The Indiana Fever secured its first win of the 2026 WNBA season on Wednesday night, defeating the LA Sparks 87-78. While the victory marked a major milestone for Indiana, a tense interaction between Caitlin Clark and the officiating crew stole the spotlight at Crypto.com Arena.
With just 20 seconds remaining in the first half, officials called Clark for an offensive foul. Following the whistle, Clark approached referee Jason Alabanza.
The two engaged in a brief but heated verbal exchange before Alabanza served Clark with a technical foul as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
Technical for Caitlin Clark to end the half
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) May 14, 2026
SHE'S BACK pic.twitter.com/BljuP0TFnM
Caitlin Clark Stats: Fever Star Overcomes Technical Foul in 1st Win
The incident comes amid ongoing discussions regarding how officials manage contact in the league. Updated guidelines under the WNBA's new CBA call for an monetary increase across all fouling levels.
Clark will pay $500 for the tech she earned Wednesday night.
However, the Fever's sharp-shooting star is no stranger to confrontations with on-court officials. She has expressed frustration over a lack of calls during high-intensity drives in the past. But, despite the distraction, Clark remained focused on the floor in her team's on-the-road win.
She finished the night with 24 points and nine assists. The performance answered recent calls for the Fever to find their offensive rhythm after a season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings. Clark’s ability to channel her aggression into playmaking proved vital in fending off a late Sparks rally.
Kelsey Mitchell provided a critical scoring punch alongside her teammate, tallying 23 points. Their combined 47 points neutralized a strong performance from the Sparks' backcourt, stifling stars Kelsey Plum and Ariel Atkins.
Fever vs. Mystics: Where to Watch Caitlin Clark on Friday
The win provides momentum for Indiana as they continue their Western Conference road trip. The Fever now look ahead to a Friday night matchup against the Washington Mystics, tipping off at 7:30 PM ET on ION.
Kelsey Plum is staying in Los Angeles after agreeing to a one-year, $999,999 deal with the Sparks, a team-friendly move that gives the franchise added WNBA free agency funds in 2026.
Plum was eligible for a one-year supermax deal worth roughly $1.4 million under the new CBA, but chose a smaller deal to create more room for LA to build around its veteran core. The structure additionally gives Plum long-term flexibility, allowing her to re-enter free agency as soon as next year.
The move says as much about the LA's direction as it does Plum's priorities. The Sparks spent the offseason bringing back veterans while also exploring roster upgrades via free agency.
Plum remains central to that push. In her first season with the Sparks, she led the team with 19.5 points and 5.7 assists across 43 starts. She earned another All-Star nod while carrying a heavy offensive load.
Before joining LA in 2025, Plum spent seven seasons with Las Vegas. There she won two WNBA titles and establishing herself as one of the league's most consistent guards.
Her decision to stay gives LA more financial room to keep scouting talent. The Sparks can now support Plum, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink, and a young lineup intent on ending the franchise's playoff drought.
Brink's return adds another layer to the narrative. The former No. 2 overall pick is now fully recovered from the torn ACL that sidelined her for part of last season, subsequently giving the team another key frontcourt piece.
The new CBA increased player leverage. However, it's also made short-term deals like Plum's more appealing for stars balancing earnings with roster control.
Regardless, the 31-year-old gives the Sparks both continuity and flexibility as Los Angeles keeps building toward contention in 2026.
Rickea Jackson has emerged as a central name in 2026 WNBA offseason movement, with reports linking the LA Sparks forward to a potential trade.
According to Front Office Sports, the Sparks and Sky are close to a deal that would send Jackson to Chicago in exchange for Chicago guard Ariel Atkins, though no agreement has been finalized.
The potential trade would mark one of the offseason's more notable transactions. Jackson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is coming off a strong second season in LA. She averaged 14.7 points per game in 2025 while finishing ninth in MVP voting.
That production positioned Jackson as a key piece for the Sparks moving forward. She earned All-Rookie honors in 2024 and showed steady growth, particularly in the 2025 WNBA season's second half.
Receiving Atkins would provide LA's roster with veteran experience. Atkins is a two-time WNBA All-Star and one of the league's top perimeter defenders, bringing tested shooting skills to a Sparks team that struggled from 3-point range.
Still, the rumored deal raises as many questions as it does answers for LA. Jackson departing would signal a shift away from building around a young scorer in favor of adding defensive stability.
For the Sky, timing matters. Chicago has already reshaped its roster this week, including young superstar Angel Reese's blockbuster trade, pointing to a broader team reset.
Whether or not the deal materializes, the Rickea Jackson trade rumors reflecs both her value as a player and teams' shifting priorities as they navigate a new WNBA CBA within a rapidly changing roster landscape.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Sparks parted ways with head coach Curt Miller. The LA team finished the season 12th in the WNBA standings with a record of 8-32.
After leading Connecticut to the 2022 WNBA Finals, Miller joined the Sparks ahead of the 2023 season. He went on to oversee a 2024 rebuild that added top rookies Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson to LA's roster.
