Caitlin Clark has surpassed every expectation of her and then some ever since she lit up the collegiate basketball world at Iowa and finished as the NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer. Clark was the no-brainer number one overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft, and she has become the game-changing, franchise-altering talent the Indiana Fever had hoped for and more.

On Sunday, Clark had another stellar effort for the Fever, leading them to a 100-93 win over the Dallas Wings with a 28-point, 12-assist masterclass. In so doing, the Fever have nabbed their 17th win of the season in 33 tries, putting them at above .500 in terms of winning percentage — the first time Indiana has had a winning record in the span of 189 games, according to Elias Sports Bureau via ESPN. That is the longest stretch any WNBA team has gone without having a record above .500.

The last time the Fever had a winning record prior to after their triumph against the Wings on Sunday was back on June 13, 2019, when they took a 76-72 win over, oddly enough, the Wings as well to improve to 4-3 on the season. Indiana started off that year promisingly, but ended up crashing way back to earth, finishing the year with a 13-21 record.

The last Fever roster to have a record above .500 prior to 2024 included both Kelsey Mitchell and Erica Wheeler. Mitchell, in particular, has been one of the best players in the WNBA this season, improving considerably from her 2019 campaign. Mitchell's efficiency from the field has skyrocketed (58.6 true shooting percentage this season compared to 50.6 in 2019), and she has combined with Caitlin Clark to make Indiana's backcourt one of the best in the association.

Mitchell has seen plenty of bad times in a Fever uniform. So has Wheeler, who after starting in 2019, has now become a full-time bench player for the team. It must feel so invigorating to finally reap the rewards of their hard work, with Clark helping unlock the winning side of this Indiana team.

Caitlin Clark transforms the Fever into a winning team

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From 2020 to 2022, the Fever were the worst team in the WNBA. They won only 18.9 percent of their games during that span. 2023 saw a marked improvement from Indiana, but they were still a bad team, finishing third-last in the association with a 13-27 record. But finally, the lottery gods smiled upon them and gave them the transformative talent the team needed to break through into the league's top eight.

Caitlin Clark may have some regular troubles with taking care of the basketball. She's also subject to the wild variance that accompanies being a jumpshot-first guard. But the way she impacts winning, creating buckets both for herself and for her teammates, has made life very easy for the Fever, allowing them to overcome a slow start in 2024.

It's easy to forget now, but Clark and the Fever did not get off to an ideal start whatsoever this season. They lost their first five games, including a 32-point blowout defeat to the New York Liberty. But after staying the course and getting more consistency from both Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever have gone 17-11 since — that is good for a 24-win pace over the course of a full season, or a top-four seed in the playoffs.

At this point, it's a near-lock that the Fever will be making the WNBA playoffs — a testament to just how rapidly Clark has turned the fortunes of the franchise around.