Caitlin Clark Gushes About New Indiana Fever Teammate's Impact

On June 2, the Indiana Fever announced that they had signed veteran guard Aari McDonald to an emergency hardship contract. This was the result of guards Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson all suffering injuries over the week before this signing was announced, which was what allowed the Fever to sign McDonald in the first place.

There was a lot of interest about how McDonald would perform during the team's June 3 game against the Washington Mystics, given that she'd only been with the team for a day yet was expected to be a key part of running the offense.

And McDonald played fantastically, amassing 7 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals while producing elite defense in 27 minutes for the Fever in what ended up being a hard-fought 85-76 win over Washington.

Caitlin Clark spoke with the media after her team's May 5 practice to update the basketball world about how she's progressing from her quad injury. She also took some time to praise McDonald.

"Well, I can tell before her first practice, she definitely watched some film," Clark said, per an X post from @ericaf455. "She knew exactly what we were doing on offense, she knew defense, but that also just speaks to her time in the league, and understanding how you play in 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 just really impressed with her, I just thought she did a tremendous job, honestly," Clark concluded of McDonald.