Fever, fans push through unlucky season — and into the playoffs
Despite injuries and constant roster changes, Indiana finished with a franchise-record 24 wins and will host its first playoff game in nearly a decade. There was a lot to celebrate at Tuesday's game.
The Indiana Fever wrapped up the 2025 regular season Tuesday with a 83-72 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
They jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes, were up 14 after one quarter and by many as 24 points in a wire-to-wire victory.
What stood out wasn’t just that it was their third straight win or a franchise-record 24th of the season — the WNBA now plays 44 games — but that this group sprinted through the finish line.
They gave it their all in Game 1 and Game 45 — remember, these two teams met in the Cup final, won by the Fever.
And so did Fever fans.
More than 15,000 turned out for the finale, a remarkable number given where the franchise and league were pre-Caitlin Clark. The Fever went from averaging fewer than 4,000 fans per game to more than 16,000 per game in what was, by most measures, a down year.
A very down year.
Yet the team and its supporters kept showing up.
Late in the game, the video board cut to a suite where Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald — all lost to season-ending injuries a month ago — were watching. Colson, always outspoken, grabbed the microphone and rallied the crowd:
Hey, man.... this is not a drill. For the rest of this quarter, for the entire playoffs, get your ass out of your seats and cheer. All playoffs! All playoffs!
A Fever roster in constant flux since training camp still delivered 24 wins, three straight to end the season, and a playoff berth — despite five players missing significant time and Clark appearing in only 13 games.
“Indiana basketball fans in general are the best fans in the world,” White said pregame on what was Fan Appreciation Night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “Fever fans, and especially the ones who continue to turn out night in and night out.
“People often ask me, ‘What's the difference in this time around versus last time around?’ It's like, well, you can't walk down the street. It's just a different level of fandom. And they've been incredible in terms of showing up, they've been incredible in terms of support. They've understood what this group has gone through, and they've continued to help us navigate through it.
“It’s a special place.”
This wasn’t the Fever’s last game inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The WNBA scrapped its old best-of-three first-round format (which often denied teams a home playoff game) in favor of a 1-1-1 setup. That means Indiana will host a playoff game for the first time since 2016.
The Fever clinched their postseason berth Sunday with a win in Washington, and will face wither Las Vegas or Atlanta. They celebrated, then turned their focus forward.
But not for long.
“I think I slept a little bit better Sunday night,” head coach Stephanie White joked. “I think in a way, just knowing that everything that this group has been through and the ways in which we've been challenged and the number of setbacks that we've had and the number of times that we've had to get back up. I think it's a testament to this group and their resilience, which we've talked about all year long.
“But to position ourselves to be in the hunt and then to finally get in, it certainly is a little bit of a relief. And you take that moment to enjoy it, and then it's about focusing on now what we have to do to make a run in the playoffs.”
For a coach, there’s no such thing as a meaningless game. There’s always something to gain. There’s always a standard to uphold.
Entering Tuesday’s finale, the Fever had a checklist: build momentum, improve consistency, and continue building continuity.