Look up “team on the rise” in the dictionary, and you’re likely to see the logo of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. Propelled by rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, the Fever took the league by storm last year, improving from a 13-27 record in 2023 to a 20-20 mark and a playoff appearance in 2024. With Clark now entering her second season, there’s no telling how good Indiana can be this year.
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It makes sense that Clark gets all the headlines when it comes to the Fever, because she’s the player most responsible for the boom in ratings and the overall increase in excitement for women’s basketball. From her days as an Iowa Hawkeye to her first season as a pro, Clark has lived up to the hype and then some. She’s not alone in trying to deliver Indiana its first WNBA title since 2012, though, as her fellow Rookie of the Year winner Aliyah Boston is also critical to the Fever’s chances.
The Fever have a new Head Coach this upcoming season in former Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White, and a new Player Development Coach in Keith Porter, who also served on White’s staff with the Sun. Porter appeared this week on Courtside Club with Rachel DeMita to talk about his new team, including what it’s like to work with Clark and how he envisions the Fever being able to build on last season. He also spoke about the immediate chemistry he had with Boston and how he’s working to get her comfortable with the fast-paced style Coach White wants to play.
“Having Aliyah being able to rebound it, outlet quick, and then bust it down the floor, being a great rim-runner is a great skill to have. You can get like 6-10 points a game off that… Just working on that, getting her comfortable running, but then also having her legs like you know, get hit in the pocket, hit that little midrange jumper, or like that little, I call it a touch shot, like that ‘Joker floater’ in the paint. So yeah, mobility and being able to get up and down the floor and keep up with our guards is going to be super big for next season.”
Caitlin Clark gets the attention, but Aliyah Boston’s continued development is just as vital to Indiana’s championship hopes
When speaking to Porter, DeMita referred to a video of Boston’s offseason workout that the Fever released in late December. DeMita actually broke that video down a couple of weeks before speaking to Porter, and in her breakdown she noted not only how great the chemistry between Boston and Porter seemed to be but also how impressed she was with Boston’s vast array of moves.
Boston seemed to have the floater down with both hands, and she looked good from the three-point line all the way down to the low post, where she showed off her newfound quickness with everything from spin moves to up-and-unders.
There’s just under four months until the WNBA season kicks off, but it’s clear that the Fever are making a push to climb even higher in the WNBA hierarchy. Fans who can’t wait to see Boston and some of the game’s other biggest stars play can check out the new Unrivaled 3-on-3 league that just had its first games this past weekend.
