Mike Voepel
Jun 12, 2025, 06:50 AM ET
INDIANAPOLIS -- On a weekend with the Indianapolis 500 qualifying in town and the Pacers preparing for the Eastern Conference finals, the Indiana Fever's season opener took a backseat to no one.
Last season, Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm and helped the Fever snap a seven-year playoff drought.
After an aggressive offseason focused on supplementing the star power of Clark and Aliyah Boston, the Fever entered 2025 thinking much bigger.
"My expectation is for us to try to win a championship," Clark told media members before Indiana's opener against the Chicago Sky. "But when I take the court, that's not what I'm thinking about. It's what can we do every single possession to win the game."
Indiana then torched the Sky 93-58, and Clark had a triple-double. Led by Stephanie White, in her second stint as coach, the Fever had a perfect start to the 2025 season.
A week later, they took the undefeated, defending champion New York Liberty to the final seconds before falling 90-88. After going 1-3 against the Liberty last season, including two blowout losses, the Fever now looked like they were on more common ground and led by 12 at one point. It was the kind of game that seemingly validated the team's championship talk and offseason makeover.
But things quickly got a lot more complicated.
Clark, the 2024 No. 1 draft pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year, was sidelined May 26 by a left quad strain, the first time in her pro or college careers she has missed any games. The Fever are 4-5 overall, 2-3 without her. They hope she might return Saturday when they again host the Liberty (ABC, 3 p.m. ET).
"Since the start of the season, Steph has told us that things aren't going to be perfect and not everything is going to go the way we think," Fever forward Aliyah Boston told ESPN. "You have to be ready to face whatever happens."
With Clark on the court, the Fever looked like contenders. But Indiana's ups and downs in the first month also show the difficulty translating potential to raising a trophy. And even with consecutive No. 1 picks Boston and Clark, the championship window is more immediate than one might think.
"The margin for error when you're talking about playing championship-caliber teams is so small," White said.
In Clark, the Fever have one of the most popular athletes in the country, a player with the skill and charisma to garner a nonstop spotlight that has spread to the entire organization. The Fever have tried to surround her as quickly as possible with the right cast.
"Caitlin's a player that right now has the most talent around her that she's ever had," White added. "Our job as coaches is how we figure out how to put us in position to be the best team that we can be."
0:48
How different is the Fever's offense without Caitlin Clark?
Rebecca Lobo joins "SportsCenter" and analyzes the Indiana Fever's offense the past three games without Caitlin Clark.
THE FEVER WERE once a perennial playoff team, reaching 12 consecutive postseasons from 2005 to 2016 and winning the 2012 WNBA title. In 2022, they won a program-worst five games as their playoff drought stretched on. But with the first pick in the 2023 draft, Indiana selected Boston, who went on to win rookie of the year.
Now, despite how young their stars are, the Fever are on the clock. Some teams in professional sports ascend to the top with long builds, but a common mentality among ownership and front offices now is to take a chance when it presents itself.
The precedents in the WNBA are the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces. The Storm had back-to-back No. 1 picks in 2001 (Lauren Jackson) and 2002 (Sue Bird), then won a championship in 2004. They were still together for a 2010 title.
Then it happened again for the Storm with Jewell Loyd in 2015 and Breanna Stewart in 2016, followed by a championship in 2018. The Storm won again in 2020.
Las Vegas had three consecutive No. 1 selections: Kelsey Plum (2017, when the franchise was still in San Antonio), A'ja Wilson in 2018 and Jackie Young in 2019. The Aces reached the 2020 Finals and then won the 2022 and 2023 championships.
The Fever's 20-20 record in 2024 was proof their championship window was open. In came a revamped brain trust -- coach, general manager and president -- for 2025.
They prioritized the return of the longest-tenured Fever player, free agent guard Kelsey Mitchell. For offseason additions, the Fever targeted players with a lot of playoff experience: forwards DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard and guards Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson.
"Last year, our goal was getting back to the playoffs," Clark said. "This year, our front office made a lot of really great changes to be able to put this roster together and construct a team that can win now -- if we do everything the right way."
Howard was the No. 5 pick by the Fever in the 2014 draft; she spent two seasons in Indiana, including competing in the 2015 WNBA Finals. Since then, she has played for Minnesota, Seattle, New York and Dallas, winning championships with the Lynx (2017) and Storm (2018, 2020).
Howard, finishing a cup of ice cream after practice, said she spends very little time on social media but noticed the response when she signed with the Fever earlier this year.
"The fans were like, 'We're really happy you're back here.' I loved it," Howard said with a smile.
Faces from the Fever's past are everywhere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, as if the good vibes from the franchise's best days are channeled into the present. White, who coached the Sun in 2023 and 2024, is back where she spent 11 years as a player and coach. Team president Kelly Krauskopf was the Fever's original GM when the franchise launched in 2000. She left to be assistant GM of the Pacers in 2018 and now has returned.
Former Fever players Briann January, Karima Christmas-Kelly and Tully Bevilaqua are part of the coaching staff. Lin Dunn, the longtime Fever head coach including for the 2012 title, stepped in as GM in 2022 when the franchise was at rock bottom following superstar Tamika Catchings' retirement in 2016.
Dunn, 78, had retired from basketball but agreed to return, saying she thought she could make progress in three seasons. She did, and she remains with the team as a senior advisor.
Current GM Amber Cox and Bonner are new to the Fever, but both recall the atmosphere when Indiana played in its first WNBA Finals in 2009. They were with the Fever's opponent, the Phoenix Mercury, which beat Indiana in five games.
In 2009, Bonner, now 37 and a mother of 7-year-old twins, was a WNBA rookie; Clark was 7 years old.
