The Indiana Fever have exceeded expectations in their first season with Caitlin Clark, reaching the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Fever qualified on Sept. 3 after the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Chicago Sky and the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Atlanta Dream. Not only did the Fever exceed expectations, but they made history doing it as well.
“The Fever are the second team in WNBA history to make the playoffs after starting the season 1-8 or worse,” ESPN's Michael Voepel wrote. “The Charlotte Sting, who disbanded after the 2006 season, made the WNBA Finals in 2001 after starting the season 1-8, and lost there to Los Angeles.”
It was a rough start to the season for the Fever, and many thought that it would get worse, but going into the Olympic break and coming back, they've been a completely different team. The Fever are currently 17-16 and are in sixth place in the playoffs, where only eight teams are eligible for the postseason.
The Fever are back in the playoffs
It's been a long time coming for the Indiana Fever, but they've finally gotten out of their losing drought. The team went 68-174 with no playoff appearances from 2017 to 2023 and finished last in the league three different times. From 2021 to 2023, they drafted a player in the lottery and would waive them in less than two seasons.
The past two seasons have been good for the Fever as far as drafting, selecting Aliyah Boston in 2023, and then Caitlin Clark this year. Clark has had an outstanding rookie season, as she's currently averaging 18.7 points and 8.4 assists, which leads the entire league. She's not doing it all by herself either, as Kelsey Mitchell has become the perfect backcourt mate with her instant scoring.
Since coming back from the break, Mitchell has scored more than 20 points in all seven games and is averaging 28.3 points during that span. Mitchell, who was the Fever's leading scorer last season, has been on the team since 2018 and hasn't won more than 13 games in a season until this year.
The Fever are 6-1 since the Olympic break and have had some quality wins against some good teams in the league, and it'll be interesting to see what they can do once the playoffs come around. The Phoenix Mercury were able to secure the seventh playoff spot after defeating the Atlanta Dream, which means there will be a battle for the eighth-seed down the stretch of the season. The Chicago Sky currently holds the eighth spot, but the Dream, Washington Mystics, and Dallas Wings are not far from taking it.
If the Fever can keep up their strong play to end the season and take it into the playoffs, they will be a team that others might not want to face in the first round.
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