The 2024 Indiana Fever season was the franchise's 25th season in the WNBA, and their second season under head coach Christie Sides. The regular season tipped off against the Connecticut Sun in Connecticut on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.[1]
The Fever won the 2024 WNBA Draft Lottery and were awarded the first overall pick for the second year in a row; they used it to select Caitlin Clark.[2] The number one pick did not lead to a fast start to the season as the Fever lost their first five games, the closest of which was a two-point loss to Seattle on May 22. The Fever would win their next game against Los Angeles to earn their first win of the season. They would go on to lose their next three games, including a rematch against Los Angeles to finish the opening month 1–8. June brought about a vast improvement from the team. They defeated Chicago by one point to open the month. They lost to New York, defeated Washington, and then lost to Connecticut before going on a four game winning streak. They would lose their next two games before winning the final game of June to finish the month with a 7–4 record. The Fever went 1–2 to start July but defeated New York. They defeated Phoenix and Minnesota before losing to Dallas. The team finished July 3–3 and headed into the Olympic break with an 11–15 record.
The Fever returned from the Olympic break and won their first two games of August. They lost in Minnesota by ten-points before winning their next three games. The highlight of August was a nineteen-point victory over Chicago. The team finished 5–1 during the month, and moved solidly into playoff position. They won their first two games of September and on September 3, 2024, the Fever clinched their spot in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs, ending their seven-year playoff drought (the longest in WNBA history).[3][4] They would go on to lose three of the next four games, including back-to-back losses to Las Vegas. They defeated Dallas by one point and lost to Washington by one point to finish September 4–4.
The Fever finished the season 20–20, which was sixth place overall. They faced off in the First Round against third seed Connecticut. They were swept in the series two games to zero, losing the first game 69–93 and the second game 81–87. Despite the sweep, the Fever made great strides, posting their highest regular season win total since 2015. Clark was named to the All-WNBA First Team, and was only the fifth rookie in WNBA history to be named to the team.[5]
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Caitlin Clark |  United States
|
Iowa |
| 2 | 15 | Celeste Taylor | United States
|
Ohio State |
| 3 | 27 | Leilani Correa | United States
|
Florida |
Transactions
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| January 11, 2024 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Maya Caldwell and Temi Fagbenle[6] | |
| January 19, 2024 | Signed Temi Fagbenle to a Training Camp Contract.[7] | |
| January 29, 2024 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a Training Camp Contract.[8] | |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Damiris Dantas[9] | |
| Signed Katie Lou Samuelson[10] | ||
| March 21, 2024 | Waived Victoria Vivians[11] | |
| April 22, 2024 | Exercised fourth-year option for NaLyssa Smith[12] | |
| April 25, 2024 | Signed Celeste Taylor and Leilani Correa to Rookie Contracts[6] | |
| April 27, 2024 | Signed Caitlin Clark to a Rookie Contract[6] | |
| May 10, 2024 | Exercised fourth-year option for Lexie Hull and Kristy Wallace[13] | |
| Waived Maya Caldwell and Leilani Correa[13] | ||
| May 13, 2024 | Suspended the contract of Damiris Dantas (temporary, due to knee injury)[14] | |
| June 25, 2024 | Activated Damiris Dantas[15] | |
| Waived Celeste Taylor[15] | ||
| September 23, 2024 | Kelly Krauskopf hired as President of Basketball and Business Operations (starting post 2024 season)[16] | |
Roster changes
Additions
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Subtractions
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Roster
| 2024 Indiana Fever roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth
Schedule
Pre-season
| 2024 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
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| 2024 pre-season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2024 game log Total: 20–20 (Home: 12–8; Road: 8–12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 1–8 (Home: 0–4; Road: 1–4)
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June
: 7–4 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–4)
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July
: 3–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–2)
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August
: 5–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–1)
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September
: 4–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 1–1)
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| 2024 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2024 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First round vs. Connecticut Sun Lost Series: 0–2
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| 2024 playoff schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- c – Commissioner's Cup winners
- y – Regular Season Champion
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Playoffs
| Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle Storm | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New York Liberty | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Indiana Fever | 0 | ||||||||||||
Bold: series winner
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caitlin Clark | 40 | 40 | 35.4 | .417 | .344 | .906 | 5.7 | 8.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 19.2 |
| Kelsey Mitchell | 40 | 38 | 32.0 | .468 | .402 | .832 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 19.2 |
| Aliyah Boston | 40 | 40 | 30.9 | .529 | .269 | .736 | 8.9 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 3.3 | 14.0 |
| NaLyssa Smith | 40 | 37 | 24.8 | .480 | .292 | .567 | 7.1 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 10.6 |
| Temi Fagbenle | 22 | 2 | 18.9 | .509 | .167 | .786 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 6.4 |
| Lexie Hull | 34 | 11 | 19.7 | .441 | .471 | .805 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 5.5 |
| Kristy Wallace | 26 | 15 | 17.2 | .402 | .293 | .667 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 4.7 |
| Damiris Dantas | 20 | 0 | 10.5 | .459 | .394 | .667 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | 37 | 15 | 18.2 | .349 | .330 | .960 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| Erica Wheeler | 39 | 2 | 14.0 | .411 | .288 | .846 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| Grace Berger | 11 | 0 | 9.3 | .400 | .400 | .643 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| Victaria Saxton | 9 | 0 | 2.6 | .333 | .250 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| Celeste Taylor ‡ | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | 1.000 | — | .500 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelsey Mitchell | 2 | 2 | 38.5 | .421 | .263 | .500 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 19.0 |
