Indiana Fever Star Sees Hot Streak Amid Caitlin Clark's Absence Overlooked for WNBA Award originally appeared on Athlon Sports. On Monday, the WNBA officially named New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu its Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx its Western Conference Player of the Month for July.

Indiana’s 5–0 record without Clark has helped them jump to No. 4 in ESPN’s latest WNBA power rankings, behind the New York Liberty (3), Atlanta Dream (2), and Minnesota Lynx (1), and up from No. 5 a week ago. This marks their highest ranking of the 2025 season, highlighting how effectively the team has adapted in Clark’s absence.

The WNBA trade deadline is a pressure cooker. Front offices are staring at the same fork in the road: double‑down and push for a title, or pull the ripcord and pivot to 2026 and an offseason that will feature a free-agent free-for-all.