The Indiana Fever have faced more adversity than anticipated this season, yet they’ve managed to come out looking stronger than ever—even without Caitlin Clark in the lineup. With midseason pickups Aari McDonald and Chloe Bibby stepping up in a big way, Indiana has rattled off five straight wins, taking down top teams like the Mercury and Storm. Naturally, fans have been quick to credit head coach Stephanie White for turning things around and molding this group into a true unit. But the WNBA’s latest move tells a different story.

Stephanie White and the Indiana Fever are on fire, there’s really no other way to put it. With five straight wins and a solid 17-12 record, they’ve stormed into August as one of the league’s most exciting teams. Most fans were convinced that White had done more than enough to earn Coach of the Month honors for July. But on Monday, the WNBA had other ideas.

Instead, the Coach of the Month award went to Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx—and here’s why. Reeve led her team to a 9-4 overall record in July, including a trip to the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup championship game. It was the best record of any team that month. That strong run pushed the Lynx to 24-5 overall, sealing their top spot in the WNBA standings. Reeve also helped her team tie the franchise record for most wins in a single month!

This latest honor marks Reeve’s third Coach of the Month award and her first since June 2024—adding to an already stacked coaching résumé that includes being named both Coach and Basketball Executive of the Year last season. But the Lynx weren’t just carried by coaching—Napheesa Collier made sure of that.

The forward was named Western Conference Player of the Month for July after delivering some of the most dominant performances in the league. She averaged 23.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game—making her a frontrunner in the MVP conversation. Minnesota’s offense averaged 87.8 points per game the same month while holding opponents to just 78.5, a combination no other team could match. And to top it all off, the Lynx closed the month with a huge 100-93 win over the New York Liberty, their first meeting since last year’s WNBA Finals.

Before Collier left their latest blowout win over Las Vegas with an ankle injury, hardly anyone would argue about the 5x All-Star’s significant contribution to the Lynx’s success. So fans didn’t take this lightly. The Fever are running without their star player, have had two mid-season signings, and rely on their young core.

Hence many called out the league for overlooking Stephanie White, arguing she deserved the recognition for Indiana’s turnaround.

Winning without Clark? Fans say that’s all White

“Steph White got robbed.” That’s the kind of reaction that echoed all across social media once the WNBA dropped its Coach of the Month honors. And honestly? It’s hard to argue with that take. The Indiana Fever went 10-4 in July, found their rhythm without Caitlin Clark, and even beat the Lynx in Minnesota by 15 during the Commissioner’s Cup championship.

Clark, who’s clearly the face of the franchise, only played four games the entire month due to multiple injuries—quad strain, groin strain, then another. Still, White led her team to the longest active win streak in the league. That’s not just coaching—that’s pulling off a miracle midseason.

“Stephanie White is performing miracles on a team with new dynamics, she’s been robbed.” Think about it—Indiana’s sitting at 17-12 now, fifth in the WNBA standings, and for the first time in a decade, they’re five games over .500. This is the same team that was hovering around average for most of the first half of the season. White had to work with a constantly shifting lineup, but she didn’t just keep them afloat—she elevated them.

After DeWanna Bonner left early July, White found gold in the midseason free-agency market, signing Aari McDonald and Chloe Bibby, and leaned into Aliyah Boston’s growth. Boston is now averaging a career-high 15.5 points while shooting 54.4% from the field. That’s not luck—it’s leadership.

“Stephanie White is coach of the month she coaching her ass off. Y’all did her wrong.” That comment cuts deep, especially when you look at how Indiana has evolved. Earlier in the season, they were collapsing under pressure—blowing double-digit leads against Golden State, Las Vegas, even LA at home. But now? They’re holding strong. Just look at Sunday’s win over Seattle.

The Storm went on an 11-0 run late in the fourth to cut the lead to one. A few weeks ago, Indiana would’ve folded. Instead, Kelsey Mitchell hit a clutch jumper, Aliyah Boston sealed it at the line, and the Fever walked away with a 78-74 win. “We didn’t get too high, we didn’t get too low,” White said. “We stayed even… we went to the next play.” That’s growth. That’s coaching.

And then came the mic drop: “How about the job Stephanie White did without CC? Oh yeah, the Fever also hammered the Lynx by 15 in MIN. Boom!” It’s a fair point—and fans didn’t miss it. While Cheryl Reeve was honored for a 9-3 month (including the Commissioner’s Cup title), many raised eyebrows when she left MVP candidate Napheesa Collier in during a 53-point blowout over Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, White was coaching a patched-up roster to playoff-level wins, managing rotations, injuries, and momentum like a chess master. Her players are trusting each other more, stepping into bigger roles, and as Sophie Cunningham put it, “we’re in a really good spot.” They have grown to adapt to different mentalities with the reigning ROTY on and off the court. So fans weren’t keeping quiet. “Should have been Stephanie White. Coaching her team without the best player in league and getting the entire @IndianaFever team to shine and show their talents,” another argued. 

Yet somehow, that performance didn’t earn league recognition? Fans are right to feel like something doesn’t add up.