The Indiana Fever opened their 2026 preseason with a convincing 109–91 win over the New York Liberty. This was their first real look as a group this season, with new pieces settling in and rotations starting to take shape. But even before the game began, Caitlin Clark gave a clear indication of what this version of Indiana is going to look like.

During the week of training camp, conversations around Clark playing more off the ball started picking up, especially with the additions of Raven Johnson and Tyasha “Ty” Harris to the Fever roster. However, the 24-year-old star made her role extremely clear in a pregame media availability.

“We want to play in transition,” she said. “And we want to play with a lot of pace. We want to outlet to the near guard. If that’s not me, I need to get down the court, and that allows people to come screen for me and get open. It also makes the other team get cross-matched.”

Caitlin Clark further added, “You’re going to see a good variation of both, but I’m going to be the primary ball handler, that’s never going to change.”

This was a direct response to the growing narrative around Indiana potentially shifting more responsibility away from her as a ball handler when Clark previously acknowledged that bringing the ball up constantly against pressure can be taxing, hinting that the team needed additional help in that area. But as she clarified here, that doesn’t mean stepping away from her central role; it just means building around it.

And to be fair, Indiana now has the pieces to make that balance work.

Rookie Raven Johnson of the South Carolina Gamecocks brings defensive versatility and secondary playmaking. Whereas Tyasha Harris adds another steady option in the backcourt.

Still, the foundation remains the same; this team runs through Caitlin Clark.

Even though she wasn’t much available in the 2025 season because she had to be sidelined due to an injury, ahead of the preseason game, Clark suited up for the USA Women’s National Basketball Team for the FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. That’s where she was named MVP while leading the team to a 5–0 record, averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 assists. So, for this team, the goal isn’t to change who Clark is, but to expand what she can do without taking the ball out of her hands.

And we already saw glimpses of it.

Caitlin Clark Runs the Show Without Forcing the Script

With all the talk around her role coming into the game, the Indiana Fever vs the New York Liberty was always going to be less about how many points Caitlin Clark scored and more about how she operated. Because this game marked almost 10 months after she wore a Fever jersey.

And honestly, it played out exactly how she said it would.

Clark finished the game with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block in 17 minutes, shooting 2-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Yes, it’s not the kind of stat line that jumps out, but that wasn’t really the point here.

Because if you watched how she played, it was clear she wasn’t trying to take over.

She got her team going early with a floater for their first bucket and later knocked down a deep three, but beyond those moments, this was more about control than volume. She didn’t force anything, even when the shots weren’t falling.

That’s where the bigger shift showed up.

While Clark still initiated and set the tone, Raven Johnson, for example, stepped right in and handled significant playmaking duties, finishing with a game-high eight assists. It wasn’t just a one-off stretch either; you could see Indiana actively leaning into multiple ball handlers, exactly like Clark hinted at before the game.

With Kelsey Mitchell and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough both putting up 18 points, while Sophie Cunningham added 13 of her own. At no point did it feel like the offense needed Caitlin Clark to force shots to stay afloat. Which is exactly the balance this team has been talking about.

For a first outing back, that’s a pretty telling sign for what can be expected from them in the coming months.

And the food for thought – if this is what Indiana looks like when Clark isn’t even pushing the pace as a scorer yet, then just imagine the version where everything clicks.