When the Fever assembled a big three of Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Caitlin Clark, their desire to build a championship contender quickly became obvious. A 2025 season that ended with one loss standing between the short-handed Fever and a trip to the finals only added to that feeling.
To get there, Stephanie White wants her team to pick up the pace and become one of the top defenses in the WNBA.
“I think we were like fifth in the league in pace, and we want to be in the top two or three,” White said on day one of training camp. “We want to play faster. We’ll look and see what we have in combinations and what we can do in the quartercourt, but I think more than anything we want to be a bear on the defensive end of the floor. We want to be in the top three in the league in defense, and we want to play with more pace.”
Stephanie White is no stranger to building a top defense
White coached the Connecticut Sun before she came to Indiana for the 2025 season. In 2024, the Sun boasted the best defensive rating in the league. Personnel factored into it, of course. That Sun team featured Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Ty Harris, DiJonai Carrington, and Veronica Burton.
This season’s Fever squad has a bunch of good defenders on it as well. Aliyah Boston finished last season with a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team and then went on to be named Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year. Lexie Hull is a strong defender on the wing, and the Fever signed Ty Harris in free agency. Monique Billings is also a good defender in the post. Raven Johnson, the Fever’s first-round pick, was just named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in her final season with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Getting Caitlin Clark back will help with the team’s pace
After playing only 13 games in her second WNBA season, Caitlin Clark is healthy and ready for a full season with the Fever. That will help the Fever play faster. Clark can push the ball and find her teammates in transition. Pairing that with bigs like Boston and Billings, who run the floor very well, should lead to some easy fastbreak points for the Fever.
Kelsey Mitchell can also create a fast pace in the halfcourt because of how quick she is with the ball in her hands.
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