INDIANAPOLIS - Through injuries, roster changes and everything else that has gone on during the 2025 season, the Indiana Fever are one win away from making the WNBA Playoffs for the second season in a row.
Indiana's 97-77 win over Chicago on Friday night, coupled with Los Angeles' loss to Atlanta, put the Fever's magic number down to one. Now, one Fever win or one L.A. loss will clinch a playoff spot for Indiana.
"It's definitely a stepping stone in the right direction," Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell said postgame. "I think, considering where this organization has been and some of the great players that have come through it, we got to look at this for a win moment tonight. It doesn't happen a lot, and where we've been at, you guys know what it's been like the last couple years here, and so to see the tables kind of turn, it works in our favor."
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To control their own destiny, the Fever would only need to win one of its final two games to make it into the playoffs. Indiana plays Washington, a team that has already been eliminated from playoff contention, in Baltimore on Sunday and the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday to end the regular season.
Indiana could also get in on a singular Los Angeles loss. The Sparks have three games left in the regular season, playing Dallas, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The Fever to the playoffs isn't official yet, but it's exceptionally likely -- if only considering the caliber of teams the Sparks are playing to end the season.
"It says a lot about this group," Fever coach Stephanie White said. "You know, they're tough-minded, their next-player-up mentality. They're playing for each other, day-in and day-out, and not being denied. For the core that returned we talked often about how there's no substitute for experience, and this experience of going through this, of continuing to take hits, so to speak, and continuing to find ways to win has been important."
Before the season began, the Fever likely would not have expected they would be fighting for a playoff spot this late in the season. Indiana, with its core trio of Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, along with multiple marquee offseason additions, had lofty goals of a championship.
Then, things started to crumble. Clark got hurt multiple times and was eventually ruled out for the season, playing just 13 games in her second year. DeWanna Bonner, one of their offseason marquee signings, left the team after nine games because it wasn't a good fit. Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, Sophie Cunningham and Chloe Bibby all suffered season-ending injuries in a three-week span.
The Fever have had to onboard six hardship players on days' notice, and they will have four players -- Odyssey Sims, Aerial Powers, Shey Peddy and Bree Hall -- on hardship waivers in the playoffs.
They've been through unprecedented adversity. And through it all, they're on the brink of making the playoffs.
"We sit together and we fight, no matter what obstacles come our way, we will always stick together," Fever veteran Natasha Howard said. "We know this season been up-and-down for us, but at the end of the day, we brought in good players that actually helped us out. And that's a good thing right here, that we have depth on this team, and the people that we brought in, they've been stepping up."
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