The Indiana Fever had a season to remember, finishing with a 20–20 record and making to the playoffs, breaking a seven-year drought. No doubt, their incredible trio of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston was at the forefront. Despite this impressive turnaround, head coach Stephanie White knows something crucial is missing in the roster for the Fever to achieve greatness truly. 

When asked what priorities she has to get back to that exact stage that the team was at in 2012, she emphasized that “there’s never a substitute for experience.” She pointed out that while the young roster gained valuable insights this season, the lack of playoff experience is a glaring gap, something the team could focus on bringing in this off-season. 

“Having playoff experience is so important. You just never know what you don’t know,” she added, highlighting how important it is for players to learn from the postseason grind. Together with president Kelly Krauskopf, both look forward to building a stronger roster. 

And guess what? They’ve already started planning. “Amber, Kelly, and I are just talking about players and evaluations before we came out here, and building quality depth is going to be important,” the new HC shared at the introductory press conference. 

It’s their first big challenge since stepping into their roles. The core trio—Clark, Mitchel, and Boston—has shown promise. CC has been lighting it up with an average of 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, quickly establishing herself and even standing fourth in the MVP voting.

At the same time, Kelsey Mitchell contributed 19.2 points and 2.5 rebounds. 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston averaged 14 points and 8.9 rebounds while also anchoring the defense. White did not miss to acknowledge the contribution of the trio and also indicated that they intend to build the team keeping it as the centerpiece.

“When you have a core three like we have, you know, surrounding them with players who are going to, you know, fill the roles certainly first and foremost who are going to embrace the roles, you know. Secondly, and who give us the best opportunities for success by complimenting what they do really really well. We have seen in this League’s history,you know, how difficult it is to win a championship. The margin for error is small, the margin for error is small when you’re building teams,” White said. So for shaping the team, she has a point which Krauskopf may take note of.

“It’s not about always just getting the best players, it’s about getting the best compliment of players who fit well together, who play well with one another, who work to bring the best out in one another you know,” White pointed out. For the unversed, the Indiana Fever had the least playoff experience among the teams that made it to the playoffs. Can you imagine how little it was?

While entering the playoff, the Las Vegas Aces had the maximum number of experience with 273 playoff games among their veterans. Whereas the Fever had only 19 on the resume! In fact, Fever general manager Lin Dunn had said before the game 2 of playoff, “I didn’t even know we had 19!” And it showed during their playoff opener against the Connecticut Sun, who with an experience of 222 playoff games were the second most behind the Aces.

In a lackluster 93-69 loss to open the playoff, Indiana’s young team panicked at pivotal moments, causing a two-possession deficit to lead to a blowout. Connecticut was more physical, sharp and locked in to the game plan. “We met a veteran team in their home arena that had enormous playoff experience, and we didn’t. And so now we’ve had some [experience] and let’s see how we respond to that. There’s no way you can talk about what it’s like. You just have to experience it,” Dunn had said after game 1.

4 of the 5 Fever starters have fewer than three years of WNBA experience. They all made deep March Madness runs in college, but came into the first-round series without any combined games of WNBA playoff experience, not even seven-year veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell. Caitlin Clark, who came off back-to-back Final Fours, was spot on when she said that the intensity, pressure and win-or-go-home situation are similar to college, but still different as a rookie at the pro level.

“It’s a learning process for me, too. Obviously, this is my first playoff. It’s a lot of us on this team’s first playoff. We’re all kind of going through it at the same point and learning. You don’t always know what to expect, because a lot of us have never been here,” Clark was straight-faced.

Every other team in the playoff usually had more than one veteran who has reached the Finals or won championships. DeWanna Bonner, who guarded Clark for the first time in Game 1, has two titles in her kitty from her tme with the Phoenix. Interestingly, back then, White had said the same thing about the playoff as she said in the introductory press conference. “[It’s] knowing what to expect from the environment [and] understanding that the margin for error is so much smaller,” White, who was the then-Sun head coach, had said. Alyssa Thomas echoed that.

Thomas recalled coming into her first playoff in 2017 as part of a young Sun group back when it was single elimination. She had no idea about what it took to come in ready to play and live through the ups and downs of a playoff environment. According to her, no one can explain it. It’s a higher level of competition one has to go through to have an understanding. On that occasion, the more experienced Mercury knocked them out two years in a row despite the Sun being the higher seed.

“We hadn’t been there and they had. It showed, but we also remembered that feeling and just kept building up,” Thomas had said. Damiris Dantas on Fever’s roster might be one instance of what experience looks like. Dantas, in the Fever squad, was the most playoff experienced player with eight game with the Lynx. While Dantas hasn’t won a WNBA championship, she has seen firsthand what it takes to work through a playoff series. So during her 23 minutes on the court during the playoff opener, , she was not nervous. And that had its results.

She happened to be the most efficient player on the court. She shot 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, for 12 points. As the importance of experience comes out to be paramount, the Fever President also found the same quality in White while choosing her for the role of the head coach.

“For me it was really about bringing a proven leader, somebody who has great experience in tough moments, great experience in playoff moments, in high pressure situations, you know. I watched her as a player, I watched her as a coach, she knows how to take those moments and never get too high never get too low, just a a high basketball intellect. The way that she communicates with her players is very impressive,” Kelly Krauskopf said of White. To add to that, White has seen this particular Fever squad, then led by Christie Sides, play six times this season. So she has a fair idea where there is room for improvement. White did not hold back from pointing that.

“I think offensively, we can be more creative. I think we can utilize more versatility, utilize certain players in different ways. You know, I’m a forward-thinking, outside-the-box kind of coach. I like to challenge them on a number of levels. They’re a high IQ team, so also giving them the freedom to make plays. If you wanna make plays you don’t run plays… Everyone knows at the end of the day, players win ballgames,” White said.

So, how can the Fever add some much-needed experience to their lineup? Well, these 2 key additions could be game-changers for Indiana. 

Two key additions that could lift Stephanie White and Co.

Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally could provide the playoff experience and skill the team needs. First up, Natasha Howard has been a powerhouse in the league for a decade, winning three WNBA championships. In 2024, she averaged 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.3 steals over 27 games with the Dallas Wings. Along with scoring, she brings a defensive intensity that the Fever could greatly benefit from. Having led the Seattle Storm to a championship with timely steals and blocks, she knows the clutch plays very well. 

Then we have Satou Sabally, another gem from the Dallas Wings. She averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in the 2024 season. Her versatility as a forward is what makes her a dual threat. Back in 2023, she hit a career-high 40 points in a game that clinched a playoff berth for the Wings.

Bringing her on board would add another offense powerhouse, especially with CC dishing out assists. Although fans say that her chances are less than those of Howard, we never know. Experience may be the missing puzzle piece, but they’ll be unstoppable on the court once they find it.