Coming into the season, expectations were high around the Indiana Fever. They largely delivered in the regular season, setting a franchise record with 28 wins, but their postseason run ended in the first round after a 2-1 series loss to the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

The Aces have now knocked out head coach Stephanie White’s side in the playoffs in consecutive seasons, leaving plenty of questions surrounding the Fever’s season. Some of those questions, however, found answers during Indiana’s exit interviews, offering a glimpse into the team’s biggest takeaways and the conversations that could shape what comes next.

Fever Want Kelsey Mitchell Back, But Her Future Remains Uncertain

Kelsey Mitchell has been with the Indiana Fever since 2018. Now 30 years old, the four-time All-Star is coming off one of her greatest seasons in the WNBA, if not the greatest. Mitchell averaged 24.7 points in the regular season, only behind A’ja Wilson’s 26.2. Moreover, she formed the highest-scoring backcourt duo in WNBA history with Caitlin Clark, powering an Indiana offense that averaged a WNBA-record 96.0 points per game.

But Mitchell now has free agency to worry about in the offseason after what was a brutal postseason. Mitchell’s shooting efficiency dropped from 50.9% in the regular season to a mere 32.7% in the playoffs. Still, while Mitchell is one of the key components of White’s plans, she sounded pretty noncommittal about her future in Indiana.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far yet, you know. I think it’s about figuring out what I need, figuring out what my family needs. Ultimately, figuring out I’m getting older. I’m not getting younger, unfortunately. But I’ve obviously built a Fever family here. So, it’s like whatever conversation I have to have, I’ll have them. I just think it’s kind of too early for me to really tell what I need to do,” Mitchell said when asked about free agency and a potential return.

“But I wouldn’t be here without Indiana. Everything I am is kind of instilled, and everything I’ve grown to be is kind of the Fever. And so it’s a lot to kind of, you know, hash out and figure out”.

Indiana could gain some significant financial flexibility, though, in case Mitchell decides to walk away. Because if Mitchell returns on a supermax while Caitlin Clark joins Aliyah Boston at the top of the salary structure in 2027, Indiana could have roughly 60% of its cap committed to its Big Three. So her departure could give the front office more room to spread that money across the roster.

And the one thing the Fever can invest in is, of course, their defense — something both Amber Cox and White pointed to. Cox said the team needs defenders who can shut down elite scorers and more production from the wing, and White cited “schematics and personnel” as the route to improving. After all, Stephanie White’s side allowed roughly 90.3 points in the regular season. As of July 8, they had conceded 100 points eight times and were 1-7 in those games, one short of the league record of nine set by Dallas in 2024.

Mitchell, though, was more direct on two points. Asked whether she would be fine finishing her career with the Fever, she answered with an enthusiastic yes, and said that her relationship with Clark and Boston, and how well the three played together, will weigh on her decision.

That said, General Manager Amber Cox was clear about her priorities to keep the 30-year-old for the rest of her career.

“I mean, Kelsey obviously has the opportunity and has earned the right to explore what other opportunities are out there, but you know, our goal is for her to be a Fever girl for the rest of her career and to retire with the Indiana Fever. That’s what we want and we hope to we get that we get to that place.” Cox said.

Aliyah Boston Faces Offseason Questions After Lower-Leg Injury

16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 52.8% shooting efficiency — that is how good Aliyah Boston was this season. So one could only wonder how much better the 2023 No. 1 overall pick would have been had she not had to worry about the right lower-leg injury she picked up during Unrivaled back in February.

“I definitely started the year with a lot of uncertainty. I think there were definitely some games where I was hindered a little bit and then obviously we know I missed some games. So it definitely was a change for me because I’m somebody that just loves to compete and love to play, and I never like to sit out.

“So, it definitely had its impact, but we made it through a full season, so I’m always grateful,” Boston said when asked how the offseason injury changed the course of her season.

Boston had been remarkably durable during her WNBA career, playing all 40 regular-season games in each of her first two seasons and all 44 in 2025. That is until the lower right-leg injury disrupted her plans. She was ruled out for the remainder of the Unrivaled season and also out of Team USA’s FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. Following that, she missed out on the game against the Seattle Storm on May 17.

