Aari McDonald signed by Indiana Fever after injuries to Caitlin Clark, other guards

The WNBA allows teams to sign extra players during the season if they fall below 10 healthy and available players. The Indiana Fever found themselves in such a situation with recent injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham. Former Arizona star Aari McDonald was the choice for a team that came into the season with the league’s biggest star and championship aspirations.

The team’s press release is dated June 1, but the signing was not posted on social media channels until this morning.

McDonald is entering her fifth year in the WNBA after getting drafted third by the Atlanta Dream in 2021. She was traded to the LA Sparks before the 2024 season, then cut by the Sparks coming out of this year’s training camp.

McDonald has averaged 8.6 points per game, 2.8 assists per game, and 2.0 rebounds per game in her four-year career. She has shot over 40 percent from the field every season except her first. Over her career, she has been good on 38.9 percent of her shots from the field. She has connected on at least 30.8 percent of her 3-point shots each year and has a career 32.3 percent 3-point shooting accuracy.

McDonald has proven to be adaptable, as well. She has had six coaches, including the one who drafted her but left the Dream before the 2021 season and the one she trained under at LA’s camp this year.

She played in 26 games for the Sparks last year, sitting out part of the season due to an injury. She averaged 8.7 ppg.

McDonald was initially hesitant to play overseas and didn’t last long the first time she tried, leaving Hungary after just four games. She blossomed when she decided to give it another go. She has played overseas during the last two WNBA offseasons.

She played for the Perth Lynx in Australia’s WNBL in 2023-24. She was the league’s scoring champion with 19.8 ppg. She led the Lynx not only in scoring but also assists, steals, and made 3-pointers. It was enough for All-WNBL Second Team honors despite missing over a month due to a torn MCL.

McDonald returned at the end of the WNBL regular season for two games to help her team qualify for the fourth spot in the playoffs. Like her effort for Arizona in the 2021 NCAA postseason, she went on a tear and helped get her team to the finals.

The Lynx won their semifinal matchup behind two games with 26 points and 27 points from McDonald. In the finals, her double-double of 15 points and 10 assists helped the team take game one, but they dropped the final two games and lost the series 2-1. She scored 26 and 21 points in the two losses.

She signed with Beijing Great Wall in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association this offseason and had another impressive outing, although her team did not have as much success.

As for the Fever, they made a number of offseason moves to build around star guard Clark. It made them into one of the frontrunners for the WNBA title. A rash of injuries to their guards has them struggling.

The team’s 11-player opening-day roster includes guards Clark, Cunningham, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, and Sydney Colson. Clark is out with a quad injury suffered on May 26. The team originally announced that she would be out for a minimum of two weeks.

Although the loss of Clark was a huge hit, the Fever likely could have fought through a two-week absence, but there was a chance that it could stretch to a month. The plan took a blow on May 30 when both Cunningham and Colson picked up injuries during a loss to Friday.

McDonald’s stay will be contingent on how long it takes for injured players to return.