At this point, the Indiana Fever have no option but to make supernatural theories. Fans dubbed it the “birthday curse”: Sydney Colson tore her ACL the day after her birthday, and Sophie Cunningham suffered an MCL tear the very next day after hers. The fans tried to find some order in their misery. “We still have a couple more birthdays on our team,” Cunningham said, “and everyone’s like, ‘Do they play or do they not play?’ That’s a real question.”

Two of the dependable fit players, Natasha Howard and Lexie Hull, have their birthdays coming up. Mark the dates, September 2, when they face the Phoenix Mercury, and September 13, when they will hopefully be playing a playoff game. When it comes to Cunningham, she is actually relieved that this curse did not strike as hard on her as it could have. “If you’re going to hurt your knee, that is like the best possible case.” 

However, it still puts a dent in her plans as she is out for the rest of the season. Even with this setback, the Fever superstar has her offseason plans already set, which include a quick injury recovery. Cunningham said on her podcast ‘Show Me Something’, “I was thinking about like the beach and yachts and boats and me having a great offseason now this thing. But actually, it’s only going to take 4 months. So, like this is a quick, quick little recovery and then I’ll be on a boat ASAP.”

Cunningham also confirmed that she will have surgery this Friday and will start her physiotherapy after. “But again, out of all things, it could have been way worse. So, like I’m taking this as a dub.” She reiterated. A brace will likely be needed for Cunningham in the initial stages, so her boat plans will have to wait until it’s completely recovered. She even showed off her current ‘hardware’ in the podcast while saying, “It’s a nice ACL kind of looking brace even though it’s my MCL.”

In a few weeks, the brace will be out, and Cunningham will be off for her vacation. The Fever guard owns a boat, which she loves to go on.  “Music just feels different when you’re on a boat at the lake with all your friends and family.” She wrote in 2019 and even set the internet on fire with a bikini pic from her boat last year. Along with the vacation, she is also planning to unleash her fury on the referees and the league. Cunningham earns enough from the WNBA, her podcast deal, and her other brand deals to not have to play in international leagues in the offseason. While Cunningham’s season is over, she will be keenly following how the Fever’s rest of the season turns out. Their current situation means the franchise is stalled when it comes to their long-term development. 

Is This a Wasted Season for the Indiana Fever?

The Indiana Fever wanted a championship, and fair enough to say they are not getting it. Injuries have ravaged their well-built squad like no other. Their prized jewel, Caitlin Clark, has been a part of that flood, being limited to just 13 games this season with multiple soft tissue injuries. Their development was supposed to be over in 2024 after they reached the playoffs after 8 years. 

However, it seems they will have the same first-round playoff finish as last year. And they had a better team to do the same. The Fever brought in Stephanie White to replace Christie Sides. “While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana.” Kelly Krauskopf, Fever President of Basketball Operations, had said at the time. 

Injuries have clipped their ceiling, and with the slate ahead, three dates with the league-leading Lynx and an average opponent win rate of .593, they’re staring at another .500 finish. On top of that, with Clark playing only limited games, even her development has stopped. Now she will have to start from a couple of steps back to return to her 2024 self. “It’s day-to-day right now, we’re putting no timetable on it,” Fever coach Stephanie White said earlier this month. While she could still return this season, will she be at her best immediately? Maybe not.

To add to that, they don’t carry the development with this group to next season. With the CBA expiring in October, the 2026 offseason will be a free agent frenzy. Many of their current group may not be with them, and they will have to start again with a new group. So, this season, even with the troubles, they would at least want to make a deep postseason run, if not for the title. Currently, the Fever are very volatile, as evidenced by their Connecticut win, and no team will want to face them.