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As an individual player, it was clear just how far star guard Caitlin Clark had come from her initiation into the league back in May through the Olympics break in August and on into the playoff run made by her team, the Indiana Fever.

The Fever were swept out of the playoffs in two games by the Connecticut Sun, but the mere fact that they were there at all was news: The Fever had not been a playoff team since 2016. And it helped that after a 1-8 start, Indiana had whipped up a 19-12 record to finish 20-20 and earn a playoff berth.

Clark won Rookie of the Year and was a first-team All-WNBA selection, with averages of 19.2 points, a record 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds. After her initial growing pains, she learned to team well with the 2023 Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston, and the two figure to form a staunch inside-out pairing going forward.


Fever star Caitlin Clark © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

But make no mistake: This is still a young team in need of some improvements. They need to get better defensively, as a team and with a significant defensive stopper they can either draft or sign in free agency. They also need better ballhandling, and could use a secondary point guard to play alongside Clark.

There are not that many improvements to the roster that need to be made, especially as Clark and Boston improve. But even with all that, don’t expect the Fever to push for a championship next year.

Or, if you are in the slim crowd that thinks this team will be in line to win it all in 2025, get your bets going. Because ESPN revealed its betting odds for the 2025 WNBA championship on Monday, and the Fever still have great odds.

The leaders are, of course, the defending champ Liberty, at plus-200. Minnesota, the runner-up in nail-biting fashion, is second at plus-350.  The 2023 champ Las Vegas Aces can be had at plus-400, and the Sun come in fourth at plus-650.

Those odds are all sensible. But the high expectations–perhaps too high–come in after that. The Fever are placed at plus-1,000 odds to win in 2025, despite the fact that the organization has not won a playoff game in almost a decade.

The odds a long, but then, Clark and the Fever played very well after the opening of the season. Next year could be wide-open in the WNBA, so … why not the Fever?