Stephanie White makes her feelings clear about biggest coaching challenge for Indiana Fever

Stephanie White's second stint with the Indiana Fever is far different than her first. To say that the team struggled before drafting Caitlin Clark is an understatement. The franchise was stuck in a rebuild and the team's fans began to lose faith in the team. Heading into the 2025 season, Indiana fans are among the most passionate in the league as they rally around their team and their new head coach.

White's return to the Fever might be the most important move that the team made this offseason. Stephanie White was a member of the team for five years before she retired in 2004. She was a part of the coaching staff before taking the reigns from Lin Dunn in 2014. She is back with Indiana now, as the team tries to bring in veterans, both on their roster and in the coaching staff.

Stephanie White has proven that she is a good WNBA coach, but her team presents the most unique challenge in the league. The Fever were aggressive in the offseason, bringing in veteran players like DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham via free agency and trade. The balance between youth and experience is better, but the team needs time to gel together.

Indiana's chemistry and comfort playing alongside one another is the biggest question that must be answered in 2025. Stephanie White told Sports Illustrated that it is on the coaching staff to determine just how much the team can handle early in the season when it comes to new schemes on both ends of the floor.

“The challenge for us as a coaching staff is: How much can we throw at them right away?” White said. “How much will we really be able to do throughout the course of this year? We can’t go too fast, but we also have to push them to make sure that we’re in a position to do the things that we think we’re capable of.”

White and her coaching staff have their work cut out for them this season, but the roster is talented enough to adapt quickly.

What are the expectations for Stephanie White and the Fever in 2025?

Stephanie White and the Fever will be in the national spotlight right off the bat in 2025 when they host Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on national television in the second nationally televised game on Saturday. All eyes will be on Indiana, which will have 41 of their 44 regular season games televised. Because of that and Clark's popularity, the pressure is on them to deliver.

Last season, Clark and the Fever were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun. Indiana's youth showed during the series as they were handed an early exit. However, the veterans the team brought in this winter have the team playing with a much different mentality as they rally around their All-WNBA point guard and All-Star forward Aliyah Boston.

At the minimum, Indiana fans expect this year's team to be better than they were in 2024. However, the ceiling for the Fever in 2025 is sky high, especially if their new veterans can take some pressure off of Clark on the offensive end of the floor. The shooting and interior scoring they added gave them threats outside of their star, but it is up to White to put everything together and make it work consistently.