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Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are among the contenders to win it all in 2025. After ending their WNBA playoffs drought in Clark's rookie season, the Fever ensured they built one of the deepest rosters in the league to open a championship window. Indiana signed DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson, adding championship experience.
They also replaced coach Christie Sides with Stephanie White. Caitlin Clark, who was the architect of last year's run to the playoffs, described what would have intimidated her about the Fever this year compared to 2024, saying (via USA Today):
"I think the Fever of this year, probably our depth. I even think, looking across the league, as you prepare for other teams that have the type of depth that we do, you know, that just makes it really difficult. It makes it difficult from a defensive standpoint."
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"You know, the amount of different things that teams can do. It puts you in a difficult position to pick and choose ... If somebody doesn't have it one night, you're just going to the next person on the bench, and the next person. You know, we're gonna have to be able to find a way to use that to the best of our ability."
After registering a franchise record opening day win over Angel Reese's Sky with a 93-58 win, the Fever lost 91-90 to the Atlanta Dream in their second outing on Tuesday. They were without Sophie Cunningham for both games.
Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever's depth goes missing against Dream
Indiana was red hot defensively against Chicago, but it wasn't the same against a revamped Atlanta team. The Fever's paint defense and production outside their big three of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell was non-existent. The trio scored at least 24 each, while no one else scored in double digits.
Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones maximized the Dream's ability to physically overwhelm Indiana. Griner had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Jones tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds. Indiana's frontcourt stars, Boston, Bonner and Howard, couldn't guard the paint as efficiently.
