Indiana Fever enter offseason with free-agency and fan-conduct questions
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The Indiana Fever lost Game 3 to the Las Vegas Aces 94-83, exiting the WNBA playoffs' first round.
The offseason now centers on Kelsey Mitchell's free agency and the team's fan-conduct reputation.
Background
The Indiana Fever are a WNBA team whose 2026 season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces. Kelsey Mitchell, a Fever star guard drafted second overall in 2018, averaged a career-best 24.7 points per game and set a WNBA record for most points in a season (1,086) in 2026, and is now entering unrestricted free agency. The Athletic reported it spoke to players, league executives and nearly a dozen agents representing more than 60 league athletes about the perception of the Fever experience, after Mitchell said being herself "hasn't always been easy" in the organization.
How it unfolded
- Oct 1, 2026The Fever were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, losing Game 3 to the Las Vegas Aces 94-83 at Michelob ULTRA Arena; Caitlin Clark shot 6-of-18 for 18 points.
- Oct 3, 2026General manager Amber Cox held a postseason news conference defending Fever followers, saying the "attacks on our fanbase have no basis in reality."
- Oct 13, 2026Myisha Hines-Allen posted an Instagram story showing a moving truck with the caption "On to the next…"
- Oct 16, 2026The WNBA All-Defensive Teams were announced with no Indiana Fever player included.
- Oct 20, 2026Caitlin Clark vowed to be more involved with the Fever's recruitment this offseason, with regular conversations with GM Amber Cox.
- Oct 22, 2026Aliyah Boston revealed on her Instagram story she had begun rehabilitation one week after arthroscopic knee surgery performed by Dr. Corey Kendall in Indianapolis.
- Oct 23, 2026The Athletic reported the Fever said they investigated six complaints about people in or near courtside seats at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and none necessitated fan removal.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- GM Amber Cox said the "attacks on our fanbase have no basis in reality," later clarifying she meant in-arena incidents that revealed no code of conduct violations.
- Caution
- Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said there is "a lot more outside noise when it comes to playing in Indiana versus other teams."
- Official
- The Fever said complaints of this sort are among their highest priorities and that the problem is "more pervasive than what gets reported to us."
- Public
- Kelsey Mitchell said she plans to be "selfish" in free agency and that "showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard."
Still unverified
Myisha Hines-Allen has not confirmed a departure; her October 13 Instagram post fueled speculation about her future with the franchise. The WNBA did not respond to a request to confirm it was aware of racist messages one agent said they forwarded to the league.