Fever Notebook: Damiris Dantas undergoes season-ending knee surgery
The trade deadline passed quietly, Michelle Onyiah signed to development contract, Caitlin Clark earned another weekly honor, and Fever games continued to deliver massive TV audiences.
Damiris Dantas was the last player to join the Indiana Fever in training camp (due to Visa delays) and the first to have her season come to an end.
The veteran center underwent surgery on Monday to repair a torn meniscus in her left knee, the Fever announced on Tuesday. She has been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 season.
Dantas did not accompany the team on their three-game, eight-day road trip this past week. Instead, head coach Stephanie White said last week that Dantas stayed behind for rehab and treatment.
The goal was to minimize symptoms, strengthen the knee and, hopefully, eliminate some of the effects.
“When you go through rehab and you don’t get the desired effects, then you take the next step,” White told reporters before practice on Tuesday.
The next step was surgery consultation.
Dantas has been used sparingly throughout the season, last registering eight minutes in the team’s 110-107 win over the Storm on July 17.
“Certainly, we’ll miss her in the locker room,” White said. “She’s a connector, her personality and she’s a great communicator; she’s a vet. We’ll miss her ability to stretch the floor on the floor. She can knock down a shot, she can give us a different look from that position as well.”
Dantas, who has been in the league since 2014, has spent the last three seasons with Indiana. She’s appeared in 70 games, including 12 this season, but never once started.
The Fever have a full 12-player roster so the front office must now decide whether to apply for the Season-Ending Injury Exception, an addition to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
News and Notes
Kelsey Mitchell is coming off a career-high 37-point performance, marking the 14th straight game she tallied at least 20 points. The streak goes back nearly two months, beginning June 22 v Phoenix, a game most remember for Clark taking a shot from Alyssa Thomas.
The WNBA added two expansion franchises this season, and it will add its next in 2028. Cleveland will once again have a team and today, the franchise revealed its name: the Cleveland Sirens. Games will be played at Rocket Arena, home of the Cavaliers.
The city previously had the Cleveland Rockers, which folded in 2003 after seven seasons. They were one of eight original franchises.
The other two planned expansion franchises: Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030).
Congratulations to Ryan Stevens, the former Fever Director of Public Relations, on returning to Indianapolis and joining the Indians — the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates — with the same title. He spent the past season with the Houston Rockets as the senior manager for corporate communications. Stevens was the recipient of the first annual Val Ackerman Award by the Pro Basketball Writers Association to honor the best team media relations official.
📆 WNBA Trade Deadline Passes
The trade deadline passed without much discussion — or much of anything.
The deadline was 3 p.m. ET on Sunday while the Fever were finishing up a featured game in Minneapolis.
The only meaningful deal that was completed across the league: the LA Sparks dealt Kelsey Plum to the Mercury for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first, and 2028 second. Plum will be a free agent after this season.
The Fever do not have much cap space, roughly $6,000, and they have a full roster.
✍️ Fever Fill Second Development Spot
Over the weekend, the Fever added Ugonne Onyiah to the roster, signed to the second development contract. Bree Hall returned to the franchise on a development contract back on May 11.
According to the team, she goes by Michelle Onyiah.