"Sometimes, I just say, 'Oh my god, you kids!' " Bonner said, laughing, about her younger teammates. "But at the same time, that keeps me going."
Bonner won two titles with the Mercury and then played in the 2022 Finals with Connecticut, where she spent 2020-24. She didn't come to Indiana to take over, but to fit in.
"I felt like they had their chemistry already with their core, with CC, Kelsey and AB," Bonner told ESPN. "They just needed a few more accessories around them -- good people. We have good energy in the locker room. You always can tell -- before you step on the court -- what it's going to be like by the locker room first."
Cunningham said she was pleased to be traded to Indiana despite enjoying six seasons in Phoenix, where she was drafted in 2019. The Fever's style of play appealed to her, and she was ready for a change.
"It felt like it was time to go," Cunningham told ESPN. "And everything about this made sense."
Cunningham is a high-energy player, much like guard Lexie Hull, whom the Fever picked No. 6 in the 2022 draft.
"In sports, there are two types of chemistry: the on-court chemistry and then the things you don't really know until you get everybody together and see how they interact," Krauskopf told ESPN. "It can look good on paper, but you have to see it play out. This group, they all want it to be successful. They want the chemistry to work."
2:20
Caitlin Clark's 3rd-quarter surge outdone by Liberty's late comeback
Caitlin Clark's third-quarter surge falls short as Liberty dominate in the fourth quarter.
BEFORE CLARK WAS sidelined by injury, the Fever were 2-2 and had lost those games by a total of three points.
On May 20 at home, the Fever lost 91-90 to Atlanta in a game that came down to a final possession. Four days later came the two-point loss to New York in Indianapolis. They had a chance to win or tie on the final possession, but veteran Liberty guard Natasha Cloud knocked the ball away from Clark and time expired. That was the last time Clark played.
"We are two possessions from being 4-0," Clark said after falling to New York. "But there were so many little areas of this game we could have improved. It definitely stings, but this is what's going to make us better at the end of the year."
Then Clark was injured. Without her, the Fever lost back-to-back games to Washington and Connecticut, two teams not projected to be in the playoffs this season. And more injuries followed. Cunningham has been limited to four games because of an ankle injury. And in that late-May loss to the Sun, Colson exited with a leg injury, leaving the Fever with eight players the rest of the game and down to their fourth point guard option.
Signing guard Aari McDonald via a hardship exception helped Indiana bounce back to beat the Mystics in their second meeting on June 3. And on June 7, in front of more than 19,000 fans in the first WNBA game played at Chicago's United Center, the Fever crushed the Sky for a second time this season, winning 79-62. White missed that game dealing with family concerns, then returned Tuesday as the Dream snapped the Fever's two-game win streak, 77-58.
Aliyah Boston's efficiency has been off the charts in the last 4 games. Shooting 78% in that stretch (all w/o Caitlin Clark). She averages 12.8 FGA with CC and only 6.8 FGA w/o her, in similar minutes (31mg v 28mg). Could be poised for a monster scoring outburst when CC returns.
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) June 9, 2025Throughout her injury absence, Clark has been an enthusiastic "assistant coach."
"She doesn't like sitting still," Hull said. "She likes being occupied and having something to do, so the coaches give her things to keep track of. I mean, you see it -- she wants to be out there. She's talking to the refs, she's still very much involved."
A recent video on social media showed Clark bouncing a small ball on the sideline and play-wrestling with Colson. "Oh my gosh, she's like a little kid," Boston joked. "She needs to keep herself entertained.
"But seriously, she's always talking, always moving. It keeps everything pretty light. That's her personality."
Boston and Clark clicked as a post-guard duo last season, a connection that has only deepened. They're eager to be on the court together again, but they know adversity is part of the journey.
"Everything is not going to be picture-perfect in a season," Boston said. "You have to be realistic about it. Whoever is ready and healthy and can compete, you just have to go with that."
No one knows that better than Mitchell, now in her eighth WNBA season. The Fever drafted her at No. 2 in 2018, and she's playing for her fifth coach in Indiana. She has yet to experience a winning season -- last year's .500 record was the best it has been in her career -- and the Fever totaled single-digit victories in four of her seasons.
Mitchell believes in what the Fever are doing now but also doesn't sugarcoat things. After Indiana's home loss to Atlanta, she was blunt in the postgame news conference.
"Today we failed miserably as a group," Mitchell said. "Awareness, knowing personnel, discipline -- being on top of that. Being able to withstand runs.
"I kid you not: This is one of the hardest-working groups I've ever seen. [But] some nights are good, some nights are bad. It's part of being a professional athlete."
Offense has been the Fever's strongest point since Clark has joined the team. Her ability to run the offense at a fast pace was elite quickly into her pro career.
"Oftentimes, we say it's like making music," White said. "It's like a dance, like rhythm, all those things."
The Fever have to get better defensively, especially compared to last season, when they had the league's second-worst defensive rating. January, who is in charge of the Fever defense, was an outstanding defensive player who brings that to her coaching.
"Bri has really challenged our group to be physical, to be up in their space," Clark said. "If you do that, you're going to deny passing lanes, try to get steals, jam up their handoffs. You're never by yourself; you have built-in help.
"And the thing about watching film is, you go back and look and it's never as bad as it seems. But it's also never as good as it seems."
Perhaps that's the best way to look at the Fever's season so far. At times, they've played so well it's understandable why there's so much excitement about them. Other times, the flaws have showed.
"We're preparing ourselves for September and October," Hull said. "If we can go through this stuff now to prepare for that, it's good. There are times it's not fun, but we're all willing to stay in it, stay focused and just understand it's part of the process."
