Finally, the Indiana Fever got some approximation for Caitlin Clark’s return. After weeks of being in the dark with vague statements and false reports, Stephanie White speculated when the beloved point guard would be back on the court. “She’s progressed in her rehab, and I anticipate, hopefully, by the end of the week, she’ll be on the floor, at least in practice,” White said before their Storm win. While that is still not a date for her competitive return, it’s better than nothing. The Fever desperately needs her back to make a deep season playoff run. Rolling back the tape, Indiana was once considered a top 3 contender for the title and is now struggling to make the postseason.

All their preseason plans, free agency negotiations, and recruiting the new coach went down the drain at the hands of their misfortune. Players have gone down one after the other like dominoes, and it has forced them to dip into the free agent market for emergency signings. The latest one being Aerial Powers, who was their 6th in-season signing, forcing WNBA legend Candace Parker to urge the league to pay some attention to this league-wide issue.

Parker said on the Post Moves with Aliyah Boston and Candace Parker podcast, “(Aerial) Powers is the 17th player. Yeah. 17th player to wear the Fever uniform this season. And no, the WNBA did not change the rules about roster sizes. This is actually the case.” That brought some laughs from Boston, but it really has felt like Fever makes a signing every other week. The front office has been working overtime after all the hard work in the offseason. They had multiple veterans, like DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sophie Cunningham, coming in while retaining Kelsey Mitchell. 

However, Parker feels these multiple temporary signings should be a thing of the past by next season, as she continued, “17th player on an 11-woman roster. Um, which is insane. And I think it goes back to the cry to expand the roster. Because if you have someone who is the next man up with all of these injuries, at least they’re familiar with their offense.”

Many feel the WNBA is currently overshooting from its year-long sunshine. After a year of being the biggest brand in the country, largely courtesy of Caitlin Clark, the league took no time in announcing their expansion. 2026 will have two new entrants in the form of Toronto and Portland. From 2027 onwards, a new franchise will be added each year till 2030. “I think now rosters need to be expanded before we add any more expansion teams,” Cameron Brink said after those moves.

We have already seen the impact of expanding the number of games without increasing the roster limits. According to the Next Hoops Injury tracker, there have been 218 injuries this season already, surpassing the 2024 number of 203, with a sliver of the season still left. Each team has had to adapt and restart. The entire effort of connecting with the injured player goes down the drain, dropping the quality of the product the WNBA puts out. Despite the chopping and changing, the Fever’s Aliyah Boston has a positive outlook on their situation.

Aliyah Boston’s Attitude Earns High Praise from Candace Parker

Boston has been one of the few fit and firing players for Stephanie White this season. She is weathering the storm and dropping consistent 8-9/10 performances week by week. When the chips were down against the Seattle Storm with playoff qualification at risk, Boston dropped 27 points as Indiana beat Seattle, 95-75. With 9 rebounds, Boston became the fastest player in Fever franchise history to reach the 1,000-rebound mark, doing so in only 118 games. That has been even after losing her pick-and-roll partner, Caitlin Clark, and two other point guards in Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson.

While Parker rightly called out the league on the roster limits, Boston added a positive spin to their recent signings. She said, “Honestly, everyone that we’ve signed, no matter how late we’ve signed them, has honestly just come in and just been ready and focused on what we do and just try to adjust the best they can. And honestly, I think everyone’s just been doing a pretty great job.”

That’s pretty much facts. They signed McDonald, who turned out to be a phenomenon. Then they brought in Odyssey Sims, who has effortlessly slotted in, using all of her experience to be the engine of this team in Clark’s absence. Shey Peddy has provided a credible outside threat in her three games, while Aerial Powers contributed with 3.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in her two games. It’s almost like every player has turned into a better one after donning the Fever shirt, but Boston’s positive attitude captured Parker’s attention.

Parker replied, “I would have loved to play with you. You’re so positive. No, for real. Well, I would have loved to play with you because I think you need that on your squad. You need that in your locker room and you’re going to win a lot of games because of that.”

Parker is among the greatest ever to have played the game. The 2x MVP and 3x Champion would combine with Boston to build a frontcourt that could challenge the best. Boston’s youth and positivity are one of the reasons the Fever are still in the playoff hunt. They could’ve fallen apart under the injury barrage, but White’s squad has held strong and now stands with a solid shot at the postseason.