A huge controversy stirred when NaLyssa Smith and her girlfriend, DiJonai Carrington, laughed when the latter was asked if she had purposefully poked Caitlin Clark in the eye during Game 1 of the playoffs. This one incident was enough to tell that Smith’s loyalty does not lie with the Indiana Fever. She further removed Indiana’s name from her social media bio which for many showed that she was no longer interested in being a part of the team. And now, an Indiana insider has come to the fore to reveal the real story.

On Monday, Indiana Fever writer Scott Agness shared his take on the Smith’s controversy and if she would be returning the next season to play for the Fever.

“There were certainly seemingly some (on issues)… You know NaLyssa Smith was not happy about her role. I was curious how Kristy Wallace accepted her role, right? That just gotta be difficult from a human standpoint. You know, from starting to not even in the rotation, but specific examples, nothing outside really of NaLyssa Smith. I know she was terribly unhappy about how this season went for her. So yes, I have mentioned it above, I would be surprised if she is brought back no doubt,” Agness stated.

Smith was drafted as the second overall pick in the 2022 season. During Marianne Stanley’s reign, she was a mainstay for the Fever and when the HC was replaced by Carlos Knox, Smith remained to be at the center of things for the Fever, having started in all 32 games. Then when Christie Sides was appointed as the head coach in 2023, the Texas-born still started in 28 out of the 31 games she played. However, coming into this season, she had to face challenges.

In this season though she played 40 games, she was only on the court for an average of 24.8 minutes per game which impacted her scoring. During the recently concluded 2024 season, Smith could only hit 10.6 points per game which clearly proved that Indiana did not want to include her in their core players group. So when the franchise shared a picture of her achievements, Smith reshared the video, captioning it: “not too bad 4 a scrub.” Going by the series of events, Agness opines that she might not return to the Fever.

Can a head coach change mean better things for NaLyssa Smith?

The Indiana Fever are already at a crossroads. They have fired Sides and revealed that they would want to go for the title. And surely they should. Right now they have Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, 2 number-one picks from the previous years 2023 and 2024. Therefore, this is the best time for them to get their second title. However, despite Sides helping the team better their display this season, she was fired.

Now it remains to be seen who will be hired as the head coach and if Smith will reprise her 2022 role. The two main names in the media are of Stephanie White and Cheryl Miller, both of whom share a good bond with Clark. While White has time and again praised Clark, Miller coached her during the WNBA All-Star Game.

But if Agness is to be believed then Smith might not wait for that long. Instead, drop out of the franchise as Carrington also used the hashtag Freeher in a social media post that many feel was a request to the Fever to let Smith go. Though it remains to be seen what the Fever will do, fans expect Smith to soon come forward and reveal the next steps of her career.