The Indiana Fever made a franchise-altering move when they drafted Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, and the following offseason, they reconstructed the roster around their young star. In the annual survey, most WNBA GMs (64 percent) selected the Fever as the team that made the best overall moves over the offseason.
Indiana signed DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sydney Colson in free agency and acquired Sophie Cunningham via trade. The Fever also re-signed Kelsey Michell. They entered the offseason needing wing depth and size down low, addressing both. An added bonus is that Bonner, Howard, and Colson have championship experience.
Clark and the Fever looked like a new team after the Olympic break last season, securing the team's first playoff berth since 2016.
Expectations will be even higher in 2025, individually for Clark and as a team. The majority of GMs said the Lynx will win the 2025 title (60 percent), followed by the Liberty (20 percent). The Fever received 10 percent of the votes, as did the Aces. That in itself shows how much of a jump Indiana made.
Majority of WNBA GMs said Fever had best offseason
GMs also selected the Fever as the team that will be most improved this season (42 percent of the votes). Bonner's decision to sign with Indiana received the majority of the votes for the most surprising move of the offseason (33 percent). Cunningham was one of three players that GMs said were the most underrated acquisitions.
We can't forget about Stephanie White. She received 50 percent of the votes for the new/relocated head coach that will make the biggest impact on their new team. She also received 27 percent of the votes for the coach who is the best manager/motivator.
It was evident that Indiana would be a team to watch after drafting Clark last year, but many people didn't expect the Fever to be as good as they can be this soon. It will likely take Indiana some time to gel together once the regular season starts, but the Fever could be one of the last teams left standing in the playoffs.
Indiana drafted Clark with the vision that she'd lead the organization to multiple titles. It's still early, but the Fever showed this offseason that they're ready to jumpstart that process.