This is about what it feels like when you\u2019re down on the court, watching players warm up and realizing just how much taller Aliyah Boston is than you. (Over a foot, for the curious, and when you\u2019re standing down there, it\u2019s immediately obvious how she\u2019s able to do what she does on the court each week.)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also about tweens hanging their t-shirts, their posters, their shoes\u2014anything, really, whatever they can get their hands on\u2014over a railing, hoping against hope that Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham or Kelsey Mitchell will see them, smile, sign something and say hi. And it\u2019s also about the resiliency of a team that keeps achieving when everything and everyone is sure they\u2019ll give up.<\/p>\n
Limited to 13 games, Caitlin Clark signed unlimited autographs. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot to say about the WNBA right now. As we march toward what will inevitably be a thrilling Finals match no matter which two teams are playing, it would be irresponsible to ignore the heavier side of things. There\u2019s the looming CBA negotiations, which could derail two expansion drafts, free agency and even the 2026 WNBA Draft. Then, we had Cheryl Reeve\u2019s outburst and ejection from the Minnesota Lynx\u2019s Game 3 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, which could result in a league-wide ultimatum on acceptable coach conduct. There also are necessary conversations surrounding officiating and injuries. All of this matters, and hopefully, all of it will be dealt with in the months to come.<\/p>\n But right now, we\u2019re just going to talk about the Fever.<\/p>\n Nearly every team was touched by injury and misfortune this season. But, the Fever have been the team I followed the most closely, the team I spent the most time around and the team that I\u2019m writing about. If you weren\u2019t there, it\u2019s tough to describe just how confident and excited the team was while speaking to the media at the end of April: You could feel that this was their year.<\/p>\n Sure, the Fever had a lot of new faces and people who were still getting used to seeing themselves in blue and red, but everyone was fully locked in and on board. The team\u2019s practice gym was brimming with the kind of energy you have when you just know something good is coming.<\/p>\n That feeling was partly due to the roster the franchise\u2019s front office put together. As Clark mused to reporters in late April, in a statement that would prove nearly prophetic as the season wore on, \u201cHow lucky are we to have such a good roster and so many people who wanted to be a part of something bigger than themselves?\u201d Adding, \u201cThey saw something in this team, in this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n The team, she noted didn\u2019t have a lot of time to work together before their first preseason game, so would be doing \u201ca lot of learning on the fly.\u201d \u201cBut best thing you can do is just go out there and play with your teammates,\u201d Clark concluded. \u201cIt\u2019s the best way to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fever were set to do exactly that, and then came news in early May that Clark had injured her left quadriceps. What initially seemed like the most unlikely, unfathomable Fever update imaginable soon turned into a grueling reality that resulted in Clark missing the vast majority of the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Soon after Clark was sidelined, Cunningham suffered an ankle injury and the team was forced to bring in a relief player. Aari McDonald turned out to be the fuel the Fever\u2019s engine needed to keep running, and she was eventually upgraded to a rest-of-season contract after it became apparent Clark\u2019s subsequent groin injuries would keep her out of the game for a significant amount of time.<\/p>\n![\"Limited](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-2237635065.jpg\"\/)
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