It was like the Indiana Fever was rubbing salt in our wounds. Caitlin Clark announced the heartbreaking news that she won’t be taking the court this season, and the Fever social media team sent out some fun team photos hours after. Clark could be seen smiling and posing in the Fever uniform. Photos that would have been considered heartwarming felt like the franchise was twisting the knife. That is the negative side of it. On the other hand, the band-aid is finally off, and the fans have clarity on what to expect from the team this season. 

Without Clark, the hopes have come down, but the Fever team is still hanging on. A dominating 77-97 win against their archrivals, the Chicago Sky, means their spot in the Final 8 is almost certain. However, as this season comes to a close, there is no time to rest for the Fever management, as the upcoming offseason is set to be the busiest of all time. A free agent flurry with the CBA expiring means they can get any veteran they can while retaining the best. According to this analyst, the Fever will need to be more choosy than they were in the 2025 offseason. 

Sabreena Merchant said on “No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show,” “You know what kind of players are going to fit around Clark and Boston, even if those are veterans or not. Like, I don’t think you necessarily need players who have ‘won a championship’ just because they’ve won a championship. They have to be the type of players who are going to fit in this system. But I mean, now you have a year in the system and you have a year of knowledge of like how Stephanie White’s going to coach, how that coaching staff wants Clark and Boston to work together.”

Indiana approached the 2025 free agency with one goal: “To grow up.” They went all out on experience, signing forwards DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard in free agency and trading for Sophie Cunningham. The Fever also added forward Brianna Turner and guard Sydney Colson, both of whom had played roles on WNBA Finals teams in Phoenix and Las Vegas, respectively. The Fever went from having an average experience of 2.92 years to 5.5. It was not limited to players either, as they went from Christie Sides to Stephanie White as their head coach with a 2-year experience gap between them. 

“We had talked about experience, needing more experience on the bench, whether that was in the form of assistants or head coaches. There was a lot of discussion around that, and where can we improve?” The team’s president of basketball operations, Kelly Krauskopf, had said of moving toward a new phase.

Even the emergency in Odyssey Sims, Shey Peddy, Aari McDonald, and Aeriel Powers all had 3+ years of experience. That mantra has not turned out as they expected, and honestly, the opening day squad did not even get enough chances. Injuries hampered from day 1, and the combination did not flower. That is done and dusted; 2026 will be a new year. As Merchant further said, “I don’t think you need necessarily get that much older because frankly our young core is a little bit older now.”

You can trust Indiana Fever to learn beyond the Caitlin Clark experience

It was not like the Indiana Fever only went for the ones with championship experience. White said when she was hired, “When you’re building teams, it’s not about always just getting the best players. It’s about getting the best complement of players who fit well together, who play well with one another, who work to bring the best out of one another.” They wanted to win, and it seemed like adding experience to this youngster soup would make it delicious. 

Indiana had qualified for the postseason for the first time in almost a decade, with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston largely carrying them along with Kelsey Mitchell. Clark went crazy in the last 10 games to power them to get there with 6 20+ point games and 4 10+ assist games. If not for that alien-like run, Fever wouldn’t have gotten there. This season, they did it without her. When players were dropping like flies, the front office pulled a rabbit out of their hat each time. 

First, it was Aari McDonald, who performed well beyond what any fan expected her to, averaging 9.8 points and 4.7 assists in her 20 games. Then came Odyssey Sims at point guard, who has already proven her worth with some clutch performances while averaging 10.3 points and 3.9 assists. Shey Peddy has been a valuable addition as a backup, while Aeriel Powers has impressed in her short stay, too. 

If it were any other team, they’d be watching the playoffs from the couch. It is not like the management is devoid of mistakes; they likely put CC back on the court twice before she was completely ready, but we don’t know that for certain. Her injury’s nature made things difficult. Overall, the fans can expect a better team in 2026 from this front office.