While the Indiana Fever got swept by the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs, the team’s journey this year was incredible to watch. After starting off 1-8, Indiana started stacking wins in the back half of the season and clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016.
While the influx of star power and attention rookie phenom Caitlin Clark brought to the Fever and the league was incredible, not all of it was pretty. A small, albeit very loud faction of “fans” weaponized Clark’s name to attack other players with misogynistic and racist comments.
Fever forward NaLyssa Smith, the team’s No. 2 overall pick from the 2022 WNBA Draft, touched on those hardships in her end-of-season message on September 26. While Smith is under contract through the 2025 season, Aliyah Boston’s comment on her emotional post fueled rumors her teammate might exit early.
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