Why the Fever’s Locker Room Culture Could Be Their Greatest Weapon Ahead

When the Indiana Fever entered the offseason, their young core, led by Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, had one clear demand. They did not want the front office to poach for a superstar. They just wanted anyone coming in to understand and protect their locker room culture. “The young group that we’re bringing back asked us, ‘Protect our locker room. Protect the culture that we’ve got started,” Fever president Kelly Krauskopf had said in February.

Looking back, the Indiana Fever’s run to the 2024 WNBA playoffs after a 1-8 start feels nothing short of remarkable. Early in the season, they looked lost, struggling to find rhythm on either end of the floor. But those early struggles only made their turnaround sweeter. As the season went on, the Fever found their chemistry on the court and built a tight-knit locker room that fueled their push to the postseason.

As a result, the Fever president made sure their request was a top priority, keeping their motto, ‘Culture is organic,’ alive.

A Summer of Promise Turned to Ashes

The Indiana Fever made big moves this season. Coach Christie Sides was let go and replaced by Stephanie White. General manager Lin Dunn, the only coach to bring a championship to Indiana, moved into an advisory role, with Amber Cox stepping in to take over. Together, Kelly, White, and Cox worked tirelessly to deliver on the promise made to the players. The roster makeover hence followed. Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, and Sydney Colson arrived not only to protect the locker room vibe but to elevate the Fever into true championship contention.

But what promised to be a dream on paper quickly dissolved into something else entirely.

Injuries and exits piled up. Bonner left midseason, citing fit issues. Colson, Cunningham, and Aari McDonald were sidelined for the year. Caitlin Clark has spent nearly twice as much time in street clothes as on the court. Suddenly, the Fever were scrambling just to stay afloat in the playoff race, relying on a severely depleted roster.

Before the season tipped off, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) had the Fever pegged at sixth overall, with a 91% chance of making the playoffs and a projection of 23.8 wins. However, given everything that’s gone wrong since, you’d think those numbers would have nosedived. Instead, they’ve climbed. Even after Sunday’s loss to the Valkyries, Indiana’s playoff odds sit at 97.4%. Their deeper chances are slimmer, 32.5% to advance past the first round, 12.5% for the Finals, and only 2.4% to win it all, but the door is still open.

So what’s keeping them afloat? Natasha Howard might have given the simplest answer in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports: “At the end of the day, we’re going to have each other’s back.” At first, it sounded like standard locker-room talk. Now, it feels like the very reason the Fever are still standing.

How Locker Room Culture Is Driving the Indiana Fever

“I think it just starts with building relationships, getting to know your teammates, but at the same time we have so much great personality on this team. And that’s what’s going to make it fun, that’s what fans are going to love to watch about us. We’re going to have a lot of fun playing basketball.” Clark said — a quote that perfectly sums up the Fever as a team.

Chances are, you won’t find a team in the W with better unity and chemistry than the Fever. How could we forget the ‘Tres Leches,’ the iconic trio of Clark, Lexie Hull, and Sophie Cunningham? Or the pre-game rituals Clark shares with Aliyah Boston and other teammates, making sure they still feel her presence even while she’s sidelined? In Indiana, whoever walks through the door feels like part of the franchise from day one.

“When one person goes down, we say it all the time, the next woman stands up,” center Aliyah Boston had said.

When Caitlin Clark was sidelined and DeWanna Bonner departed unexpectedly, it was Aari McDonald who stepped into the gap. Her on-court impact was obvious, but the roots of it traced back to how quickly she felt at home. “In the back of my mind I just knew this was the place to be,” McDonald admitted.

From that moment, it became a back-and-forth of belief, almost like the Spider-Man meme of pointing at each other, saying you’re the one. The HC would say, “You came in and you impacted the ball game. You settled us down. You were aggressive. Your defense set the tone.” And soon enough, McDonald would echo the culture back: “Everyone’s encouraging me… Just staying in the gym, staying locked in and just staying aggressive, that’s been the key for me.”

Unfortunately, Aari McDonald, too, went down alongside Sydney Colson, and Odyssey Sims stepped in. Sims’ first 13 minutes were scoreless, enough to spark criticism and exit rumors. Since then, though, she’s averaged nearly 12 points, dropping 20+ in crucial games. And no one needs to speak for her; she’s never felt more at home anywhere else than in Indiana. “Everybody is so genuine. Everybody pours into each other more than I’ve ever seen on any other team I’ve ever been on. And that speaks volumes,” Sims said. 

Then there is Aerial Powers, who was added to the group chat quicker than she eased into practices. And Chloe Bibby, who cried when she was told, ‘Hey, you’re going to stay. ’

The camaraderie in the Fever locker room is something you feel in your chest. It’s unbreakable. Take Lexie Hull: she earned her first career technical… from the bench, of all places, while defending Kelsey Mitchell. Caitlin Clark may be sidelined, but she’s still there, eyes sharp from the touchline, jumping up at every opportunity. And Sophie Cunningham? She’s Clark’s personal guardian, ready to shield her from harm, like in those unforgettable Jacy Sheldon moments against the Sun. In this locker room, loyalty is a word that’s lived, breathed, and fought for every single night.

Maybe that’s the secret sauce to Fever overcoming adversities this season? Unity. I mean, how else do you explain the Fever losing Caitlin Clark and DeWanna Bonner early in the season and still snatching the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup from the league’s best team?

Also, after losing the first two games to defending champion New York during Clark’s absence, the Fever reeled off five straight wins. They went 2-2 after McDonald and Colson went down, losing by a total of just five points. Then Cunningham got hurt on Sunday, but still, Indiana rallied from a 21-point deficit to win in overtime at Connecticut. The emotional toll of it all brought White to tears during her postgame news conference. “They have been so connected, they have stayed together, and they have found a way and because of that, it’s put us in position to win ballgames and we’re going to continue to battle.”

Kelsey Mitchell, who has morphed into a dual role with the backcourt stretched thin, put the answer to our question perfectly, and that’s what we would like to leave you with.

“When I say you have to have a good culture, you have to have good people in your locker room, you have to have decent humans for this thing to keep rolling,” Mitchell said. “I think when people have bad days and bad things happen, I think you have to lean on internal relationships with one another to make it not feel so horrible.”

Now you know….