Fever got ‘exactly what we needed’ this offseason. How Indiana solved its biggest problem
The Fever front office knew what they were lacking in 2024: championship experience.
Indiana, which had been rebuilding and resetting since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016, hadn’t even been in the playoffs since Catchings hung up her shoes. That’s seven years of not making the playoffs — in a league where eight of the 12 teams make it.
In 2024, the Fever finally broke through. They made the playoffs as the No. 6 seed with Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell leading the way. The only problem? Their starting lineup had zero games of playoff experience. The entire roster had 19 total games leading into the series.
Indiana was swept by the Connecticut Sun, which had over 222 games of playoff experience.
Going into 2025, Indiana knew it needed playoff, and more specifically, championship experience in order to make a deep run.
“Most people that win have been around other people that have won,” Catchings told IndyStar on Wednesday. “ … You’re adding players to the roster that have that winning mentality, that can infuse the team with more accountability to make sure that everybody is doing what they’re supposed to do, and that they’re all aligned.”
No one has more playoff experience than DeWanna Bonner, whose 87 postseason games lead the WNBA. So, Fever president Kelly Krauskopf and general manager Amber Cox signed the 37-year-old Bonner as a player who could instantly elevate the Fever’s playoff experience.
The 15-year WNBA veteran won two WNBA championships in her 10-year tenure with the Phoenix Mercury, then spent the past five seasons with the Sun where she led the team to at least the league semifinals every season.
The Fever desperately needed players to show their young core what it takes to win at this level. They got it with the additions of Bonner, 11-year veteran and three-time champion Natasha Howard, two-time champion Sydney Colson, and experienced playoff piece Brianna Turner.
