The Indiana Fever want to compete for a title. The team’s offseason made that abundantly clear. Indiana re-signed Kelsey Mitchell and brought in veterans DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and Brianna Turner. With those moves, the Fever ensured youngsters Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston would be surrounded by two-way veterans with championship experience.
Indiana made all the right moves this offseason. Even Sheryl Swoopes conceded that the Fever look like one of the best teams in the WNBA ahead of the 2025 season.
The Fever already sported the third-best offensive rating in the league last season. Now that Clark and Boston are more experienced and the Fever added some extra offensive firepower, that might look even better. The coaching staff certainly seems ready to further unlock Clark’s game.
A lack of defense held the Fever back in the 2024 season. That should not be as much of a problem in the 2025 season since the Fever added defensive-minded players and Stephanie White—the architect of the best defense in the WNBA last year.
While the Fever are well set up to make noise in the playoffs, other teams are as well. Thus, the Fever can find a bright side to an unfortunate injury update.
The Liberty will miss a key player
The top teams the Fever will have to contend with are expected to be the Phoenix Mercury, the Las Vegas Aces, the Minnesota Lynx, and the New York Liberty. The reigning champions should be the toughest challenge, but they will now be without a key player.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton underwent knee surgery and will be out for five to six months. Laney-Hamilton already missed some time to start the 2024 season, but she was crucial to the Liberty’s success in the playoffs after her return. The 31-year-old provides the Liberty strong defense, 3-point shooting, and scoring on the wing. When healthy, she is the ultimate role player for a championship-caliber team.
Losing Laney-Hamilton to a long-term injury is a tough blow for the Liberty, but it is not as bad as it could be. The Liberty traded for Natasha Cloud, who will provide tough defense on the perimeter, and re-signed Marine Johannes, who can knock down plenty of threes. So, even without Laney-Hamilton, the Liberty will have a great team.
It might not be as strong of a team as the one that won the franchise’s first championship, though. Breanna Stewart also had to undergo “minor” knee surgery and some of the Liberty’s European players may miss time because of EuroBasket taking place from June 18-29 in Germany, Czechia, Greece, and Italy.
Facing a Liberty team without Laney-Hamilton (and potentially some other players) will still be a challenge, but it could make it easier for the Fever to accomplish their goal for the 2025 season.