| Caitlin Clark | 2 | 2 | 38.0 | .350 | .200 | .750 | 5.0 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 18.0 |
| Aliyah Boston | 2 | 2 | 32.5 | .577 | — | .750 | 15.0 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 16.5 |
| Damiris Dantas | 2 | 0 | 16.0 | .500 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 8.0 |
| Lexie Hull | 2 | 2 | 30.0 | .308 | .143 | .800 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 6.5 |
| Temi Fagbenle | 2 | 1 | 24.0 | .444 | .500 | — | 5.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.5 |
| Victaria Saxton | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Erica Wheeler | 2 | 0 | 9.5 | .000 | — | .750 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 |
| NaLyssa Smith | 2 | 1 | 6.5 | .000 | — | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| Grace Berger | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Kristy Wallace | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caitlin Clark | Rookie of the Month – May | June 3, 2024 | [17] |
| WNBA All-Star Starter | July 2, 2024 | [18] | |
| Rookie of the Month – July | July 19, 2024 | [19] | |
| AP Player of the Week | August 20, 2024 | [20][21] | |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 27, 2024 | [22] | |
| September 3, 2024 | [23] | ||
| September 10, 2024 | [24] | ||
| Eastern Conference Player of the Month – August | September 4, 2024 | [25] | |
| Rookie of the Month – August | September 4, 2024 | [25] | |
| Rookie of the Month – September | September 20, 2024 | [26] | |
| Peak Performer: Assists | [27] | ||
| AP Rookie of the Year | September 22, 2024 | [28] | |
| AP All-WNBA First Team | |||
| AP All-Rookie Team | |||
| WNBA Rookie of the Year | October 3, 2024 | [29] | |
| WNBA All-Rookie Team | [30] | ||
| All-WNBA First Team | October 16, 2024 | [31] | |
| Aliyah Boston | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 | [18] |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 18, 2024 | [32] | |
| Kelsey Mitchell | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 | [18] |
| Christie Sides | Coach of the Month – August | September 2, 2024 | [33] |
References
- ^ "2024 Schedule - Indiana Fever". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Negley, Cassandra (December 10, 2023). "2024 WNBA Draft: Fever land No. 1 selection in lottery with Caitlin Clark the presumptive top pick". Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Peterson, Chloe (September 4, 2024). "Led by Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever clinch first playoff berth since 2016". Indianapolis Star. USA Today. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ Jennings, Danielle (September 4, 2024). "Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever Make WNBA Playoffs, Ending Team's 7-Year Playoff Drought: 'We're In!'". People. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "Fever's Caitlin Clark, Aces' A'ja Wilson named All-WNBA". ESPN. October 16, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c "WNBA Transactions". acrossthetimeline.com. Across the Timeline. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "Fever Sign Temi Fagbenle to Training Camp Contract". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. January 19, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Fever Sign Maya Caldwell to Training Camp Contract". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. January 29, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Fever Sign Damiris Dantas". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Fever Sign Katie Lou Samuelson". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Fever Waive Victoria Vivians". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Indiana Fever Exercise Team Option for NaLyssa Smith". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. April 22, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Indiana Fever Exercise Options for Hull and Wallace, Waive Caldwell and Correa". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ "Indiana Fever Announce 2024 Opening Night Roster". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b "Indiana Fever Activate Damiris Dantas and Waive Celeste Taylor". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Kelly Krauskopf, Basketball Trailblazer and Longtime Executive, Will Return to the Indiana Fever as President of Basketball and Business Operations". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Pickman, Ben (June 3, 2024). "Caitlin Clark wins WNBA Rookie of the Month for first 9 games with Fever". The New York Times. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Rosters Set for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2024 on July 20". WNBA (Press release). July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Caitlin Clark Earns Rookie of the Month for Second Time this Season". WNBA. July 19, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
- ^ Feinberg, Doug (August 20, 2024). "WNBA players would like more time off after the Olympics are over before league play resumes". Associated Press. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ @IndianaFever (August 21, 2024). "Caitlin Clark turned up the heat in our first two games back to earn @AP Player of the Week honors 🌡️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Caitlin Clark Named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ "Caitlin Clark Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ^ "Caitlin Clark Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Third Consecutive Week". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ a b "Caitlin Clark Earns WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and WNBA Rookie of the Month for August". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "Caitlin Clark Named WNBA Rookie of the Month for September". WNBA. September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Ostrow, Spencer (September 20, 2024). "WNBA Announces Major Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson News". Athlon Sports. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
- ^ Feinberg, Doug (September 22, 2024). "A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are unanimous choices for WNBA AP Player and Rookie of the Year". Associated Press. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
- ^ Voepel, Michael (October 3, 2024). "Caitlin Clark wins WNBA Rookie of the Year honors". ESPN.
- ^ Zucker, Joseph (October 3, 2024). "Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso Headline 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Fever's Caitlin Clark, Aces' A'ja Wilson named All-WNBA". ESPN. October 16, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ "Aliyah Boston Named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
- ^ "Indiana Fever Head Coach Christie Sides Named WNBA Coach of the Month". fever.wnba.com. WNBA. September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
