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Indiana Fever optimistic about future despite WNBA playoff elimination

Indiana Fever optimistic about future despite WNBA playoff elimination

Vaseline 1 month ago

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Christie Sides preaches getting 1% better every day.

It’s something she hopes motivates her players, through any setbacks or tough times, to keep fighting no matter what. It’s something that got them to the playoffs in her second season as Fever coach.

They went from 1-8 at the start of the season to 20-20 at the end.

“From the beginning to now, 20-20, sixth in the league,” Sides said after Indiana’s playoff exit Wednesday night. “I mean, we started 1-8. That’s just unheard of. And these guys, they fought, they worked, they got 1% better every day. I kept telling them, ‘Nothing defines us but our effort and our heart.’ And they did that tonight.”

What now? Fever’s future looks bright with a strong core, but the squad could use more help.

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Indiana, in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, went 0-2 in a best-of-three first-round series against the Connecticut Sun. Sunday’s first game was decided more easily with a 93-69 Sun advantage.

In the second game on Wednesday night, the Fever fought until the final minutes, even leading after 2 minutes in the fourth quarter.

But Connecticut, with 222 playoff experience to the Fever’s 19 prior to the series, wouldn’t go down. They showed it with back-to-back 3-pointers, eventually winning the game, 87-81.

“Obviously you never want to lose, and especially losing now with the chance to go home and play another game, it really sucks,” Fever’s Aliyah Boston said. “But just to get a taste of this playoff feeling, I mean, they’re a veteran team. They make the right reads. They hit some tough shots and so, I mean, it’s tough, but I think looking at this, looking at how far we’ve come from the beginning of the season to now, I’m just super proud of our group because I think we had such a special 12, and I just can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Any way you look at it, this playoff spot marks huge progress for the Fever franchise.

Two years ago, the Fever won five games.

Five. Out of 36 games.

It was a dismal season for the Fever, who had gone through two different head coaches in that span and had no hope of making the playoffs. Indiana was still looking for a coach after the 2022 season, hoping to find a way out of what seemed like a constant rebuild.

First they hired Sides. Then they got the 2023 No. 1 pick in Boston.

Boston set the tone, helping the Fever to a 13-27 season in 2023. The Fever still missed the playoffs, but they were optimistic about what was to come.

“My rookie season, I think it was a rebuilding year,” Boston said. “So when you look at a rebuilding year, I mean, everybody wants to jump to the championship and take home the ring and everything. But I think when you look at basketball as a whole, and you look at where you start and where you are now, it’s all about stepping stones, and I think in two seasons we’ve taken the right steps to move forward, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Then they got another No. 1 overall pick in 2024. That pick came in two-time National Player of the Year and NCAA men’s and women’s basketball leading scorer Caitlin Clark. She, along with the Boston core and Kelsey Mitchell, helped revitalize the franchise — there were more fans, more confidence in the entire team.

Most importantly, there were more wins. The Fever went 20-20 in the 2024 regular season, marking the first time since 2015 that Indiana surpassed 20 wins in a season.

The Fever failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs this season, and they couldn’t bring the series home for a Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. No lower-seeded team could do that this year.

But the Fever never expected to win the World Cup this season — with the amount of experience other teams in the league had, that wasn’t realistic. They were simply looking to improve. And they had plenty of that.

“It’s a good taste of what’s possible for this organization and for this franchise,” Clark said. “And there’s a lot to hold our heads high about. This team won five games two years ago. So we’re a young group, a pretty inexperienced group, but we came together and had a lot of fun together.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.