After a successful offseason that saw several veterans come to Indiana, the Fever have high hopes for the 2025 season. Caitlin Clark even said that a successful season would include winning a championship.
Winning a championship is a great goal to have and the Fever certainly have a chance to accomplish it. While their competition is strong, no team is invincible. The New York Liberty lost Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to an unfortunate injury, the Las Vegas Aces have to incorporate new players into their system and lost some of their top 3-point shooters, and the Lynx didn’t make any meaningful offseason moves to strengthen their core.
With the additions of DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sophie Cunningham, among other veterans, the Fever have the chance to be one of the top teams in the league and go on a deep playoff run. They could easily be the best offensive team in the WNBA and should widely improve defensively compared to last season.
Nevertheless, the Fever should not overlook smaller successes during their championship chase.
Winning a championship is not the only accomplishment the Fever can achieve this season
Winning a championship is the ultimate goal for any WNBA player, and the Fever should definitely aim to do just that this season. However, there are other things they can get excited about, even if the championship chase fails.
Winning a championship requires a significant number of wins in the playoffs. For the Fever, it would be a huge accomplishment to win just one playoff series. 2024 marked the first season since 2016 that the Fever even made the playoffs. That was a solid accomplishment for a young team relying heavily on a rookie and a second-year player.
The Fever were swept by the Connecticut Sun, though, meaning they have not won a playoff game or series since 2015. In 2015, the Fever went all the way to the WNBA Finals, losing to the Minnesota Lynx in five games. That was ten years ago. Since then, the Fever have not won a playoff game again.
Given the franchise’s history, winning a few playoff games and just one series would be a major accomplishment. It may not be the ultimate goal many Fever players have for the season, but it should not be overlooked either. If the Fever can achieve playoff success, even if it does not lead to a championship, the 2025 season should be considered at least partly successful.
Moreover, simply getting Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell more playoff experience will be incredibly valuable for the future.