{
  "id": 2496434,
  "title": "Without playing, Indiana Fever clinch WNBA playoff spot for third straight season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/without-playing-indiana-fever-clinch-wnba-playoff-spot-for-third-2496434",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-22T04:17:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/without-playing-indiana-fever-clinch-041700236.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Indianapolis-based Indiana Fever have secured a playoff spot for the third consecutive season without participating in a game. The team's fate was sealed early Saturday morning, following Portland's 82-79 victory over Toronto on Friday night. Indiana is now the fourth club to clinch a playoff berth, alongside Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, and Las Vegas Aces. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the franchise, which had missed the playoffs from 2017 to 2023. The Fever's ascension to the postseason is attributed to the signings of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and the emergence of Kelsey Mitchell as one of the league's top scorers. The team currently sits in fourth place in the standings, just half a game behind Las Vegas, securing a homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Indiana will face New York and Chicago in consecutive games this weekend, followed by a matchup with the Connecticut Sun on August 28, the final game before a league-wide break for the FIBA World Cup. After the break, the Fever will conclude the regular season with four games scheduled.",
  "summary": "The Indiana Fever have made the WNBA playoffs each year of Caitlin Clark's career. Here's where things stand.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Without playing, Indiana Fever clinch WNBA playoff spot for third straight season",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/without-playing-indiana-fever-clinch-wnba-playoff-spot-for-third",
        "published": "2026-08-22T04:17:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}