INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever players shared their offseason plans during end-of-season exit interviews Thursday. From Caitlin Clark’s five-on-five hopes to Kelsey Mitchell’s recovery from rhabdomyolysis and Aliyah Boston joining the broadcast booth, here’s more on what the offseason has in store for Fever stars.
The Fever guard wants to return to playing 5-on-5 basketball by the end of October after suffering a season-ending groin injury on July 15 and a bone bruise in her left ankle on Aug. 7. Clark hopes to prepare for USA basketball training camp in the coming months, with the World Cup set to begin early September 2026.
“There is a huge difference between me standing there and shooting spot shots and running up and down,” Clark said. “But in a basketball game, I’m not thinking, ‘Oh, I’m planting here, I’m cutting, I’m doing this, I’m doing that,’ you’re just doing it. So, your muscles need to be able to react and withstand that type of stuff. That’s where the 5-on-5 becomes really critical. Obviously, the contact piece of it too … you don’t know where you’re going to be taking contact from.”
Mitchell will prioritize rest for the first few weeks of the offseason after suffering rhabdomyolysis in Indiana’s Game 5 loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA semifinals Tuesday. Mitchell will then travel to Miami, where the three-time WNBA All-Star will play in Unrivaled for the first time. Mitchell played overseas during the offseason for the majority of her career.
“Realistically, I could just take some time to rest because I lost a lot of fluid,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell will be a free agent this offseason. Fever general manager Amber Cox emphasized Thursday that retaining Mitchell was the franchise’s utmost priority. Mitchell said she and her family will discuss what’s best for them as it pertains to whether she stays in Indiana or not. Whether the Ohio State alum remains or moves on, she doesn’t take her time in Indiana for granted.
“I have so much love and so much aspiration for this place … Indy is like my second family,” Mitchell said. “Everything I’ve been through the last eight years, I don’t think there’s any other place that was greater for me.”
The 6-foot-5 center averaged a career high in points (15) and assists (3.7) this season. The grind won’t stop for the South Carolina alum during the offseason. Unrivaled announced Monday that Boston will return to play in the 3×3 league this winter for a second straight year. On the same day, Front Office Sports reported Boston is finalizing a deal to join Peacock and NBC as a studio and game analyst for Big Ten women’s basketball.
Amid a busy offseason, Boston will still find time to read, a usual pastime for her. Boston said she read eight books this summer and just started “First Lie Wins,” a thriller by Ashley Elston.
“Check my Instagram story, hopefully I’m done next week,” Boston said in response to when she will provide a reaction to the book.
Cunningham will have free rein to decide where she lands next as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. However, it’s uncertain how free agency will unfold with a new CBA in question and an end-of-October deadline looming.
But when asked if she hopes to stay in Indiana, Cunningham admitted, “I have loved being here. I think that just being back in the Midwest and being around girls who you truly do love, I’ve been to league for seven years, and I’ve never been a part of a team like this.”
Cunningham added: “I had a hell of a time when I was out on the court playing with these girls. And so I really don’t know truly what the future holds. I don’t know if I’m going to be back here, but I do know that my time here so far was pretty fun.”
The Missouri native suffered a season-ending MCL tear on Aug. 17 against the Connecticut Sun. Cunningham said she’s “progressing quite quickly” and will continue to focus on recovering this offseason.
“This offseason is going to be probably one of my best ones. I’m just so excited. I’m so motivated,” Cunningham said.
Apart from on-court duties, Cunningham will continue her Show Me Something podcast with reality TV star West Wilson during the break. Cunningham provided an early look into her offseason in the first episode released after suffering her season-ending injury.
“I was thinking about the beach and yachts and boats and me having a great offseason and now this thing (the injury), but actually it’s (recovery) only going to take four months,” Cunningham said on Aug. 20. “This is a quick little recovery, and I’ll be on a boat ASAP.”
The Stanford alum enters the 2025 WNBA offseason as a restricted free agent. Hull said she “loved my years here in Indiana,” adding she “built a life here and I love this franchise.” Hull plans to play in Unrivaled this winter and until then will stay in the Indy area to train with coaches.
“I’m really excited about Unrivaled. I’m excited about the new players. They’ve added the expansion that’s happening there, too,” Hull said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to get in the gym and play a different game. It’s fun, it’s fast, looking forward to that.”
Hull said she’s “definitely going to enjoy a little bit of a break” until the 3×3 league starts in January.
The three-time WNBA champion will go on vacation with her family before traveling to China, where she’ll play during the WNBA offseason. The 11-year veteran didn’t go into detail about other offseason ventures and elected not to disclose information about free agency plans.
“Free agency, I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Howard said. “I’m not trying to think about that right now. I’m just trying to dissect everything for this season. I’m really proud of what we have done and also myself being in the league for so long and carrying this special group to the semifinals.”
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