The Indiana Fever‘s improbable run came up just short, as they could not overcome injuries to win a decisive Game 5 in the semifinals to fall one win short of the WNBA Finals. While they did not finish the season on top of the WNBA world, the finish should inspire more confidence than a typical playoff elimination.
The best way to encapsulate the Fever’s 2025 season is to say that they found success despite nearly everything going wrong: Caitlin Clark’s sophomore season was limited to 13 games as she dealt with a host of injuries that ended her season, four other Fever players suffered a season-ending injury, and two of them were brought in as injury hardship signings.
Through it all, Indiana leaned on its All-Star duo of Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell to win the Commissioner’s Cup title, 24 regular-season games, and finish sixth in the league. In the playoffs, the shorthanded Fever continued to find ways to win, upsetting the No. 3 Atlanta Dream before pushing the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces to the brink of elimination in the semifinals.
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As the focus shifts forward to the future, Indiana will lean on receiving better fortune to get over the hump and reach the WNBA’s pinnacle for the first time since 2012. Here is an up-to-date look at what faces the Fever this offseason.
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What’s next for the Fever?
The Fever made key additions and changes during the 2024 offseason, but the focus in 2025 will be more on the players already on the roster.
Things begin at the top, and getting Clark back to full health is the main priority. Her last appearance in 2025 came on July 15, meaning she will likely go 10 months without playing, based on the league’s typical start date in May.
Clark was clearly not right during her time on the court, either, averaging 16.5 points on 36.7 percent shooting from the field and 27.9 percent shooting from distance, a figure dragged down by a baffling 2-of-35 (5.7 percent) mark in five away games.
Clark’s season-ending injury loomed largest, but the Fever will likely look to bring back a healthy Sophie Cunningham and Aari McDonald, who proved to be a revelation of a midseason addition.
Like most veteran stars, Mitchell will be a free agent in 2026, but there may not be as much concern around her leaving as there was when she entered free agency in 2025. The WNBA’s players’ association is working to increase the size of max salaries, and Mitchell will certainly command one. Why not do so in the place she has spent the entirety of her career?
Lexie Hull has developed into a key role player in the league and will be a restricted free agent. Indiana’s ability to retain her should not be much of a question, given her status and bond with Clark, among others.
The biggest thing for the Fever will be continuity, as 2026 will usher in Year 2 of Stephanie White’s second stint as their head coach. There were growing pains, but Clark never truly got to turn the corner and show true comfort under the new regime.
Indiana might tinker things within the margins, but it has its core in place. To make the next leap, the Fever will need to continue to find players who fit the mold of White’s system while playing off of Clark’s strengths — and compensating for some of her shortcomings.
MORE: What’s next for Caitlin Clark after season-ending injury?
Fever free agents
Like the other 12 teams in the WNBA, most members of the Fever’s roster are primed to enter free agency in 2026. Mitchell headlines the group of eight unrestricted free agents on the Fever roster, while Hull is the lone restricted free agent on the roster.
Indiana has exclusive rights to re-sign Chloe Bibby and Bree Hall, both of whom joined the team on injury hardship contracts.
Collective bargaining negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBA Players’ Association loom large as contract value and maximum roster size are two issues that are being worked through. Indiana’s ability to retain its talent and build depends largely on the franchise’s finances and the number of players it is allowed to have.
- Kelsey Mitchell (Unrestricted)
- Natasha Howard (Unrestricted)
- Damiris Dantas (Unrestricted)
- Sophie Cunningham (Unrestricted)
- Sydney Colson (Unrestricted)
- Brianna Turner (Unrestricted)
- Aari McDonald (Unrestricted)
- Odyssey Sims (Unrestricted)
- Lexie Hull (Restricted)
- Chloe Bibby (Exclusive Rights)
- Bree Hall (Exclusive Rights)
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Fever 2026 WNBA Draft picks
While they finished sixth in the WNBA standings, Indiana will select 10th in the 2026 WNBA Draft. The Fever’s draft position places them behind the five lottery teams, the league’s two expansion teams, and the teams seeded seventh and eighth in the 2025 playoff standings.
Here are the Fever’s picks:
- 1st round: 10th overall
- 2nd round: 25th overall
- 3rd round: 40th overall
Fever 2026 roster, contracts
The three Fever players who are still under rookie contracts are locked in through the 2026 season and beyond. Fortunately for Indiana, that list includes two former No. 1 overall picks in Boston and Clark.
| Player | Position | Age |
| Aliyah Boston | F | 24 |
| Caitlin Clark | G | 24 |
| Makayla Timpson | F | 23 |