The Indiana Fever and Dallas Wings may have followed remarkably similar paths over the last few years, but their timelines are starting to look very different. With Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers leading two young franchises toward what could become the next WNBA dynasty, both teams have built around back-to-back No. 1 picks, giving themselves the kind of foundation that could eventually turn into something much bigger. Yet according to The Athletic reporter Sabreena Merchant, one of them is already much closer to that future.
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“Indiana and Dallas to me kind of live in the same bucket, where they had the back-to-back number one picks, and they’re building around those two,” Merchant said on the latest episode of No Offseason. “Obviously, Indiana is two years ahead of Dallas in that timetable, which might make it easier to form a dynasty (or) might make it a little bit harder because now they have to pay everybody. But I think those two teams have the potential if they keep the band together. Like Kelsey Mitchell’s obviously a free agent this upcoming offseason.”
“Dallas, I don’t think they have a championship-ready team this year. I just don’t think defensively they’re quite good enough; now they’re dealing with these injuries to Jessica Shepard and Azzi Fudd. But I would say I’m a lot more confident in Indiana being title-ready now than I am in Dallas; but like three years from now, I think Paige, Azzi, the core there will be ready to do that,” she added.
The Fever selected Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark with back-to-back No. 1 picks in 2023 and 2024, while Dallas followed with Paige Bueckers in 2025 and Azzi Fudd in 2026. On paper, neither of them looks far removed from the other. But that two-year gap Merchant pointed out could be exactly what separates a promising young core from a championship-caliber one.
Indiana has already shown it can remain dangerous even without Clark. Last season, the Fever reached the playoffs despite losing their now-24-year-old superstar to injury. So a healthy Clark, Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell have only made them more threatening this year.
The Fever currently sit at 22–12, fourth in the WNBA standings, while their 96.3 points per game leads the league. Mitchell has emerged as the team’s primary scoring engine at 24.3 points per game, the second-highest mark in the WNBA behind Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson. Boston is averaging more than 16 points and leads Indiana with 8.5 rebounds per game.
Then there is Caitlin Clark, who continues to run the offense with a league-high 8.3 assists per game while also contributing 21.9 points a night, third in scoring. Behind this ‘three-headed monster,’ Indiana has already started looking like a team built for the postseason.
Dallas, meanwhile, has Paige Bueckers looking every bit like the franchise cornerstone they hoped she would be. She is averaging 20.5 points per game, but the Wings still have work to do before they can be considered a genuine championship threat.
With their rookie star Azzi Fudd temporarily sidelined by a right knee injury, Dallas has yet to see its two prized young pieces fully develop their chemistry on the court. And that matters when the team’s long-term hopes are being built around both players.
That may be the biggest difference between these two teams right now. Dallas has the young stars to build something special, but Indiana already has the pieces, experience, and production to make that next step. If both cores stay together, the Wings could eventually catch up, but for now, the Fever have a clear head start in the race toward the next WNBA dynasty.