Fever Notebook: Sophie Cunningham out, Sky ahead, GM survey reveals leaguewide respect
Fever open 2025 season against revamped Sky; GM survey highlights Indiana’s rise, digital streaming debuts, and WNBA momentum. Plus, Sue Bird on Caitlin Clark, NBA2K25 ratings out & more notes
The Indiana Fever will not be at full strength for Saturday’s season opener against Chicago.
Sophie Cunningham — a limited participant in practice this week after tweaking her right ankle in the preseason finale — has already been ruled out.
Ironically, hours before that news was shared, Cunningham sank a half-court shot to end practice on the main court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Then, she jumped up and down 16 times before dancing in celebration.
“You didn’t even fucking practice!” Kelsey Mitchell said, smiling.
But Cunningham was $100 richer because of it.
“You take off three days of practice and then come and try to get the money at half-court shot? I think that's a little fraudulent,” joked head coach Stephanie White.
Truth is, the Fever are going to be extra cautious this season with injuries — a clear emphasis just three weeks into training camp. They’re playing the long game, aiming to peak in August, not May.
“She’s made great progress,” White added. “I think the biggest thing is perspective, right? We don't want to do anything that will set her back, that will hinder her progress. I think we have, what, six games in the first 14 days? So we'll be cautious.
“I think that's where, sometimes, you have to save players from themselves, right? Help them understand the big picture.”
📋 Fever Ready to Tip Off Season
The Fever wrapped up training camp this week and are eager to get going.
“They're ready for a different opponent,” she said. “No offense to the (practice) guys. They're doing a great job of preparing us, but they're hungry to get out there and to play.”
Chicago presents a new challenge — starting at head coach. The Sky pursued White before her move to Indy was solidified. They ultimately hired former Mad Ants and Pacers assistant Tyler Marsh, most recently with the Aces, for his first head coaching role.
The Sky, who finished 13-27 last season and missed the playoffs, look very different.
“First and foremost, they're shooting 10 threes,” White noted. “They're playing faster. Obviously, everybody's gotten better. Their pieces are different so they have the guards to go along with the bigs and they're doing a great job.
“Sloot’s (Courtney Vandersloot) doing a great job of finding their bigs. They're hard diving, hard rolling, and then they've got three point shooters around them. So they're much more balanced than they've been in the past as well. So they're gonna create some matchup problems and my biggest concern is keeping them off the glass.”
White embraces the championship expectations in Indy. That’s part of what drew her to the job — alongside the comfort and familiarity.
“It's really exciting,” she said before opening day. “It's a dream come true, really.”
More than 17,000 fans are expected at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. All will receive a red rally towel featuring the season’s slogan: “Now You Know.”
📊 Results Are In: Annual GM Survey
The Minnesota Lynx are the favorite to win the 2025 WNBA Championship, led by top MVP vote-getter Napheesa Collier. That’s the headline from the league’s annual GM survey, which offers valuable insight into how decision-makers around the league view the WNBA landscape.
There were 40 questions in total, and GMs were not permitted to vote for their own team or personnel.
(Click here for the full results)
Indiana mentions:
The Fever finished in a tie for third (with the Aces) in championship votes (four). The Lynx and Liberty were ahead — no surprises there.
Indiana received 64% of the vote for best offseason — tops in the league.
No surprise: The Fever were the overwhelming choice as the most improved team. The Sky finished second.
The Fever were also voted:
Most fun to watch: 75%
Best home-court advantage: 42% (second to New York)
Most promising young core: 50%
50% of GMs would start a franchise with Caitlin Clark. Somewhat surprising it wasn’t 100%, given her basketball and business impact. A’ja Wilson received 33% of the vote.
Clark tied for second in “Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments?” Wilson was No. 1.
Clark tied with Chelsea Gray as the league’s best point guard, and finished behind her as best passer (25% of votes). No one else received votes in that category.
Clark was second to Gray in basketball IQ voting — and was the top vote-getter at shooting guard (33%).
Sophie Cunningham finished in a three-way tie for most underrated acquisition. Yeah, she’s going to be superb in Indy.
Aliyah Boston received votes for most likely to have a breakout season.
GMs were most surprised by veteran DeWanna Bonner choosing Indiana in free agency.
Stephanie White tied for second as the head coach who’s the best manager and motivator of people, and received 50% of the vote for new coach expected to have the biggest impact.
📺 Local Fans Get Fever Streaming Option
The Fever are eliminating excuses for local fans to miss games.
They’ve partnered with Endeavor Streaming to launch Fever Direct, a direct-to-consumer platform that allows fans in eligible ZIP codes to stream the 18 games televised locally by WTHR.
A season pass will cost $29.99, with the first available game set for Tuesday against Atlanta. These broadcasts are also available over-the-air with an antenna, but Fever Direct offers a digital alternative.
