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The Indiana Fever reached the WNBA semifinals despite injuries and a depleted roster.
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The Las Vegas Aces swept the WNBA Finals, winning their third championship in four years.
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Fans are saying the same thing about the Fever-Aces series.
The Indiana Fever made it back-to-back trips to the WNBA playoffs this season following a seven-year stretch of postseason-less basketball. This is despite the fact that Caitlin Clark played only 13 games in 2025 due to multiple injuries. The Fever, who also defeated the Minnesota Lynx for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup title without Clark in July, finished the regular season with a 24-20 record. This represented their best finish in a WNBA season since 2015.
Despite dealing with no less than five season-ending injuries on their roster, the Fever still managed to beat the Atlanta Dream in the first round of the playoffs. Indiana, however, lost out in the semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces after a hard-fought series.
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Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White speaks during a press conference. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The Fever pushed the Aces all the way to a do-or-die Game 5, which ultimately resulted in A’ja Wilson and Co. securing a series-clinching win, 107-98, to book their spot in the WNBA Finals.
On Friday, Wilson went off for 31 points to lead Las Vegas to a 97-86 victory over the Phoenix Mercury, clinching the series 4-0. The Mercury offered little resistance to the Aces, who have now won their third championship in the last four years.
Following the lopsided result, fans on social media could not help but bring up the Fever series. Indiana suddenly began trending online after supporters claimed the Fever-Aces semifinal was the real WNBA Finals this season.
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“That Aces/Fever series was the true finals this year,” a comment on X read.
“Congrats to the Fever and Aces on a well-fought WNBA Finals,” said another.
“So was the Championship really the Fever vs Aces series? 😬” asked a user.
“WNBA finals felt like just a chore for the aces after Fever/Aces, the actual finals series,“ a reaction read.
“Indiana Fever vs Las Vegas Aces was your real 2025 WNBA finals ‼️‼️ Manically Laughs in Indiana Fever Fan… Muahahaha! 😂😂” another said.
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“The real finals was the Fever-Aces. Despite their injury-laden roster, they gave the Aces a tougher fight than the Mercury, which is ridiculously funny given how easily the Mercury were swept,“ wrote a viewer.
The circumstances in the finals and in the semifinals were, of course, very different. Nevertheless, given that the Aces lost two games to the Fever, coupled with how they made easy work of the Mercury in the Finals, it would not be wrong to say that Las Vegas faced a more formidable challenge against Indiana than vs. Phoenix.
Wilson was named the WNBA Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds.
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The Fever, meanwhile, are headed to the offseason with a lot of uncertainty following their memorable 2025 campaign. Clark, Aliyah Boston and rookie Makayla Timpson are the only players under contract for next season. Kelsey Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham, Lexie Hull and everyone else on the roster is set to enter free agency, either restricted or unrestricted.
Related: Fever Player Sends Farewell Message After Leaving Indiana
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
