2023 Indiana Fever season
WNBA team season
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The 2023 Indiana Fever season was the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and their first season under new head coach Christie Sides.
| 2023 Indiana Fever season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Christie Sides |
| Arena | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–27 (.325) |
| Place | 6th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did Not Qualify |
The Fever named Sides their new head coach on November 4, 2022. She previously spent two seasons in Indiana as an assistant coach from 2018 to 2019.[1]
The Fever won the 2023 WNBA draft Lottery and were awarded the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history, where the team selected Aliyah Boston.[2]
The Fever started the season slowly going 1–3 in May, with their one win coming against Atlanta. The Fever showed improvement in June, finishing the season 4–7. However, they won four of six games in the middle of the month and took Chicago to overtime. Their improvement did not persist into July however, as the team went 1–9, including an eight-game losing streak that spanned June and July. The team turned their fortunes around in August and finished 5–5. The team did lose five of six games in the middle of the month, but finished the month on a three-game winning streak. The Fever finished September 2–3, with both wins coming against playoff teams. Their .325 winning percentage was the best since 2019 and their thirteen wins were the most since 2019.
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Aliyah Boston |  United States |
South Carolina |
| 1 | 7 | Grace Berger | United States |
Indiana |
| 2 | 13 | Taylor Mikesell | United States |
Ohio State |
| 2 | 17 | LaDazhia Williams | United States |
LSU |
| 3 | 25 | Victaria Saxton | United States |
South Carolina |
Transactions
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| November 4, 2022 | Hired Christie Sides as Head Coach[3] | |
| January 4, 2023 | Waived Florencia Chagas | |
| January 11, 2023 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Emma Cannon, Victoria Vivians, Khayla Pointer, Rennia Davis, and Temi Fagbenle[4] | |
| January 13, 2023 | Traded Danielle Robinson to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Kristy Wallace[5] | |
| January 20, 2023 | Extended General Manager Contract for Lin Dunn and removed her Interim Tag. Promoted Hillary Spears to Assistant GM.[6] | |
| February 1, 2023 | Signed Erica Wheeler to a 2-Year Deal[7] | |
| February 2, 2023 | Signed Maya Caldwell to a 1-Year Deal[8] | |
| Signed Chelsey Perry, Rennia Davis, and Khayla Pointer to Training Camp Contracts[9] | ||
| February 5, 2023 | Signed Victoria Vivians[10] | |
| February 8, 2023 | Signed Emma Cannon to a 1-Year Deal[11] | |
| February 15, 2023 | Signed Bernadett Határ to a Training Camp Contract | |
| March 29, 2023 | Hired Paul Miller as Assistant Coach[12] | |
| April 6, 2023 | Waived Khayla Pointer[13] | |
| April 14, 2023 | Signed Grace Berger, Taylor Mikesell, LaDazhia Williams, and Victaria Saxton to Rookie Scale Contracts | |
| April 17, 2023 | Signed Aliyah Boston to a Rookie Scale Contract | |
| April 23, 2023 | Waived Chelsey Perry[14] | |
| April 26, 2023 | Waived Emily Engstler[15] | |
| May 3, 2023 | Waived Rennia Davis[16] | |
| May 9, 2023 | Waived LaDazhia Williams[17] | |
| May 16, 2023 | Waived Destanni Henderson[18] | |
| May 17, 2023 | Waived Taylor Mikesell[19] | |
| May 18, 2023 | Temporarily suspend the contract of Bernadett Határ due to Overseas Commitments[20] | |
| June 8, 2023 | Waived Bernadett Határ[21] | |
| July 4, 2023 | Traded Queen Egbo to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Amanda Zahui B[22] | |
Roster Changes
Additions
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Subtractions
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Roster
| 2023 Indiana Fever roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth
Schedule
Preseason
| 2023 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
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| 2023 pre-season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| # | Team |
W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 34 | 6 | .850 | – | 18–2 | 19–1 | 15–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | 2 | 16–4 | 15–5 | 17–3 | 7–3 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 27 | 13 | .675 | 7 | 14–6 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 7–3 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Wings | 22 | 18 | .550 | 12 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Atlanta Dream | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 8–12 | 6–4 |
| 6 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 12–8 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – Washington Mystics | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 9–11 | 12–8 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 8 | x – Chicago Sky | 18 | 22 | .450 | 16 | 5–15 | 7–13 | 11–9 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 17 | 23 | .425 | 17 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 10 | e – Indiana Fever | 13 | 27 | .325 | 21 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–8 |
| 11 | e – Seattle Storm | 11 | 29 | .275 | 23 | 8–12 | 4–16 | 7–13 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – Phoenix Mercury | 9 | 31 | .225 | 25 | 2–18 | 8–12 | 1–19 | 1–9 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from postseason contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelsey Mitchell | 40 | 40 | 33.7 | .441 | .398 | .824 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 18.2 |
| NaLyssa Smith | 31 | 28 | 28.5 | .477 | .284 | .677 | 9.2 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 15.5 |
| Aliyah Boston | 40 | 40 | 31.2 | .578 | .400 | .745 | 8.4 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 14.5 |
| Erica Wheeler | 40 | 40 | 26.8 | .398 | .309 | .878 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 9.9 |
| Kristy Wallace | 37 | 9 | 19.7 | .401 | .435 | .750 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
| Emma Cannon | 30 | 3 | 10.5 | .455 | .382 | .909 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 5.8 |
| Victoria Vivians | 38 | 14 | 17.7 | .380 | .287 | .767 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 5.2 |
| Lexie Hull | 30 | 25 | 20.6 | .372 | .217 | .773 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 4.6 |
| Grace Berger | 36 | 0 | 14.6 | .449 | .471 | .840 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.2 |
| Queen Egbo† | 16 | 0 | 8.9 | .400 | .000 | .647 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2.9 |
| Maya Caldwell | 30 | 1 | 10.1 | .292 | .138 | .857 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.9 |
| Amanda Zahui B.≠ | 22 | 0 | 7.3 | .261 | .130 | .750 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Victaria Saxton | 15 | 0 | 3.6 | .333 | .500 | .857 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliyah Boston | Rookie of the Month - May | June 2 | [23] |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 20 | [24] | |
| WNBA All-Star Starter | June 25 | [25] | |
| Rookie of the Month - June | July 5 | [26] | |
| Rookie of the Month - August | September 6 | [27] | |
| WNBA Rookie of the Year | October 2 | [28] | |
| WNBA All-Rookie Team | |||
| Kelsey Mitchell | WNBA All-Star | July 1 | [29] |
| Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 29 | [30] |