The fever is high after a historic, successful season

The fever is high after a historic, successful season

By Jordan Morey | FeverBasketball.com

There are no steps you can skip on the road to becoming a WNBA champion.

The Indiana Fever players and coaches firmly believe in this mantra, which is why they kept their heads held high even after being eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday night in Connecticut.

Even before the opening tip-off of the 2024 season, the Fever were under a microscope never seen before in professional women's basketball.

The No. 1 overall pick, Caitlin Clark, brought attention, anticipation and excitement to the Fever like never before since Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas competed for titles with the franchise, and her enormous popularity thrust the sport into an unprecedented spotlight.

Pairing Clark with former No. 1 overall pick and 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, All-Star guard Kesley Mitchell and a host of young talent sounded like an instant recipe for success to many. But before the victories came adversity and growth.

Indiana faced a historically difficult schedule at the start of the 2024 season, playing ten games in the first three weeks – including seven games in twelve days – with most of those matchups against 2023 playoff teams.

In addition, almost all of the stadiums they played in were sold out, with fans from all over the world flocking to see the league's most popular team and player, creating a playoff-like atmosphere.

Although the Fever handled roster changes and unprecedented attention, the team started the season with a 1-8 record.

But instead of lamenting the losses, the Fever learned from those experiences and used them to turn their season around. With an 8-2 record coming out of the Olympic break in July, they finished with a 20-20 overall record and secured a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.

Clark emerged as the expected superstar and Rookie of the Year, breaking nearly every rookie record and leading the league in assists, while Boston once again proved to be one of the league's most dominant centers, Mitchell took her scoring to new levels, and the rest of the roster continued to develop and complement its stars.

In the postseason, the Fever faced one of the most dominant Connecticut squads in franchise history.

“This is a little taste of what's possible for this organization and this franchise,” Clark said. “There's a lot to be proud of, you know. This team won five games two years ago. We're a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, but we came together and had a lot of fun playing together. That's the worst part sometimes, you feel like you're really playing your best basketball and then it has to stop. But like I said, I'm proud of this group. They've stayed strong all year and had a lot of fun together.”

Although their series ended up being only two games, the Fever showed the regular season resilience that Clark mentioned in the playoffs.

After the third-seeded Sun crushed the Fever 93-69 in the first game, Indiana put Connecticut under pressure in the second game, forcing a team with over 200 more playoff games to the final whistle.

In a game of ups and downs and after crucial fourth-quarter baskets, the Fever were up by two points with 2:05 left in regulation, but the Sun's experience took over, hitting two consecutive three-pointers – including one by Marina Mabrey with 45 seconds left – that ultimately clinched the game with an 87-81 victory for the Sun.

The Fever gave the Sun their deserved praise after the game, but emphasized that this year is a step toward the ultimate goal of bringing another title to Indianapolis.

Boston called out the 12-man roster in the 2024 special and talked more about the future than the past after the last loss to the Sun.

“I think when you look at basketball as a whole and you look at where you started and where you are now, it's about stepping stones,” Boston said. “I think in two seasons we've taken the right steps forward, and I'm excited to see what the future holds… We're on the rise, and I think it's important to keep that in focus, because obviously you don't just come in and win a championship.”

“There are so many franchises here that have had to be built,” Boston continued. “They've had one No. 1 pick after another and then they've won championships. I think right now everyone is so hungry for a ring and obviously we would all love that because that's what everyone fights for every day, especially if they're just a competitor. But I think if you look at where we are, we're on the right track.”

Indiana's slogan all season has been “Fever Rising,” and there's no reason to believe it won't continue to be that way.