The countdown officially begins.
The 2025 WNBA season is less than five months away. While free agency and the WNBA Draft in April will be the main focus for the next few months, the league finally announced its 2025 Preseason schedule. Indiana finally has its opponents.
The two games are both on Saturdays, one week apart. It will be the first time Fever fans will be able to see the new squad in action, and the first time they will see Stephanie White in her return to Indiana.
Here's what you need to know about these games:
Saturday, May 3: Home vs Washington Mystics
With recent events in mind, this one should be interesting.
Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson recently made comments about TIME Magazine honoring Caitlin Clark as the Athlete of the Year. Johnson took aim the media, calling out double standards in the way Clark is covered compared to "players of color that are equally as talented." Johnson said that the media shouldn't "just pin it on one player."
Johnson's comments have sparked outrage with Fever fans. This first preseason game will feel like the WNBA Finals.
Washington is coming off a disappointing 2024, but there was not much that they had control over. WNBA superstar Elena Delle Donne announced before the season that she planned to step away from basketball, and Natasha Cloud signed with the Phoenix Mercury. Then Brittney Sykes went down with an injury in the third game of the season, meaning that the top three scorers for the Mystics the year prior were off the court.
The Mystics also have the fourth and sixth overall picks in the WNBA draft, meaning the Mystics should be introducing a couple of big-time prospects. ESPN projects Washington to select Notre Dame's Olivia Miles and TCU's Sedona Prince. However the draft plays out, one of these picks should be for a point guard.
Mystics will return a solid core, led by Sykes and Ariel Atkins. Delle Donne's status is still up in the air, but the rest of the roster is full of young talent. This will be a good test for Indiana as they begin their 2025 campaign.
Saturday, May 10: Away at Atlanta Dream
Atlanta has a core of young superstars, and they will all be returning.
Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, and Jordin Canada are the heart of this squad. Tina Charles, who has already retired once, has not announced her status for 2025. The Dream will likely offer her another one-year deal, but the 35-year-old's basketball future should be handled on a year-to-year basis.
The Dream, however, do not have a pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. That pick belongs to the Mystics, meaning any big additions that Atlanta may have in 2025 will happen via free agency. It would be wise for the Dream to strengthen the front court, so be on the lookout for Atlanta signing a big-name forward.
The Dream have the talent, especially if Charles returns. The team just didn't click in 2024-- 2025 will be about keeping players on the floor. The Fever will either have a tune-up game or a really tough matchup heading into the regular season, and there's no in-between.