Fever make All-Star history — and yeah, Clark's status is still hanging over Sunday. But today, we've got more to talk about than one back. If you're just tuning in: the Fever-Mercury feud's been ugly since that June 22 scrum — five techs and an ejection. Then Alyssa Thomas caught Caitlin Clark in the throat, uncalled live, later upgraded by the league to a Flagrant 2 with a one-game suspension. Phoenix backed Thomas, Fever fans went after Sydney Colson's ESPN take, and it's been simmering all week. This is the Indiana Fever Daily Podcast — and honestly? Today we finally get to talk about Boston and Hull doing real work, plus a new Clark ranking too. Coach White's got thoughts on 'fake fans' — let's get into it. We'll keep tracking Fever player safety scrutiny — follow the show so the next update finds you. Here's Cole Sullivan at Heavy.com:
On Thursday, Clark was front and center of a major announcement from the WNBA, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert officially revealed the starters for the upcoming All-Star Game on July 25. For the third time in her career, Clark will start in the All-Star Game after also earning captain honors last season.
So here's the news off the wire: Cathy Engelbert revealed the All-Star starters Thursday, and Indiana has three of them — Clark, Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell. Three starters! Only team in the league to do it, first time in franchise history. Lead with that before we get back to the back watch. And it's Clark's third straight All-Star start in three seasons — she was a captain last year too. You don't see that kind of résumé from players with a decade in the league, let alone someone this early. But look who she's standing next to. Boston starting, Mitchell starting — the fan-vote crowd finally sees the whole roster, not just the ratings name everybody keeps circling. That's the tension, right? She's played 17 of 19, she's having an elite year, and her status for Sunday against Vegas is still hanging over the celebration. This one's from Indiana Fever:
It's always been, you know, working on getting prepared for the team that we're playing, scouting, doing all that. But now we get a chance to work on the things that I think we've been lacking on. We spent a lot of time yesterday on defense. We're spending a lot of time on specific actions that we know we can improve on.
Lexie Hull says she doesn't remember the last time they had a real practice — not a scout, not prepping for whoever's next, just working on themselves. That line hit me. That's a whole season of never getting a breath. And notice what they chose to work on — a full day on defense, specific actions Hull says they've been lacking. That's a rotation player naming the weak spots out loud on the record. You don't hear that often. And then the bonding — VR, Squid Games, shooting zombies. Hull says she won. Survived. I love that this is our stabilizing veteran energy. The part I care about: Hull's in the room with White before practice, taking questions like she's a real crunch-time piece of this rotation. If we're talking guard development, there's your sourced name — it's Hull. From Megan Armstrong at Newsweek:
"As a league, as a whole, there's been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight-out nonsense — hate nonsense — and it is absolutely unacceptable," White said, in part. "Most of this coming from the online community. Most of this, in my heart of hearts, I believe, not coming from WNBA fans, Indiana Fever fans.
So the whole week, the anger's been pointed at the flagrant, the fist to Clark's throat, the retroactive Flagrant 2 — and now White opens her July 1 availability defending Alyssa Thomas from death threats and racist abuse. Right, and that's where it jumps. She isn't hinting around in a practice answer — she's on record, in Newsweek, using the word 'toxicity' about the fan behavior, not the officiating. And she coached Thomas in Connecticut, 2023 and '24. So this is a coach protecting a former player who just hammered her current franchise guard. That's a hard thing to say out loud. I keep coming back to the consistency. Same coach called it 'two cheap shots' and 'unacceptable' that night. Condemning the play and condemning the abuse aren't in conflict — she did both. The part I keep chewing on is that word 'fake.' Is she just shielding Thomas, or drawing a line around who actually counts as a fan of this league? Here's Jeremy Beren at Sporting News:
So far in 2026, Clark has answered those questions with aplomb. She has returned from injury as one of the WNBA's leading scorers, and on Thursday she was voted in as a starter for the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game. As such, Clark now ranks third in ESPN's list of the 50 best players in the WNBA right now.
Third. ESPN has Clark third in the whole league right now, up from tenth before the season. This is the peg I've wanted all week — cover her as a player having a historic year, not a health status. For me, the arc is the whole thing. Thirteen games in 2025, injuries wrecked her sophomore year, and the honest question was whether the Fever needed her more than she needed them after that semifinal run without her. Right, they got a win away from the Finals without her — that debate was real. And now she's back as a top-three scorer and an All-Star starter. That answers it about as loud as you can answer it. Here's the tension I'd hold onto: the individual ranking is elite, but the collective offensive efficiency still isn't top-three. Great player, real gap for the group. Both things live at once. Here's Rodney Knuppel at Sporting News:
The Fever announced that Boston, Hull and January volunteered with Project Period Indy, an organization dedicated to fighting period poverty by providing free menstrual hygiene products to schools and community organizations throughout Central Indiana. Working alongside the nonprofit and brand partner Sequel, the group helped pack 5,000 Period Packs that will be distributed throughout more than 30 schools and communities.
This is the beat I've been wanting all week. Boston and Hull spent the break packing five thousand care packages with Project Period Indy — not a photo op, actual volume. And they had Briann January in there too — assistant coach in the mix. It's a real organizational habit, not one player's PR. We've spent three days staring at Clark's back and refreshing status updates, and meanwhile Boston's the one out here being the stabilizer she is on the floor. Off it too. When Sporting News frames Boston and Hull as the story during a break, that tells you the non-Clark identity is finally getting noticed from the outside, not just by us. Team's 11-8 and firmly in the race, by the way. Period poverty in Central Indiana schools — that's a specific, unglamorous need, and they went at it with volume. I respect that more than any highlight. If you like keeping up with the Fever day by day, check out Angel City Daily Podcast — a daily ACFC supporter briefing with match reaction, NWSL standings, roster moves, women’s soccer in Los Angeles, and supporter buzz. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
Next up, Indiana is back on the court Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces, with Caitlin Clark’s back status still the key availability checkpoint. And the WNBA All-Star Game is set for July 25, with Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell voted in as starters.
You’ll find links to every story from today’s episode in the show notes, so tap through on anything you want to read more closely.
That’s Indiana Fever Daily Podcast for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.