Inside an emotional night in Minnesota as the Fever deliver a season-defining upset, then let it fly in a champagne-soaked celebration
Without Caitlin Clark and facing the WNBA’s top team on the road, the Indiana Fever delivered a stunner in Minneapolis — then brought the party to the locker room in a championship celebration.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever clamped down defensively and put the Minnesota Lynx on ice, holding them to 34.9% shooting — and 25% (4 for 16) from range.
Then, the team enjoyed beverages on ice.
Thousands of Fever fans inside Target Center let out loud cheers at 9:02 p.m. local time Tuesday as the final buzzer had sounded — and the Fever done it. Facing the WNBA’s top team, a Lynx squad that was 14-2 and undefeated (8-0) on their home floor, and they turned in a 74-59 win.
Not just any win, however.
A Commissioner’s Cup championship, the first in franchise history.
They celebrated on the court together, were presented the trophy, and then veteran forward Natasha Howard was voted Cup Final most valuable player — in the same arena where she won the 2017 WNBA championship with the Lynx, her first of three.
The Fever did it without Caitlin Clark, their star guard who missed her third straight game and eighth of the season. She’s managing a left groin injury so all she could do what help on the bench — and in giving the team confidence.
Just a few days ago, the team was in their video room when Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called in to alert the team that Clark would be one of two captains for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game. Not just any game — this one, in Indy. And she wasn’t just a captain, she was also the top vote getter for the second year in a row.
How did Clark respond after Engelbert wished them well in the title game?
“We’re about to get that dub, Cathy!” Clark said.
Then they did.
The Fever were 6.5-point underdogs before they arrived in Minneapolis, then it dropped to 11 points after Clark was ruled out for the game.
So the Fever went out and upset the Lynx with a 15-point win in front of millions on Prime Video.
That’s why you play the games.
After the win, the Fever went back to the locker room to celebrate. But first, they had to change locations in the arena to take photos — just as you would for winning a WNBA championship.
Group photos, individual photos, silly photos.
Then it was back to the locker room, which had tarps hanging from the ceiling because beverages were going to be sprayed and consumed.
The Commissioner’s Cup was created in 2021, a few years before the NBA Cup. But it has the same idea in mind: Find another incentive for teams to play for in addition to the trophy at the end of the year. It’s something NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who is also a fan of the European soccer model, has prioritized.
So now five cups and five different winners it was created in 2021: Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Minnesota, and now Indiana.
Veteran Sydney Colson has won the Cup and multiple WNBA Championships before with the Las Vegas Aces. So this wasn’t new to her. She enjoyed seeing her teammates live in the moment.
She said Clark was “biting all the bottles for everybody,” presumably to pop the La Marca champagne. Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull, and others were shot-gunning beers. They also were drinking out of the Cup.
“I don't know how to spray,” Colson said, “I'm not a drinker. I don't know how to do champagne celebration, but they were opening them, the coaches were having a good time, chugging out of the Commissioners' Cup. It was fun. It was a good vibe in there.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s celebration was far more subdued — and didn’t compare to the Fever’s.