Sep 18, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shown on the court against the Atlanta Dream during the first half during game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

ESPN Furthers Fever Disrespect With Unanimous WNBA Semifinals Prediction

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 2:22 PM ET

Very few people predicted that the injury-plagued Indiana Fever would be able to put up much of a fight against the Atlanta Dream in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. This is owed to the Fever limping into the postseason after a brutal stretch of injuries, which includes Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and three other key Indiana players being sidelined for the rest of the season.

Then Atlanta cruised to a smooth 80-68 win over Indiana at home in Game 1 of this series, and most thought the Fever would go quietly into the night during the series' second game.

That didn't happen. Not only did the Fever dominate in that Game 2 contest at home, but they traveled to Atlanta and beat the Dream on their home court in a winner-take-all Game 3 on September 18. This means Indiana will be facing off against the No. 2-seeded Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Semifinals, which starts on September 21.

ESPN Doubles Down on Unanimous Fever Playoff Loss Prediction

On September 13, ESPN published an article where they predicted the outcome of all four first-round matchups in the 2025 WNBA playoffs. When it came to the Fever's matchup against the Dream, all nine ESPN staff members who were asked predicted that the Dream would win, and eight of them said they would sweep Indiana.

The Fever clearly kept these receipts, as their social media accounts posted a screenshot of this unanimous prediction moments after Thursday's game ended, which has since gone viral.

Now You Know. pic.twitter.com/DMkEJNLtTT
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 19, 2025

It seems that ESPN didn't learn its lesson from doubting the Fever. The website released another article on September 19 that assessed Indiana's upcoming series against the Aces, and at the end of it, the article had five writers predict who would ultimately win.

All five of them said the Aces would emerge victorious. Two of them said Las Vegas would win the best-of-five series in four games, while the other three said the Aces would win it in five games.

ESPN didn't learn its lesson because they just unanimously predicted the Aces would beat the Fever in the Semifinals#FeverRising https://t.co/X3eTHWXwtU pic.twitter.com/m4eagMmkQy
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) September 19, 2025

The good news is that the Fever have thrived amid doubt and uncertainty throughout this season, and ESPN's unanimous assertion that they'd lose in the first round didn't keep them from producing an impressive upset.

Regardless of the outcome, this matchup is shaping up to be extremely exciting, as several compelling storylines (in addition to this continued Fever disrespect by ESPN) will only add to the intrigue and have fans on the edges of their respective seats.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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