12-4 run and extended the advantage to 82-66 through three quarters.

Mitchell played in her 233rd regular-season game before playing in a playoff game, tying Jia Perkins, who played in the same number before getting into a 2011 playoff game.

Can Caitlin Clark Carry the Fever to a Win?

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are on a 6-1 run, with Clark seemingly running away with the Rookie of the Year award. Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright ask if the WNBA is doing enough to support Clark's rising stardom.

The Indiana Fever closed out the regular season the same way they began it – in record fashion.

When Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut against the Connecticut Sun back in May, the matchup set the record for the most-watched WNBA game in more than 20 years, with 2.1 million viewers tuning in to see the former Iowa star take center stage.

On Thursday night, the Fever set another record in front of a crowd of 20,711 fans, the largest attendance in WNBA history.

This year’s rookie class set a new standard for women’s basketball, but Clark led the charge, and her teammates recognized the impact she has had on the game.

“It’s huge,” NaLyssa Smith said of the crowd that attended Thursday’s narrow loss to the Washington Mystics.

“This is what we’ve been hoping for forever. It’s fun to play in front of these [crowds]. You never get used to it. Just always showing up and playing in front of sold-out crowds, and I mean, shoutout Caitlin. Shoutout Caitlin, we appreciate her for this.”

Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell echoed that sentiment ahead of the game, adding that Clark’s popularity has given way for “casual” fans to begin to appreciate the sport's biggest names.

“I think the reality of it is that I don’t think people would know without [Caitlin Clark]. So, shoutout to Caitlin. That’s just the reality. I think she’s done an unbelievable job of bringing obviously her own fans and the people that support her.”

Clark has undoubtedly changed the landscape of the WNBA, but she has also changed the landscape of the franchise. The Fever clinched the No. 6 seed in the playoffs earlier this month, making their first postseason appearance since 2016.

They begin their playoff journey with a three-game series against the Sun beginning with Game 1 on Sunday.

Will the Fever Pull Off an Upset?

The Sun won the season series over Indiana 3-1, but all three of their wins came within the first five weeks of the season when Indiana was still figuring itself out. What pace the series is played at will go a long way in determining the winner of this matchup. Indiana could be the first lower seed to upset a higher seed in the new format, but it’s also hard to bet against the Sun’s playoff experience.

We’re still waiting on the first first-round upset in this format, and though Indiana has been feisty post-break and beat Connecticut in the most recent meeting, the Sun also have a five-year streak of making the WNBA semifinals on the line. The bet here is the streak stays alive.

The Fever Are a Force to Be Reckoned With

Other than the Aces, look to the Fever as a franchise that nobody wants to play in the playoffs. Prior to its consecutive defeats vs. the Aces last week, Indiana had won eight of its first 10 games in the second half and had a plus-6.1 net rating, the third-best mark in the league.

All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 24.4 points per game since the All-Star break (the second-most in the league) while Caitlin Clark is averaging the third-most points (23.4) and a league-leading nine assists per game since play resumed. Add in All-Star center Aliyah Boston, and Indiana becomes a difficult opponent, even without factoring the wave of fans that follows them across the country.

The WNBA is Booming

You always want a viewership story to sell if you are a professional sports league and the WNBA has a great metrics story to sell in 2024. Last week ESPN announced that its WNBA regular season was its most-watched ever for games across ESPN Networks airwaves (including ABC). Games averaged 1.2 million viewers, a massive jump over last year’s games (440,000 viewers). These are unheard of percentage increases in sports television.

Something even more impressive? The WNBA had 22 regular-season games that averaged more than 1 million viewers — the first time since 2008 that a WNBA game topped one million viewers. If you want to add in the WNBA All-Star Game and the WNBA Draft, it makes 24 programming events during the 2024 calendar year that topped 1 million viewers (Caitlin Clark was part of all but three of these windows, per Sports Media Watch).

Clark's Impact on the WNBA

The Athletic's women’s basketball writers Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman discussed how the league can best capitalize on this growing interest and how they would promote Clark and the Indiana Fever during the playoffs. Check out their conversation at the link below.