“Direct-to-consumer streaming represents a significant opportunity for teams like the Indiana Fever to not just serve existing fans in new ways, but to also reach new fans by offering frictionless experiences on the device of their choice,” Fred Santarpia, President for Endeavor Streaming said. “We’re proud to partner with them to deliver a world-class platform for their fans.”
Additionally, fans can enjoy a free preview of WNBA League Pass from May 16-21 — no subscription or credit card information required. After that, it’s $34.99/year or $12.99/month, though local blackout restrictions still apply.
“On the heels of triple-digit increases in monthly active users of the WNBA App and in subscriptions to WNBA League Pass last year, we continue to enhance and expand the offerings available through the WNBA App in order to provide fans with an even more unique and engaging experience,” said Colie Edison, Chief Growth Officer for the WNBA.
“WNBA digital platforms are the ultimate destination for fans of the W and provide advanced features and content that touch on everything from basketball, to style, to culture, and beyond. And the Tip-Off Test Drive presented by CarMax is just one more way we are looking to grow the game and grow our fan base.”
⚠️ WNBA’s Bold New Ad Campaign: “Viewer Discretion”
The league’s campaign for the 2025 season is built around big, exciting moments — with a clever twist.
Fever stars Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell appear in the new TV spot, which debuts Saturday afternoon during Fever vs. Sky on ABC.
Custom versions were created for select players — each receiving their own unique advisory warning: Clark, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu, and Angel Reese.
The tagline: “Viewer discretion is advised … welcome to the W!”
🗣️ Sue Bird on Caitlin Clark: “She Knows the League Now”
We know Sue Bird, who retired in 2022, is a fan of Caitlin Clark. And they have a relationship; Clark appeared on Bird & Taurasi’s special during the women’s NCAA national title game.
“She knows the league now and so that's dangerous,” Bird said this week, appearing on SiriusXM’s “Casuals with Katie Nolan” podcast.
Asked about Clark’s ceiling, Bird joked about how she likes to use Michael Jordan’s famous quote — ‘the ceiling is the roof.’
“Yeah, she was incredible last year,” Bird said of the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. “Learned a lot about the league, so she's just probably going to add, not necessarily anything to her game — I know she worked out in the off season and talks about her strength and wanting to get more physical — but it's the experience part that as you get older in this league, starts to show itself combined with the skill.
“She's surrounded by a ton of talent. They did really well in free agency. They moved up immediately to also like a top four favorite. It's her second year so it'll be fun to see what adjustments she makes and what she did learn.”
🎮 Clark’s NBA 2K25 Ratings Revealed
Players ratings are a big deal in most sports. I haven’t heard any WNBA players talking about it, at least not yet.
NBA 2K25 passed along the list of the top-10 rated players in the game. Clark, who finished fourth in MVP voting during her rookie season, is slotted in that position to begin the 2025 season.
98 A’ja Wilson, Aces
97 Napheesa Collier, Lynx
97 Breanna Stewart, Liberty
96 Caitlin Clark, Fever
94 Alyssa Thomas, Mercury
93 Nneka Ogwumike, Storm
93 Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty
92 Jonquel Jones, Liberty
91 Kahleah Copper, Mercury
91 Arike Ogunbowale, Wings
📝 Other Notes
Indy sports fans: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is lifting the local blackout for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, doing so for just the first time since 2016 for the 100th running. The green flag will drop at 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 25 — and air nationally on FOX. Then in the evening, the Pacers host the Knicks for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Aimee Book, who played at Fresno State and interned with the Pacers in 2023-24, spent last season with the Mad Ants. She’s now the video coordinator for the Lynx, who reached the WNBA Finals last season.
Old National Bank has signed on to be the official banking partner of the Fever, and the presenting sponsor of the radio network. John Nolan and Bria Goss will be on the call of every game and Eddie Garrison will serve as the studio host — airing on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis.
Former Fever guard Erica Wheeler is hosting a pickleball tournament over All-Star weekend in Indy — with all proceeds benefiting her youth foundation. It’ll be held July 17 from 1-4 p.m. ET.
The Connecticut Sun may be for sale. The Mohegan Native American tribe, which owns the Sun, has hired an investment bank firm to explore a sale of the franchise, which relocated from Orlando to Uncasville in 2003.
On the NBA side, Paul Allen’s estate is advancing toward a potential sale of the Portland Trail Blazers. Allen died in 2018, and proceeds are expected to fund his philanthropic work. The projected sale range: $3–4 billion.
DraftKings has launched a limited edition WNBA collection in their DK Shop. They have unisex and t-shirts for six teams so far — Indiana, Chicago, Minnesota, New York, Las Angeles, and Las Vegas — ranging from $36 to $62. It’s a notable investment from another major company that recognizes the WNBA’s rising popularity and reach.