The Indiana Fever are ready to compete in the 2025 season. After making the 2024 playoffs with a young and inexperienced roster, spearheaded by Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever made some significant changes. When you have two young talents like Clark and Boston on the roster, there is little reason to waste time.
So, the Fever hired a more proven coach, luring Stephanie White away from the Connecticut Sun, and brought in several impactful veterans. DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sydney Colton joined the Fever in free agency, and Sophie Cunningham came to Indiana in a trade that sent NaLyssa Smith to the Dallas Wings and Satou Sabally to the Phoenix Mercury.
With those additions, the Fever look ready to compete with the likes of New York, Minnesota, and Las Vegas. That competitiveness may come at the expense of some of their younger players, though.
Lexie Hull will have to fight for her minutes at the highest level
Lexie Hull has spent all three of her WNBA seasons with the Indiana Fever and averaged the fifth-most minutes on the team last season. That may look widely different in the 2025 season, as the Fever will rely heavily on their new veterans whenever possible. Especially in crucial games and the playoffs, when the rotations become tighter, Hull may have to fight for every minute on the court.
The same happened to her in Unrivaled. When the season first started, Hull struggled to get on the court but then established herself as a valuable bench player for the Rose. Nevertheless, she only played four minutes in a close championship game and did not take a single shot.
Coach Nola Henry decided to rely on her veterans, playing Chelsea Gray, Azurà Stevens, and Brittney Sykes heavy minutes. All three played well and deserved to stay on the court in such an important game.
If everything goes according to plan for the Fever, the team will find itself in several intense, competitive, and important games. In those games, head coach Stephanie White may make the same decision to rely on Clark, Boston, and the Fever’s veterans rather than Hull. With the Connecticut Sun, White played Bonner at least 30 minutes in each playoff game last season.
However, even if that is the case, Hull can still help the Fever during the regular season. Her 3-point shooting and defense will be incredibly valuable off the bench and whenever White wants to rest 37-year-old DeWanna Bonner. Hull was the Fever’s best 3-point shooter (percentage-wise) last season and provides the kind of 3-and-D presence the Fever need around Clark and Boston. She still has a role to play for the Fever, especially if she can replicate her 3-point shooting from last season, but that role may simply be smaller when games matter the most.