THIS TIME LAST season, the Indiana Fever were heading into the playoffs as the walking wounded. Down multiple starters while working to acclimate several newcomers to the squad midseason, they managed to take a makeshift roster to just one game away from the WNBA Finals.
A year later, the Fever head into the postseason with a roster that’s intact and has shown the same fervor that took last year’s eventual WNBA champs to five games. The biggest upside, though? They’re now a year stronger and more seasoned in every position on the floor.
And with an eventual playoff matchup against the Las Vegas Aces set to start on Sunday, they’ll need every advantage they can get.
At 28-16, Indiana’s season has ebbed and flowed throughout their 2026 campaign, but since the All-Star break in late July, their storylines have been overwhelmingly positive when going 11-6.
Of the many positives, their offense shines as they lead the league with 96 points per game while spearheaded lately by Caitlin Clark, who in five of her last six games has averaged 30.2 points and 10 assists per game. She marks the first player in WNBA history to average 30 points and 10 assists in a five game span.
While Clark has acted as the head of the snake with the ball in her hand, Kelsey Mitchell notched her 27th straight game scoring 20 points or more on Tuesday.
Couple that with the inside play of Aliyah Boston, and Clark says they may have found the missing ingredient to a red hot offense.
“I think it’s great,” Clark says. “We need to get more of that, and I was trying to hunt her in transition as much as I could. I was trying to swing back at the top of the key and let her play open side with Kelsey [Mitchell]. She had really good moments where she ducked in tonight when she found a mismatch or found an opportunity where it was late in the shot clock for us.”
Should she be available, Indiana will need more of Boston, too, as they will face off against an Aces squad that sits second in the league in offense and fifth in the league in terms of defensive rating, with a front line that has the size to challenge the Fever’s. The status of Boston is currently unknown after she left Thursday’s regular season finale with a lower leg injury.
Head coach Stephanie White made note of her team’s defensive approach that spurred a third-quarter comeback by Minnesota on Tuesday.
“Our defense was the cause. Two of Minnesota’s players were on our team last year; we know what they do, and we let them get loose. … That’s the growth edge for this team. We’ve seen it all year long where we’ve had the lead, we relax, and we let teams come back while getting away from the things that have worked. That’s learning a championship mentality because when you have that, those things don’t happen, but I was really proud of how we bounced back,” White says.
Indiana would go on to win their penultimate regular season contest by 19, but after splitting their season series against Vegas, 2-1, they’ll need a full throttle approach on both sides of the ball to move on to the semifinals.
Las Vegas (31-13), which has won five straight games, is headlined by three All-Stars in A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young and has benefitted from head coach Becky Hammon’s offensive approach that has allowed their trio to shine while implementing role players throughout.
But regardless of how formidable a foe they will face in the playoffs, it’s the Fever that Clark says is the most intimidating when they put it all together.
“We’re scary when we’re clicking,” she says. “We’re the best offensive team in the league, and we’ve shown moments where we can be really good defensively. I don’t think there are areas of concern. I feel very confident in everything and everybody in this locker room. For us, it’s about finding a level of consistency. … If we find that, we’re a championship contender.”
