If there's an award for Most Resilient WNBA team, it might just need to go to the Fever this year. At this point, even someone who has only casually consumed the WNBA this year knows the lore: in terms of injuries alone, Caitlin Clark has missed more games than she's played (more games than she's ever missed in her life). Sophie Cunningham tore her MCL, Syd Colson tore her ACL, and Aari McDonald, who was brought onto the team with much fanfare and who has played her heart out ever since, broke her foot.
But injuries aren't the only problem that has plagued the Fever all season. Veteran DeWanna Bonner, who was signed to the team at the beginning of January 2025 and presumably was meant to lead the mostly young squad toward a legitimate Championship run, stopped playing games in mid-June and fully departed the team in July. Coach Stephanie White has been besieged by doubters and complainers all season, as if navigating such challenges is something that should be easy.
That's a lot of background and build-up to arrive at an important point: the Fever has to win as many games as possible to stay in playoff contention this season, and one of their most formidable opponents is up on the docket: the Minnesota Lynx.
The Minnesota Lynx are unstoppable... right?
At this point, there's more lore to understand: the Lynx have been playing as if they are the best team in the league all season, and it turns out... they have been the best team in the league all season. They entered 2025 on a bit of a revenge tour after coming in second last year to the Liberty, and Cheryl Reeve has deftly guided this year's squad with a skill level that shows why she's a multi-year Coach of the Year recipient.
But lately the Lynx haven't been... completely on fire. That might be because they've already secured their spot in the playoffs, so perhaps there's a small sense that the rest of the team's games aren't quite as crucial as they need to be. But for a team who appeared to forget how to lose for most of 2025, their last two losses have been shocking: the Liberty stomped Minnesota 85-75 on August 19, and the Atlanta Dream beat them 75-73 Thursday night.
In other words: the Lynx could be feeling a little shaky right now, and they're heading into a match against an Indiana Fever that refuses to give up, even when it feels unwise — and the game is hosted at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on a weekend night (fans galore). In other words: the Fever might be able to do something incredible here, if the team can rally the way they did against the Sun earlier this week.
It won't be easy, but nothing about this season has been for the Fever. In fact, it's kind of hard to even pinpoint the last time anything was easy for the Fever outside of drafting Caitlin Clark, so in that way, resiliency is baked into the team itself. All eyes will be on Kelsey Mitchell, especially after Sunday's incredible performance, and