The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the 2000 WNBA season. The team is owned by Herb Simon, the founder of Simon Property Group.
The Fever have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in 14 of its 25 seasons in Indiana. In 2009, the Fever reached the WNBA Finals but fell short to the Phoenix Mercury in game 5. In 2012, the Fever won the WNBA Finals with a 3–1 series victory over the Minnesota Lynx. Tamika Catchings was named the 2012 Finals MVP. In 2015, the Fever again reached the WNBA Finals but fell short to Minnesota in game 5.
Some of the players who have helped define the history of the Fever include Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas, Briann January, Natalie Williams, Yolanda Griffith, Shavonte Zellous, Tully Bevilaqua, Tammy Sutton-Brown, Natasha Howard, Candice Dupree, Cappie Pondexter, Erica Wheeler, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and DeWanna Bonner.
The Indiana Fever team began in 2000 following a June 7, 1999, WNBA announcement of four locations, including Indiana, for expansion teams when the state was granted an expansion franchise to coincide with the opening of Gainbridge Fieldhouse (then Conseco Fieldhouse). Notably, the Fever’s launch campaign was accompanied with the slogan “In 49 states it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana,” which has become a popular catchphrase regarding the sport’s popularity in the state.
In their first two seasons, they were coached by women’s basketball legends Anne Donovan and Nell Fortner. Led by center Kara Wolters, in their inaugural campaign the team posted a record of 9–23.
The Fever drafted University of Tennessee star Tamika Catchings in the 2001 WNBA Draft. The Fever went into the year with high expectations of a playoff berth, but Catchings tore her ACL during a college game and missed the entire WNBA season. The Fever posted a 10–22 record in 2001.
After missing the entire 2001 season, the 2002 season proved to be the breakout season for Tamika Catchings and the Fever. Catchings came out strong and became one of the most versatile players in the WNBA, easily winning Rookie of the Year honors as well as making the WNBA All-Star team. Her team competed well all year and posted a respectable 16–16 record, tying for the final playoff spot with the Orlando Miracle. Indiana won the tiebreaker and earned their first playoff appearance in franchise history. They drew the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Liberty; with the Fever losing two games to one.
The 2002–2003 offseason brought a lot of change for the Fever. The team added Olympian Natalie Williams and Charlotte Sting star Kelly Miller before the 2003 season. During the offseason the original coach and GM Nell Fortner resigned. Kelly Krauskopf replaced Fortner as GM and immediately hired Brian Winters to be the head coach. On May 29, 2003, the Fever registered their first sellout of 18,345 and defeated the Washington Mystics on national television. The team did better under the new coaching, but missed the playoffs, posting a 16–18 record.
The 2004 campaign was very similar to 2003’s. The Fever finished with a 15–19 record. They missed the playoffs by one game in the Eastern Conference.
United States