Miller showed "courage" during an LA Sparks rebuild
"Takes courage to come into a situation as such and do the dirty work that essentially you don’t and won’t get credit for. Everyone not built for that. He wanted that challenge! Some people like and only want gold handed on a platter," Sparks All-Star Dearica Hamby tweeted after the news broke.
Miller began his head coaching career at Bowling Green in 2001, where he coached the Falcons to a 258-92 career record including 135-41 in conference play and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2006. He departed Ohio in 2012 to helm Indiana University's women's basketball team.
After three seasons with Indiana, Miller left college sports for the WNBA in 2015, spending a year-long stint as an assistant coach with the LA Sparks.
Establishing a WNBA career with the Connecticut Sun
Miller spent the bulk of his pro career with the Connecticut Sun, joining the team for the 2016 season and assuming general manager duties that same year. In 2017, Miller went on to win both WNBA Coach of the Year and WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year.
While he led the Sun to the playoffs in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, Miller never won a WNBA title with the franchise.
LA currently has the best odds to land 2025's No. 1 draft pick via the WNBA lottery, with UConn guard Paige Bueckers expected to fill that slot.
2024 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark continues to improve, dropping a professional career-high 30 points in Indiana’s 88-82 loss to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
She also had six assists and five rebounds alongside three steals and three blocks. Clark is the first rookie to record 30 points, three blocks, and three steals in a game in WNBA history. She’s just the fourth player overall to register the stat line.
Clark's 30-point game is also the third-most points by a rookie in Fever history behind Tamika Catchings, who twice scored 32 points in her rookie season. Clark has now become the fastest rookie in league history to record 100 points and 50 assists.
"I think I just played with an aggressive mindset," Clark said after the game. "I think that was the biggest thing — to play downhill the best I could. We did some good things and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot."
But even Clark’s numbers weren't enough, as the Fever went on to their seventh out of eight games. However, the team has played eight games in 14 days and there hasn’t been much time to rest. Despite signs of growth since the beginning of the season, Clark recorded seven turnovers — a game high.
"The biggest thing for me is, when I get in there, I still get a little indecisive — and that’s honestly where a lot of my turnovers are still coming from," Clark explained. "Just a little indecision when I do get my feet in the paint, but I think I’ve done a better job of probing and finding people open or finishing at the rim. I think I’ve done a better job as well of understanding who’s guarding me.
"That will continue to get a lot better, [I’ll] continue to take care of the ball a little bit better and find people, not be a little indecisive – I’ve got to make decisions a little bit faster once I do get my feet in the paint."
Down at the half, Indiana fought back to take the lead in the third quarter. But a 28-8 run from Los Angeles left the Fever unable to recover, with the Sparks ultimately prevailing 88-82.
The WNBA continues its historic trajectory one week into the season, with attendance and viewership skyrocketing across the board.
Indiana’s Saturday game against the New York Liberty was the most-watched WNBA game ever on ABC, drawing 1.71 million viewers. The Sparks vs. Aces matchup that followed became the third most-watched WNBA game broadcast on ABC with 1.34 million viewers.
On Monday, the tense finish between Indiana and Connecticut drew 1.56 million viewers to ESPN, the second most-watched WNBA game to ever air on cable.
Outside of the league’s viewership, both in-person attendance and merchandise sales have also been on a meteoric rise. On Saturday, the game between New York and Indiana shattered the single-game ticket revenue record in the WNBA, with the Liberty pulling in $2 million in sales.
New York and Indiana played their home openers in front of more than 17,000 fans, with attendance up 14% year-over-year, according to the league. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Aces, the Liberty, the Wings, the Dream, and others have already sold out of their 2024 season ticket allotments.
Since April’s WNBA Draft, revenue from the WNBA’s official online store is up 2,260%, already blowing past total sales for the entire 2023 season.
While the numbers may cool somewhat as teams settle into their seasons, the pop in demand has already overwhelmingly delivered for the WNBA in 2024.
The WNBA draft lottery will be held at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 10, the league announced Tuesday.
The lottery, which will air on ESPN, will decide the top four picks for the 2024 WNBA draft. The 2024 draft class should be laden with talent, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. But all three of those players hold at least one more year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could complicate the picture.
Teams’ lottery odds are determined via their combined records from the 2022 and 2023 WNBA seasons. The Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm are in the running for the No. 1 overall pick.
The Fever, who won the lottery for the first time in franchise history in 2023, have the best shot at the No. 1 pick again in 2024. With this year’s top pick, Indiana selected South Carolina star Aliyah Boston, who became the unanimous pick for WNBA Rookie of the Year.
2024 WNBA draft lottery: Team odds
- Indiana Fever — 18-58 record — 44.2% chance at No. 1 pick
- Phoenix Mercury — 24-52 — 27.6%
- Los Angeles Sparks — 30-46 — 17.8%
- Seattle Storm — 33-43 — 10.4%
Dawn Staley has built a pipeline to the WNBA at South Carolina, and that has been on full display during the 2023 WNBA season.
From rookies Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke to MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, nine former Gamecocks currently grace WNBA rosters, The Athletic reported. That is the third-highest total in the league behind Notre Dame (10) and UConn (16).
“To see all of us achieving our goals and being able to play against each other, it’s special,” Cooke told The Athletic. The 22-year-old guard played in 39 games for the Los Angeles Sparks in her first professional season.
