Aari McDonald has entered ‘survival mode,’ and it’s helping the Fever live without Caitlin Clark

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With the Fever needing to survive without Caitlin Clark, an unlikely source in Aari McDonald has stepped up.

INDIANAPOLIS — Aari McDonald’s two most recent games in the WNBA have both come in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. But those contests were sandwiched around a nine-month gap, highlighting how different the circumstances were for both.

Last September, McDonald made her final appearance of the season with the Sparks in a loss to the Fever. Unbeknownst to her, it would be the last time she’d suit up until Tuesday.

An ankle injury ruled her out for the remainder of last year, then she was waived this preseason in May by the Sparks. Forced to watch from home, the hunger only grew in McDonald.

When the Fever, in the midst of an injury crisis at point guard, made the call, McDonald jumped at the opportunity. And against the Mystics on Tuesday, she made quite the impact in her first game.

McDonald played 27 minutes off the bench, scored 7 points, handed out 5 assists and swiped 3 steals to help the Fever snap their losing skid.

“It felt good tonight to finally get back and just the team, the players and just the fans, they all were very welcoming and made sure I had everything to be successful tonight,” McDonald said. “When your number is called, you got to be ready to deliver and I felt like I did just that.”

It’s been quite the whirlwind of a week for McDonald. Last Friday, the Fever saw both Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham, their two primary ballhandlers with Clark out, exit their loss to the Sun due to injuries.

In desperate need of a point guard, the Fever turned to McDonald, who was signed on Sunday via an emergency hardship exemption. With Indiana set to play again on Tuesday, she had just one day to practice with her new team.

She was such an on-the-fly addition that she had to watch film of her new team and teammates on the flight to Indiana before becoming a player in said clips the very next game. Once in the building, McDonald asked plenty of questions of the coaching staff and players before and even during the game.

“Oh, it was a lot,” McDonald said of her preparation for the game. “That part made me anxious, just coming in, not knowing the system, not really playing with the players. But it was a lot of film, a lot of film sessions by myself, just rewatching stuff, and a lot of film with [assistant coach Austin Kelly] just asking questions.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t ask enough questions. So [was trying to] just be a sponge these last couple of days, and I think that’s helped me tonight.”

The work showed. What McDonald had soaked up allowed her to play a big role in the win, including playing the final eight minutes of the game to help close out the victory to kick off the Commissioner’s Cup. Not only was she able to take what the coaching staff was able to give her and put it to use on the court, she also applied stuff they hadn’t even gone over.

“I think the thing about point guards is she’s got that mindset,” said head coach Stephanie White. “I mean, she was watching film on the flight here. We ran things that she didn’t go over in practice. She just knows it from watching the film and from going over it with [Kelly] and from the whiteboard discussions that we’ve had. Not everybody can do that.”

It was a sterling debut for McDonald, who came at a crucial time for Indiana. Injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham have left their depth in the backcourt thin, with Sydney Colson the only available ballhandler on the roster.

It was that necessity that led to McDonald playing 27 minutes, though her impact on the floor earned that playing time, too. From the jump, McDonald picked up full court defensively and set a tone for the Fever, drawing a pair of offensive fouls to go with her three steals.

“I could tell before her first practice [that] she definitely watched some film,” Clark said. “She knew exactly what we were doing on offense. She knew the defense. But also that just speaks to her time in the league and understanding how you play this league. She’s competitive. She’s aggressive. She’s physical.

“She just brings a different energy and tenacity and that’s something I think we really needed. She got us into our offense well, so I’m just really impressed with her. I thought she did a tremendous job, honestly.”

After Tuesday’s game, McDonald talked about the need for her to be “survival mode” in order to stay in the WNBA after being on the other side of the coin in recent weeks.

“This is my job, so I mean I just got to be ready, got to leave it all out on the court and this is an audition either for the Fever or for another team,” McDonald said. “So, just playing my game and just being relaxed.

“For me, these past couple of weeks have been tough. I’ve just been working out, just staying ready for when my numbers called and, honestly, just being grounded and not just basketball stuff, but just little things like meditating…never getting too high, getting too low, because anything can happen.”

McDonald is currently on the Fever roster through the aforementioned emergency hardship contract, granted to teams who have fewer than 10 available players. The Fever have an 11-player roster, one below the maximum of 12, but the injuries to Clark and Cunningham made it possible to sign McDonald.

However, once either Clark or Cunningham return, McDonald’s time with the Fever comes to an end, at least under her current contract. Further adding to the complexity of the matter, the Fever, who sit just over $40,000 below the salary cap, may have the roster spot to sign McDonald, but they do not have the cap space to do so until early July when minimum contracts prorate to below that $40,000 mark.

They do have non-guaranteed contracts on the roster that they could waive and sign McDonald instead, if they so choose. For now, those are all decisions for the future, but it’s all a bit of a complex juggling act for the Fever front office.

In the short term, McDonald has a spot on the Fever roster and, in a new environment and with a new opportunity that is bringing the best out of her, will look to continue to thrive.

“I mean, again, I’m in survival mode, so I got to be hungry, got to have that hunger, that grit,” McDonald said. “I’ve always had that in me, so I mean you can’t take it out, but it was definitely brought out tonight. I’ve been quiet with that in my last couple of years, but I mean tonight with this team, this staff, it brought that out of me and it felt amazing and I had fun.”