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It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Indiana Fever performed beyond expectations. During the playoffs, they had three of their starters and two crucial bench players out for the season with injuries, and at least five players playing with hardship contracts.
Despite playing with half their regular roster, Indiana took the defending champions Las Vegas Aces, to the series decider Game 5. Despite her tumultuous last season with the team, WNBA champion NaLyssa Smith didn't shy away from giving due credit to her former team.
On Friday, Smith appeared on the "Between The Lines with Lisa Leslie" podcast. She said that the Indiana Fever were the most challenging team for the Aces throughout the postseason.
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"I would probably have to say the Fever, honestly, which hurts me to say that. No, I'm playing. But I would have to say the fever for sure, because I feel like they just played with nothing to lose," Smith said.
"I feel like when you are down like players and you know it's an abnormal season, it just forces you to have to, you know, play out your body. So I feel like that's kind of what they did. And you know, kudos to them. I feel like they had a hard fall series with us for sure." [Timestamp 12:23]
In January earlier this year, Fever traded Smith to the Dallas Wings in a three-team trade, also involving the Phoenix Mercury. Four months later, she was again traded to the Las Vegas Aces, where Smith seems to have found her home.
NaLyssa Smith compares her last season with Indiana Fever to Las Vegas
Some of NaLyssa Smith's best career numbers came in her three seasons with the Indiana Fever. However, the forward player and the Fever fans found themselves at odds with each other, especially during the 2024 season, in Caitlin Clark's rookie season.
When Lisa Leslie asked the WNBA champion about what she took from this season, she contrasted her last season with the Indiana Fever to her season with the Aces.
"I say the mental piece. Um, I always kind of think back to like the position I was in last year, and just I just think about how blessed I am right... . Like I would have never thought I was going to win a championship last year, just because of the way like life was going for me," Smith said. (Timestamp 15:22)
Smith added that during her difficult time with the Fever, she leaned on her friends and family, including her girlfriend DiJonai Carrington. However, for the Aces star, coming to Las Vegas changed her life, and now, she was excited to work harder on her game.
The WNBA champion said that the biggest lesson she took from the season was not to get too hard on herself because nothing good came out of it. NaLyssa Smith will join Lexie Brown, Alysha Clark, Kia Nurse and other WNBA stars for the 2026 season of the Athletes Unlimited.