Players say that Staley’s coaching style helps to prepare them for the WNBA from the moment they step on campus as freshmen. She instills “pro habits,” including mental toughness and work ethic, to help her players flourish at the next level.
The formula has worked. On top of having nine players on rosters, three of the last seven Rookie of the Year winners will have come from South Carolina – Allisha Gray, Wilson and, soon, Boston. A shoo-in for the 2023 award, Boston averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Indiana Fever.
“That South Carolina program really grooms these guys to compete,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said.
And former Gamecocks returning to campus and helping out the program helps too.
“When they come back, I try to get them to practice with us,” Staley said. “I try to get them to impart knowledge on how to play at the next level, the type of habits they’ve created to have staying power and to have dominating power once they’re in the league.”
Wilson sees the wisdom Staley has imparted on her as a “huge key” to her success with the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces. That includes twice being named WNBA MVP – with a potential third accolade coming. And she’s been happy seeing her fellow South Carolina alums find success in the WNBA as well.
“To see it all unfold and to see us all here being successful across the league, it’s truly something special,” Wilson said. “I’m always proud to say, I’m a product of Dawn Staley, and that’s the stamp. That’s a big stamp for me and I love it, and you can see it carries out throughout my college teammates. And it’s just a type of vibe that we give, the culture that we built there. It’s no surprise that we’re being very successful in this league.”
Lexie Brown revealed more details of the illness that kept her out for the majority of the WNBA season.
The Los Angeles Sparks guard missed 28 of 40 games this season due to a bacterial infection, which has required multiple surgeries, she revealed to reporters Wednesday.
The first surgery came in mid-June, when the infection was close to becoming septic, Brown said. While she returned to the court for three games in July, she ended up needing another surgery, which sidelined her for the rest of the season. And she will need one more surgery before she can move forward.
“My goal was always to come back,” she said. “My mentality was to always conquer this and get back on the court. And that was always the conversations we had. But my mind and my body were just not matching up.”
While dealing with the infection and the recovery from her surgeries, Brown, 28, often found herself in “too much pain” to attend games or practices — or even to leave her apartment.
“Day to day, I’m OK. I can do normal things. But I’m in pain all the time, and it’s just been really difficult,” Brown said. “I can’t do any type of exercising at all. So that’s been one of the hardest parts for me too. But I’m getting through it.”
In her 12 games, she averaged a career-high 12.4 points per game, as well as 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She also had a career-high 48.6% shooting percentage.
As Brown navigated her health ordeal, she and the team offered few details. She did open up about her journey in a TikTok video in August, saying the recovery process has been “a lot longer” and “a lot harder” than she expected. On Wednesday, she praised the Sparks for maintaining her privacy and for offering their unwavering support.
“The team was so amazing through this entire thing. The organization was amazing. They kept it all extremely private, which I appreciate so much, because it was hard when people have a lot of opinions and thoughts of what was really going on with me…
“I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to start visualizing positivity more, so: I will be healthy for next season.”
"My mind and my body were just not matching up." @Lexiebrown speaks to the media about her health this season. pic.twitter.com/3dvSaaOFdW
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) September 13, 2023
Dearica Hamby is an inspiration to “all working mothers,” Los Angeles Sparks coach Curt Miller said Sunday after his team’s season finale.
Hamby welcomed her son Legend in March, two months after her trade to the Sparks. Following the move, she claimed her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, had “discriminated against” her due to her pregnancy.
For the Sparks, Hamby played all 40 games of the 2023 WNBA season, averaging 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game.
“The W has incredible individual stories each season, but I would love to shout-out @dearicamarie!” he wrote on social media. “Dearica played in ALL 40-regular season games shortly after giving birth to her second child. She is a true inspiration to our entire league and all working mothers.”
Hamby responded, writing: “Thank you for believing in me to come back so soon.”
Thank you Coach ❤️ and thank you for believing in me to come back so soon. https://t.co/b3gaf1xuHW
— Dearica Marie Hamby (@dearicamarie) September 11, 2023
The 29-year-old forward also thanked her two children, daughter Amaya and son Legend. She posted two videos of them supporting her at home and watching her play.
And my kids… thank you to my kidssssssss 🥺🥺 pic.twitter.com/COaMVDJTQy
— Dearica Marie Hamby (@dearicamarie) September 11, 2023
After winning the 2022 WNBA title with the Aces, she announced her pregnancy during the championship parade. But after her offseason trade, she wrote a statement outlining the Aces’ treatment of her after she revealed her pregnancy, calling it “unprofessional and unethical.”
“I was told that I was ‘a question mark’ and that it was said that I said I would ‘get pregnant again’ and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team,” she wrote.
After an investigation into Hamby’s claims, the WNBA suspended Aces head coach Becky Hammon without pay for the first two games of the 2023 season. The league also stripped the team of its 2025 first-round draft pick.
In announcing the Aces’ punishments, the WNBA confirmed that Hammon made comments to Hamby about her pregnancy in violation of the league’s Respect in the Workplace policies, but Hammon has denied Hamby’s specific claims.