Caitlin Clark has been called many things, like 'a generational talent', or 'female Steph Curry', but more recently 'a product of past failures'.

Kells Krauskopf's words may sound like an insult, but they're praise. Don't be confused just yet!

In an interview with FOX59 News on Tuesday, Krauskopf opened up about Fever's trajectory.

"I jokingly have said, you know, to get two No. 1 picks, it means that you had some pretty bad years before you got those two No. 1 picks. But certainly worth the opportunity to have and to draft a player like Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark. And these are the moments, as a franchise and as a sports team, you build on, and you hopefully know what happens to get there, but once you get there, it changes the trajectory of your team".

She then explained how Caitlin Clark became the ray of hope, the asset of Indiana Fever’s past failures.

"Any time you can get two No. 1 picks in a row, those are generational picks. Those are players that you hope, if you get it right, that are gonna be a part of the fabric of the franchise for a long time. And you know, it can change the trajectory of your team, and of your business. And it certainly has ours," the president of basketball operations said.

What was Indiana Fever like before Caitlin Clark came along?

The franchise started as an expansion team in 2000, with only 1 title in 25 years, thanks to Tamika Catchings. Apart from the 2012 win, the Fever has made it to 15 playoff appearances, turning 4 of them into a spot in the finals.

Indiana Fever last reached a finals seat a decade ago, finishing last in the league in 2018, 2021, and 2022.

Then came 2024 with the arrival of Caitlin Clark. She helped them finish the season with a 20-20, the first break-even record since 2016.

Since Clark joined the franchise, the Indiana Fever has seen a boom in visibility, audience, and performance. The Indiana Fever has one of the highest Instagram followings in the WNBA, with 976k followers as of December 2025. This is a notable spike from the previous year.

Despite missing most of the season with injury this year, Clark averaged 16.5 points in 13 games and brought in numbers like 2.7 million viewers on ABC for the season opener.

Healthy and recovering, could she make the Fever title contenders in 2026?

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Joyita Das