UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Indiana Fever started their season short against the Connecticut Sun. In the aftermath of the May opening night loss, they recognized that their young roster — even though led by a phenom at point guard and the reigning Rookie of the Year at the post — still had some learning to do when it came to winning in the WNBA.

After four years of playing a specific style at Iowa, Caitlin Clark had to figure out how to use a new offensive system. Everyone else had to learn how to play her: Aliyah Boston would have to make decisions from the short throw, Kelsey Mitchell would have less of the ball in her hands. All Fever players should flee. A lot of.

After a 2-9 start, Indiana made rapid progress on those fronts. The Fever won seven more games than last season, breaking a seven-year playoff drought. They finished in the top half of the standings and were a trendy pick to upset Connecticut in the first round, or at least win a game against the Sun.

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Instead, Indiana once again left Connecticut, acutely aware of the gap between itself and the league’s top tier, after being swept in two games. Four months after her welcome-to-the-WNBA moment, Clark and her teammates got another lesson in postseason execution, one that they will have to sit with this offseason as they continue to rebuild their franchise.

“When you look at a rebuilding year, obviously everyone wants to jump to the championships and take home the ring and everything,” Boston said. “But I think when you look at basketball as a whole and when you look at where you start to where you are now, it’s about stepping stones.”

The most crucial part of the Fever’s rebuild is over: they’ve assembled their star talent. What comes next?

When Lin Dunn returned to Indiana as interim general manager in 2022, she set a three-year timeline for the Fever to return to the postseason. Coach Christie Sides thought it would last another season when she enrolled in 2023, but drafting Boston and Clark kept Dunn’s plan in motion. The Fever reached the play-offs in her third season at the helm, and now they move on to the next stage.

That means playing for championships, Dunn said.

The 2024 season proved that Clark and Boston can be foundational players on a title team, but their internal improvement will be critical to Indiana’s progress.

Clark grew stronger as the year went on, making her a more effective shooter and driver. However, she was still too reliant on her three-point shot against better defenses. Of her 40 shot attempts against Connecticut, 25 came from beyond the arc, despite limited success (20 percent). She struggled similarly in a two-match set against the Aces earlier this month, shooting 3 of 18. Clark must diversify her shot diet to maintain her efficiency when competition increases.

Defense should also become more of a focus for Clark. She had multiple fouls against Marina Mabrey in Game 1, and the Fever again spoke of miscues during the elimination game. Perhaps better fitness and more time off before the 2025 season will allow Clark to play harder on both ends, given how the Olympic break has boosted her performance in the second half of 2024. But she must influence the game as a two-way street. player for Indiana to take the next step forward.

Although ESPN reported that Clark had no plans to play overseas, she said she has not yet made that decision. She plans to take a few weeks off before resuming basketball activities, jokingly committing to playing a lot of golf in the near future. At this time, Clark is not affiliated with any non-WNBA leagues, including the new upcoming three-on-three league Unrivaled. Dunn said she would like to see Clark play a few more five-on-fives before her second WNBA season.

What a rookie season for Caitlin Clark 👏

🏀WNBA All Star 2024
🏀 2024 WNBA assists leader
🏀 Led Indiana to their first playoff appearance in 8 years
🏀 19.2 PPG
🏀8.4APG
🏀 5.7 RPG pic.twitter.com/921IzxXnyD

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 26, 2024

With their abundance of young talent, Sides said Indiana has everything it needs to reach the next level. The first-round exit revealed some gaps in the squad composition – chief among them experience.

“We met an experienced team in their home arena that had tremendous playoff experience, but we didn’t,” Dunn said. “So now we’ve had a few, and let’s see how we respond to them. You can’t talk about it, you just have to experience it. And it sends another message that as we move forward in free agency, we need some veterans who have played for championships.

When the Seattle Storm won two titles after drafting Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd at the top in consecutive years, they had Sue Bird – already a two-time champion – in charge. The Aces had three No. 1 picks between 2017 and 2019, but Las Vegas still needed the experienced hands of Chelsea Gray and then Candace Parker to get over the hump.

The Fever don’t necessarily require a starting point guard with Clark around, but a veteran who can take some pressure off Clark in the second unit and play next to her at times to push her off the ball would be a smart addition . Perhaps Courtney Vandersloot, who is currently marginalized in New York while the Liberty plays in larger lineups, would want to spend some of the twilight years of her career in Indiana. Vandersloot, who won the 2021 championship with the Sky, is the consummate floor general who could help Clark grow as a point guard and mentor the other Fever youngsters.

If Indiana wants to go all-in offensively, Kelsey Plum is a rising free agent, which would bring together three of the top four scorers in women’s basketball history. That lineup would likely be too small and flammable defensively, but the Fever should dream big this season now that they’ve established a proof of concept.

Indiana also needs to solve its frontcourt dilemma. Despite starting the season touting the Boston pairing with fellow lottery pick NaLyssa Smith, Smith was benched in the biggest games of the year, even dropping out of the starting lineup in Game 2. The Fever favored it recommend to place a large gap. to Boston, whether it was Damiris Dantas or Temi Fagbenle, and Connecticut coach Stephanie White quickly brought up the challenges of defending Indiana when it played a lineup with five players who could spread the floor.

The Fever likely won’t be able to protect all of their regular starters (Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Smith and Boston) plus Fagbenle and Dantas in the upcoming expansion draft, meaning a turning point is coming soon. If Indiana doesn’t think it can maximize Smith’s skillset while building a team around the All-Star trio of Clark, Mitchell and Boston, now is the time to move on, especially with her rookie contract still a tradable asset is.

It is not certain that NaLyssa Smith’s future lies in Indiana. (Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today Sports via Imagn Images)

The organization recognizes that it is imperative to take advantage of these opportunities, even though Clark and Boston likely have many great years ahead of them. The Fever just hired former general manager Kelly Krauskopf to return to Indiana as president of basketball and business operations. Dunn emphasized the need for “great leadership” at this unprecedented moment for the WNBA, especially with a new media rights deal and a potential new CBA on the horizon. The front office needed more support to realize the next step of the rebuild, and that help is on the way.

To compete for titles, Indiana must act like a player from the top down. Learning how to execute in the final two minutes of an elimination game is one piece of the puzzle, but being a franchise that invests in everything is another crucial element in the ever-escalating WNBA arms race.

The Fever’s 2024 season should be categorized as a success considering the gains they have made in their business and on the field. Indiana is a feared opponent for the first time in nearly a decade, and its stars feel like they are just scratching the surface of what they can become.

“It was special,” Clark said. “There are a lot of things that this group accomplished that a lot of people probably didn’t think were possible: one, to start the season, and two, after the start, we had to start the season. … It’s a good taste of what’s possible for this organization and for this franchise, and there’s a lot we can hold our heads high about.”

The honeymoon phase won’t last forever. The timeline continues. Next year, the Fever want to be at this point where the sun is and protect their home court instead of lamenting about ending their season on the road and winning a playoff series for the first time in ten seasons. Everything is on the line for Indiana, but the real work begins now.

(Photo of Aliyah Boston, left, and Caitlin Clark: Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)