“STEPHANIE WHITE !!!!!!!!!!!“ This was the declaration of Caitlin Clark on the internet after Indiana’s first-round win over Atlanta. After ten long years, the Indiana Fever are finally back in the WNBA semifinals, and fittingly, it is Stephanie White leading the way again. The story of resilience and revival is undeniable from the Fever HC, yet during the regular season, much of the buzz surrounded Karl Smesko. In his very first year as a WNBA head coach, Smesko delivered a masterclass. Her took his team to a franchise-best 30 wins and finished runner-up in the Coach of the Year race.

But as the playoffs often remind us, records only go so far. For Smesko, his squad’s dream run unraveled heartbreakingly at home, 87-85. Those two points were the difference between Atlanta and the semifinals. It was the Boston-Sims combo that delivered the final blow with under 10 seconds on the clock. But if you ask Smesko, the unraveling began a minute prior, when the officials threw a spanner in Dream’s strategy.

With a minute and four left on the clock, the Dream HC wanted to regroup his team as the Fever offense was smothering them. Unfortunately, his demands were aired by the refs. When asked about the unlucky turn of events, Karl Smesko did not hold back. “Well, I mean, I was screaming timeout as loud as I could, jumping up and down. You know, it’s loud in here. The officials didn’t hear it. And unfortunately, we turned it over a couple of seconds later. That’s just unfortunate,” he said.

The series of events Smesko is referring to went down at the last minute of the fourth quarter. At minute and twenty left on the clock, Aliyah Boston missed a 5-foot two-pointer, leading to Naz Hillmon securing a defensive rebound. Around this time, the Atlanta head coach started demanding a timeout, which was completely missed by the officials. The results? With 1:05 left on the clock, Brionna Jones made a bad pass from out of bounds, resulting in a turnover.

Capitalizing on this blunder, Stephanie White immediately called a full timeout with possession in their hand. This led to a series of scoring from Indiana and a series of misses and turnovers from Atlanta. Karl Smesko did take a timeout later, with only seven seconds on the clock. But the damage was done by then. Talking about the blunder in crunch time, he said, “We still had chances to get stops and make plays after that to win the game. But that was definitely frustrating, but we had other ways that we could have won the game.” 

But the reality is that a battered Indiana Fever roster has somehow reached the semifinals of the 2025 WNBA season. They were not the favorites to win this game or this series. But it was the Kelsey Mitchell show throughout this series. She was the leading scorer of the series and all three games. And when Indiana needed her the most, she put on a 24-point stint. Eleven of them just came in the first quarter. And her score could have been higher, but in the second half,  Smesko put two players to curb Mitchell’s offense.

But this gravity from the Fever star opened up looks for other Fever players, who dashed to score. Despite losing six key players, Indiana managed to crack the armor of Atlanta. While the Fever locker room will be more than elated right now, they have their work cut out for them. Cause waiting for them in the semifinals are championship contenders, the Las Vegas Aces led by 2025 DPOY A’ja Wilson. And although Atlanta’s 2025 season is over, they still have a lot to look forward to.

Karl Smesko makes a bold declaration following Dream’s playoff loss

After all is said and done, Smesko gives his opponents props, stating, “Obviously, just a devastating ending to a great game. I give Indiana a lot of credit. They fought all the way to the last seconds, and unfortunately, they were able to make the final play.” But the game could have swung either way. For context, Atlanta’s largest lead was eight, and Indiana’s four. So the game was a few baskets away from each team.

Although it went the Fever’s way, the way Smesko led Atlanta is a case study in itself. Karl Smesko arrived in Atlanta with a reputation for offensive mastery, and the defensive Dream desperately needed exactly that spark. General manager Dan Padover acknowledged the rebuild openly, taking a bold chance on Smesko’s vision. That gamble has turned into a franchise-defining decision. In his debut season, the Dream stormed to a record-breaking 30-14 finish.

From the very start, Smesko’s influence was undeniable as the team steadily grew. Under his guidance, several players blossomed into stars. Allisha Gray delivered her most complete season yet, while Naz Hillmon transformed her game by adding a deadly three-point shot, becoming a new offensive weapon. But the Fever loss cut the playoffs run of the 2025 COY runner-up. But for the Dream, this loss may just be the first step. Smesko’s outlook after the game made that clear. “We’re here to bring a championship to the Dream. It’s going to be delayed. It’s not going to be denied,” he promised. Under Karl Smesko, Atlanta looks like a force to be reckoned with in the near future.