Holly Rowe: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever not WNBA title favorite compared to Las Vegas Aces

ESPN’s Holly Rowe is high on the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark this season, but don’t call them the favorites for the title later this year. Yes, Clark is arguably the most exciting and best player in the league, as she enters Year 3, but Clark and the Fever have to reset after many injuries in the 2025 season.

Despite those injuries, a Clark-less Fever squad made it to the semifinals, but lost in five games to the Las Vegas Aces. Speaking of those Aces, that’s who Clark and crew will have to get by in order to win a title. They are the giants in the WNBA.

“I do not think that Indiana is the favorite,” Rowe told On3. “And here’s why, do not forget about the Las Vegas Aces. Hello! You know they have won three of the last four WNBA championships. And I think any conversation in the WNBA that doesn’t start with Las Vegas is not the right conversation. So (that’s) first and foremost.”

Clark saw the return of Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham to this year’s team, among others. If their depth holds up again, while the starters stay healthy, perhaps this is a legit title contender. Still, Rowe is rolling the dice, pun fully intended, with Vegas until further notice.

“But here’s what I will say about Indiana. They proved last year in the playoffs they can compete with anyone with or without Caitlin Clark,” Rowe said. “People forget Caitlin Clark was injured. They had four other guards who had gone out to injury. It was an unprecedented injury year for Indiana, and they still found a way to be competitive in the playoffs. So I won’t sleep on them. I do think that they are going to be very competitive. But as for (the) favorite, we start in Vegas, and I will die on that hill.”

Fans held their breath while Clark grasped at her knee in Thursday’s preseason game. The two-time WNBA All-Star only played 13 games last season due to a lingering groin injury.

She averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, while shooting 36.7% from the field and 27.9% from beyond the arc. After having an offseason to recover, Caitlin Clark is prepared for her third WNBA season. Fever head coach Stephanie White has been happy with Clark’s performances thus far in the preseason.

“I thought she was good,” White said of Clark last Saturday. “We played differently when she was on the floor. And so again, learning how to play with her in the action. I thought she was good. I thought she didn’t force anything. She played with great intention, and everything that she did was in the flow.

“She was communicating at a high level. I mean, if we’re talking about the shot making, like that’s going to come. They play her differently in the W than they do in international basketball. And so, we’ve just got to find ways to free her up, to get her some easy looks.”