Caitlin Clark's Health, Angel Reese's Rise and the WNBA's Biggest 2nd-Half Storylines

With the All-Star Game and all of its four-point glory done and dusted, we’re officially past the halfway mark of the WNBA season. With the second half underway, we’re starting to see the playoff picture come together, and storylines all over the league are heating up.

Caitlin Clark’s sophomore year has been stunted by injury, but her Fever are holding their own in a playoff spot. Will she get to join them in the postseason? Can Angel Reese continue her positive trajectory into a more well-rounded player to close out her sophomore campaign?

Meanwhile, Rookie of the Year favorite Paige Bueckers could end the season with the best first-year performance of all three of these young stars if she keeps it up.

What else should you look out for in the second half so you’re all caught up in time for the playoffs come September? We’ve got you covered.

Can Caitlin Clark Get Over Injury Troubles?

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It’s been a sophomore season of ups and downs for Caitlin Clark, who has been nursing a right groin injury. That's after she was sidelined for several stretches by left groin and quad setbacks during the first half. This has clearly impacted her play when she’s in the lineup, as her scoring is down to 16.5 points per game from 19.2, and her shooting percentages have fallen across the board.

She had to sit out last weekend’s All-Star Game and Three-Point Contest, and she has missed the first two Fever games post-All-Star break.

The team released an official statement Thursday that said Clark will continue to rehab with a priority on her long-term health, and that there is no timetable for her return. 

Clark never missed a game due to injury during her college career at Iowa or last season when she was selected the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year, so navigating these soft-tissue injuries with such an unpredictable timeline is a new challenge for one of the faces of the league.

The 13-12 Fever are hovering around .500 and would be in a playoff position if the season ended today, so at least there’s some pressure off their star while she manages the injury. But will she return anytime soon?

Indiana’s statement makes it seem like more of a long-term recovery and rehabilitation process and less like a day-to-day situation, but it also doesn’t rule out a return this season.

Can Angel Reese Continue to Evolve?

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Jokes—and genius marketing—aside, there was a reason Angel Reese and her team trademarked the word “MeBounds.” She faced tons of criticism for her rebound-heavy rookie season, and while it’s always good to gain or keep possession of the ball, she had work to do to round out her game headed into year two. 

So, she got to work in the offseason and came back a better all-around player. She’s jumped from averaging 1.9 assists per game to 3.7 while evolving into a point-forward role. She has also started to break out offensively, with at least 10 points in all but one of her last 11 games—including three games with 20-plus points.

Her efforts to stretch the floor—having raised her three-point attempts from 0.5 to 0.9 per game—haven't met with success yet, as she's still shooting just 21.1 percent from deep. But her overall shooting is up from a 39.5 effective field-goal percentage to 45.6 as she tries to shake her biggest negative.

It’ll take some more time and effort for Reese to fully shake the “MeBound” allegations, but if she can finish off the season with a few more 20-plus point efforts, keep the assists rolling and continue to hone her shooting, we’re talking about a great sophomore year for Reese and a potentially higher ceiling for her career.

Can Paige Bueckers Have a Better Rookie Season than Clark?

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Look, the best part of the talent oozing out of the WNBA right now is that we’re allowed to enjoy all of it for what it is. You can be a Clark fan, a Reese fan and a Bueckers fan all at once and it doesn’t take away from what any individual brings to the league. 

But comparisons are inevitable, and they can even be fun if you don’t take them so seriously. With the first half Bueckers strung together, it’s officially fair to consider that if she keeps it up in the second half, she could end up having a better rookie season than Clark, pound for pound.

Bueckers kicked off the second half with 14 points, four rebounds and six assists as her Wings beat the Storm. She tied Clark’s league record as the fastest player to reach 300 points and 100 assists in the process.

She’s leading all rookies in points (18.2) and assists (5.5) per game, while adding a respectable 4.1 rebounds (No. 6 overall) and 1.7 steals (No. 2 overall) per game. Bueckers is playing on, well, a mess of a Wings team and is already exuding a well-roundedness to her game that’s rare for a rookie.

Here's a quick first-year comparison:

• Bueckers: 18.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 TOV, 44.9/32.3/84.0 shooting
• Clark: 19.2 PPG, 8.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.6 TOV, 41.7/34.4/90.6 shooting

It’s not perfect, and she’s averaging 2.3 turnovers per game to show for it, but Clark ended her rookie season averaging 5.6 turnovers per game. If Bueckers builds on her own momentum and settles even more into the league in the second half, she'll at least be in the conversation with Clark. Exciting times we’re living in. 

What Will StudBudz Do Next?

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The WNBA now boasts one of the most authentic and hilarious player-run media projects ever: StudBudz. Hosted by Minnesota Lynx players Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, StudBudz is a Twitch streaming channel that gives us all an entertaining and raw look into life in the WNBA and the personalities of its players. 

The StudBudz hosted a 72-hour All-Star Weekend stream that showcased all the behind-the-scenes footage we could want from the Orange carpet and other events all weekend. Clark made a laid-back appearance, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert was caught dancing, and even DJ Diplo made the stream as the Budz jovially asked him to stop playing EDM. 

As the WNBA grows, it’s clear the players, their personalities and their self-driven media projects remain the backbone of that growth. 

Can the Valkyries Have the Greatest Expansion Season Ever?

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The Golden State Valkyries have made quite the statement in their first year as a franchise. Their current trajectory isn’t great with three straight losses, but they’re still in playoff contention in the West with a 10-12 record.

If they get back on track and stave off the Sparks, they could become the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in year one. They are also aiming to become the second WNBA expansion team to end the season with a winning record, following the 1998 Detroit Shock (17-13), a feat still very possible if they tighten back up.

Golden State’s success as a franchise is already extremely encouraging: The Valkyries became the first team in women's sports history to sell 15,000 season ticket deposits, they regularly sell out their 18,000-seat arena, and they are on pace to have the highest average home attendance by any team in WNBA history. A few more ‘dubs and a ticket to the playoffs, and the success on and off the court continues.

MVP Award Is Napheesa Collier's to Lose

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Look, winning All-Star Game MVP isn’t always the best indication of your chances to win regular-season MVP, but how about breaking the All-Star Game points record with 36? The feat wrapped a nice bow on Lynx forward Napheesa Collier’s illustrious first half.

Collier leads the league in points per game with 23.0. She’s also seventh in rebounding (7.6), fourth in steals (1.7) and fourth in blocks (1.7). Minnesota plays win-by-committee basketball, but none of its success is possible without Collier, who led the Lynx to a 9-0 start and a 21-4 up-to-date record atop the West. 

Collier has always had a strong defensive game, but her career year on offense has put it all together as she remains the heavy MVP favorite. In a year with big injuries sustained by big names like reigning MVP A’ja Wilson and reigning ROTY Caitlin Clark, MVP is Collier’s to lose as we enter the second half of the season.