The Indiana Fever have championship expectations this season. Caitlin Clark has already made that explicitly known.
Battling for a title will be a big step up for the Fever after a 20–20 finish last season. After all, Clark is only a 23-year-old entering her second year as a professional. However, Indiana made significant changes in the offseason to justify the lofty expectations.
The team brought in a new coaching staff led by 2023 Coach of the Year Stephanie White and added veterans DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, and Brianna Turner to complement its young core.
“The main thing we were lacking last year was experience. Adding really great vets like [Bonner] and Syd [Colson] and Tash [Howard] and putting that experience around us of not just being in this league but also winning. They have the championship pedigree,” Clark said at a press conference Thursday.
Due to the changes, the Fever have the second-best odds to win the WNBA title behind the defending champion New York Liberty, according to ESPN Bet. DraftKings has Indiana tied for second with the Las Vegas Aces, winners of the previous two championships, while FanDuel has them in third behind the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, the 2025 runners-up.
Good for the WNBA
A competitive Fever team could result in consecutive record-setting seasons for the WNBA’s ratings. Last year, the league averaged a record 1.2 million viewers on ESPN during the regular season, while Ion averaged 670,000 viewers, a 133% increase from the previous year.
More than two-thirds of the league’s telecasts last season that averaged at least one million viewers involved the Fever—and that’s despite the team’s 2–9 start to the regular season.
It took just one preseason game this year to show there is no Clark fatigue. The Fever’s game against the Brazil women’s national team last week drew 1.3 million viewers on ESPN, the first time the network aired a WNBA preseason game. It was Clark’s first organized game in more than seven months.
Indiana will have a league-high 41 of 44 games televised or streamed nationally this season after 36 of 40 games last year. (The WNBA added four games to its regular-season schedule after the Golden State Valkyries were added as the 13th expansion team.)
A deep playoff run for the Fever could also break postseason viewership records for the WNBA. Indiana’s two-game series last year averaged 2.2 million viewers—more than four of the five WNBA Finals games. While the league is experiencing unprecedented growth for games without Clark—the 2024 WNBA Finals were the most watched since 2000—it’s clear her presence is a multiplier. The 2025 WNBA Finals will also be the first seven-game series in league history—which opens the door to even more playoff games if the Fever make it all the way.
Fortunately for the league, Clark is embracing the added expectations.
“We understand the spotlight, we understand people expect this team to win, and that’s exactly what we want to do for our fans and for this organization. But I think, me personally, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Clark said.
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