The lower right leg issue aggravated again on July 28 in Seattle, when Boston tripped over Storm guard Flau’jae Johnson’s foot in the second quarter and landed on her right knee. She did not return, and she missed no games afterward. However, the issue continued to affect her. In total, Boston has missed four games this season because of this injury, and the Fever went 3-1 in them.

The most recent flare-up occurred in the final regular-season game against the Minnesota Lynx on September 24, an 86-66 loss that dropped Indiana to the sixth seed, as she was out of the game in just the second quarter. Head coach White said it was a precautionary measure and called it “just a flare-up, same lower leg.”

Still, there were doubts about whether Boston would be at 100% facing the Aces in the first round. She was listed as questionable for Game 1 but played eventually, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and then appeared on the injury report as probable for Games 2 and 3 before being cleared. While the Fever lost, she was one of the best performers, averaging 19.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 3 games in the 2026 playoffs.

When asked whether she will take any steps in the offseason to address that injury, Boston gave a reassuring answer.

“Yeah, I’ll be talking to medical. We’ll be talking and seeing what we want to do from there, but nothing’s decided yet.” Boston said.

Aliyah Boston is just as important to Stephanie White’s defense as Caitlin Clark is to her offense, so it will be interesting to see how one of the core players of the Fever franchise will tackle this tricky injury in the offseason.

Fever GM and HC Reflect on Experience Gap After Playoff Exit

Amber Cox’s first question in the exit interview was to address the team’s shortcomings in the playoffs, especially after the hype and expectations around them.

Cox did not forget to applaud the experienced Las Vegas Aces and their championship-caliber core of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray. As for the Fever’s Big 3 of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston, Cox believes experience was the difference-maker between the two teams.

“Obviously, we fell short of that. We’re disappointed. Only one team is happy at the end of every season, but I think we made a lot of positive strides as well. I mean, when you look at our big three, we’ve got a combined 31 games of playoff experience.” Cox said.

“And you look at Caitlin in particular; she’s at five. So, you know, we’ll use this as a tool going forward.”

Head coach Stephanie White also cited experience as the main reason for the Indiana Fever’s early exit, along with the Big 3’s lack of games together in the postseason, and the fact that the do-or-die game was on the road.

“I think some of it is experience. You know, you really have to gain that experience and wanting to to win a title and and then learning what it takes to win a title. Those are those are two different things. And I think that you only learn a lot of those things through experience. And you got to go through some of those some of those moments.”

“For our Big Three, this is only the second time that they played in playoff games together. I thought we grew. But you know, you said everybody’s goal is to win a title, and every year things are different, and unfortunately we fell short of that.”

Regardless, Amber Cox knows the team needs to and can do better, and is genuinely looking forward to delivering on the expectations going forward.

“The Aces are a championship-caliber team. I think, looking at a first-round exit, you can say, we fell way short, but that’s a buzzsaw, right? We need to overcome it and we’ll take what we learn from this and continue to get better.”

“But, you know, we’re going to have those expectations every single year and we want that.”

Sophie Cunningham’s Free Agency Comes With One Clear Message From Fever GM

Apart from that, Cox also touched on Sophie Cunningham’s impending free agency. This season, the Fever guard made more waves online thanks to her off-court activities and comments. When asked whether the outside “stuff” will influence her decision on Cunningham’s future next season, Cox replied with a resounding “No.”

“Sophie has had two really productive years for us, in terms of shooting the basketball. She is a really solid leader in the locker room, a great connector. She brings levity, but also brings a lot of experience. She’s serious and is an important voice in our locker room when we need it,” Cox added.

“She’s an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations. Again, she had a really productive year, and we’ll see just where things take us”.

Cunningham did not speak on Saturday, citing a conflict, and neither did Clark, who had been named ESPN’s “College GameDay” guest picker for Iowa’s home game against Ohio State. Both are expected to be made available at a later date.

Cox closed her session by reading a written statement defending Fever fans against what she described as unfair narratives, a reference to two fan incidents involving the Aces that the Fever said did not violate the WNBA Fan Code of Conduct. White, for her part, said she hopes to return as head coach in 2027 but that the decision is not hers to make.