WNBA fans got to watch Caitlin Clark play basketball for the first time since last July on Saturday as the Indiana Fever opened the season against the Dallas Wings. It was a thrilling sight: Clark was as spunky as ever while finishing with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists. She became the fastest player in league history to rack up 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists. The only bummer for fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was how neither Clark or Kelsey Mitchell managed to make the three-point attempts that would have sent the game to overtime. Wings won 107-104.

The loss wasn’t the biggest concern for the Fever or their fans. That spotlight is 100 percent pointed at Clark and her back.

Caitlin Clark needed multiple back adjustments during Fever season opener

Clark missed 31 games in 2025 while dealing with multiple injuries. After a mostly lost sophomore campaign, everyone interested in the WNBA has been eager to see her back healthy and in action. That also means just about everyone is holding their breath and hoping her body can hold up this time around.

Saturday’s season debut won’t ease any concerns about Clark’s ability to stay on the floor. She played 31 minutes and did finish the game without incident, for the record. However, she went back to the locker room multiple times, sparking worries over a new or lingering injury. After the game, Clark and head coach Stephanie White revealed she was getting her back adjusted.

“It gets out of line pretty quickly. So just that, just getting my back put back in place a little bit. But other than that, I feel great,” Clark said.

The Fever aren’t worried about Caitlin Clark but fans have every right to be

White wasn’t ringing any alarm bells, but she did admit that it would be an “ongoing thing” to make sure hip and rib alignment was taken care of.

“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t okay,” White said.

I fully respect White’s position here. The body is a complex machine and athletes have to deal with all sorts of issues as they manage their way through a season. The Fever are doing what’s necessary to make sure their star player can stay healthy.

Having said that, this isn’t something that’s so easy to brush off if you’re a fan of Clark and her game.

Even without an injury Caitlin Clark could be limited in 2026

Here’s the great news: Clark doesn’t seem to have an actual injury. Last season she dealt with groin and quad strains, along with a bone bruise. On Saturday she wasn’t receiving treatment for that kind of ailment. The back adjustments are essentially preventative.

That’s the not-so great news: You don’t need to have in-game adjustments to a back that “gets out of line pretty quickly” if your body or mechanics are working properly.

The fact that this is going to be an ongoing thing means a couple of things:

1. Clark may be healthy, but she’s still entering the season with significant injury concerns hanging overhead. She had to work on the sideline and in the locker room to stay loose during game one of a 44-game season.
2. Those injury concerns mean Clark can’t just go out and play with abandon. She needs to manage her body if she wants to keep playing, which could mean load management or adjustments to her playing style, whether intentional or involuntary.

Clark said she thinks her slow start was due to nerves and that’s probably accurate. She hasn’t played in a while, and the last time she did, she was dealing with a frustrating string of injuries that clearly impacted her efficiency. Psychologically that’s going to weigh on her and the Fever.

With a healthy and firing Clark, the Fever could be a contender. But it’s tough to bank on that outcome when so much is still in doubt when it comes to Clark’s health.

I’ll be honest, this feels a little bit like being an Angels fan and watching Mike Trout return to action. It’s wonderful to have him healthy, but there’s also an unavoidable fear that we’re all just one misstep away from losing him to injury again. It’s far from a 1-for-1, but fans who have held their breath over a favorite injury-prone player know exactly what I’m talking about.

I want to see Clark’s next 1,000 points, 250 rebounds and 250 assists.

More WNBA news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow