Indiana Fever Suffer Tough Development Before WNBA Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 10:18 AM ET

It has been a long road for the Indiana Fever under head coach Stephanie White.

White was looking to lead the Fever toward the top of the standings, but injuries have derailed Indiana's season.

The Fever clearly have the talent with players like Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Aliyah Boston, but missed games from star players have hurt their chances to compete for a title.

Indiana stands as the No. 8 team in the WNBA with a 21-19 record. The Fever recently suffered a loss to the Golden State Valkyries, which saw them plummet from No. 6 to No. 8 in the league standings.

After the loss to the Valkyries, the Fever were also ineligible to climb to the No. 2 seed where the Las Vegas Aces sit with a 26-14 record, ranked as the No. 2 team in the league.

According to Fever reporter Tony East, Indiana's seeding can only range from No. 3 to No. 9 after losing to Golden State.

Tonight's Fever loss means they can no longer catch the Aces. The Fever's seeding range is now 3-9. https://t.co/q5c5LzYp6E
— Tony East (@TonyREast) September 1, 2025

The Indiana Fever have four games remaining. They're set to face the Phoenix Mercury, Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics and Minnesota Lynx to close out the season.

In the WNBA, the top eight teams make the playoffs, so Indiana has the pressure on their shoulders to compete after losing 75-63 to the Valkyries. The Fever would likely prefer to finish better than the No. 8 seed so they could avoid the 31-8 Lynx, who have clinched the No. 1 seed, in the first round of the playoffs.

Throughout her second season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark has posted 16.5 points, 5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game for the Indiana Fever.

The Fever have greatly missed Clark's contributions but they're forced to battle while she rehabs through her injury.

Indiana squares off with Phoenix at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBA TV.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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