The 2022 Indiana Fever season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season tipped off on May 6, 2022, at the Washington Mystics.
The Fever landed the 2nd overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft - despite having the best odds in the lottery drawing. On February 14, 2022, Tamika Catchings and the Fever parted ways as Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager. On February 24, 2022, the Fever announced that former head coach Lin Dunn would serve as interim General Manager for the year.
On May 25, after the team started 2–7, it was announced that the team had dismissed head coach Marianne Stanley. Stanley left after two complete seasons, with an overall record of 14–49. Carlos Knox was announced as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. The team would finish May 3–8. Fortunes would remain similar under Knox, as the team would lose five games in a row after winning the first game Knox coached. They finished June 2–8, with a bright spot being a win over Chicago. The win over Chicago would prove to be their final win of the season. The Fever lost all eleven games they played in July and all four games they played in August to finish the season on an eighteen-game losing streak. Their .139 winning percentage was the worst in franchise history. Their five wins, were also the lowest in franchise history.
Transactions
WNBA draft
RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/team/country 1 2 NaLyssa Smith Baylor 1 4 Emily Engstler Louisville 1 6 Lexie Hull Stanford 1 10 Queen Egbo Baylor 2 20 Destanni Henderson South Carolina 3 25 Ameshya Williams-Holliday Jackson State 3 34 Ali Patberg Indiana
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction December 1, 2021 Hired Carlos Knox as an Assistant coach January 1, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to Victoria Vivians, Temi Fagbenle, Chelsey Perry, and Bernadett Határ January 3, 2022 Extended a Qualifying Offer to Lindsay Allen January 6, 2022 Signed Chelsey Perry to a Qualifying Offer January 18, 2022 Waived Kysre Gondrezick February 3, 2022 Traded Julie Allemand and a First Round Pick in 2023 (from Phoenix) to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Bria Hartley (from Phoenix), the 7th Pick in the 2022 WNBA draft (from Chicago), a 2023 First Round Pick (from Chicago), and Second Round Picks in 2022 and 2023 (from Phoenix) February 4, 2022 Signed Lindsay Allen to a training-camp contract Signed Emma Cannon to a 2-Year Deal February 9, 2022 Claimed Jazmine Jones off of waivers February 19, 2022 Signed Michaela Kelly to a training-camp contract February 21, 2022 Signed Alanna Smith to a training-camp contract February 26, 2022 Signed Haley Gorecki to a training-camp contract March 2, 2022 Waived Aaliyah Wilson March 8, 2022 Traded Teaira McCowan, the 7th Pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, and Chicago's 2023 First Round Pick (Acquired during the Julie Allemand trade) to the Dallas Wings in exchange for the 4th and 6th Picks in the 2022 Draft and a 2023 First Round Pick March 15, 2022 Signed Jaime Nared to a training-camp contract March 16, 2022 Waived Jantel Lavender March 18, 2022 Signed Bernadett Határ to a training-camp contract April 13, 2022 Waived Emma Cannon April 14, 2022 Signed Ali Patberg to a rookie-scale contract Signed Erin Whalen to a training-camp contract April 15, 2022 Signed Queen Egbo to a rookie-scale contract April 16, 2022 Signed NaLyssa Smith, Destanni Henderson, Emily Engstler, and Ameshya Williams-Holliday to rookie-scale contracts April 17, 2022 Signed Lexie Hull to a rookie-scale contract April 20, 2022 Waived Micaela Kelly April 21, 2022 Suspended the contracts of Bernadett Határ and Chelsey Perry for the full-season Waived Ali Patberg April 26, 2022 Waived Haley Gorecki May 1, 2022 Waived Jazmine Jones and Jaime Nared May 4, 2022 Waived Lindsay Allen, Ameshya Williams-Holliday and Erin Whalen May 5, 2022 Temporarily Suspend Alaina Coates, Bria Hartley, and Danielle Robinson due to Overseas Commitments May 6, 2022 Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a Hardship Contract May 11, 2022 Released Crystal Dangerfield from her Hardship Contract Activated Danielle Robinson and Alaina Coates from their Temporary Suspensions May 20, 2022 Activated Bria Hartley from her Temporary Suspension May 25, 2022 Fired Head coach Marianne Stanley and promoted Carlos Knox to Interim Head coach May 29, 2022 Hired Gary Kloppenburg as an Assistant coach May 30, 2022 Waived Alanna Smith June 5, 2022 Signed Emma Cannon June 7, 2022 Waived Alaina Coates June 14, 2022 Signed Khayla Pointer July 15, 2022 Waived Bria Hartley Signed Rennia Davis
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Queen Egbo Emma Cannon PF NaLyssa Smith Emily Engstler SF Victoria Vivians Lexie Hull SG Kelsey Mitchell Tiffany MitchellBria Hartley PG Danielle Robinson Destanni HendersonKhayla Pointer
Schedule
Preseason
| 1 | April 30 | Chicago | W 79–75 | Queen Egbo (15) | Queen Egbo (10) | Kelsey Mitchell (5) | Gainbridge FieldhouseN/A | 1–0
| 2 | May 2 | @ Dallas | L 89–101 | Kelsey Mitchell (22) | Queen Egbo (9) | Destanni Henderson (6) | College Park CenterN/A | 1–1
Regular season
| 1 | May 6 | @ Washington | L 70–84 | Kelsey Mitchell (18) | NaLyssa Smith (13) | Destanni Henderson (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 0–1 |- | 2 | May 8 | Los Angeles | L 77–87 | Destanni Henderson (19) | NaLyssa Smith (9) | Kelsey Mitchell (7) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse1,456 | 0–2 |- | 3 | May 10 | Minnesota | W 82–76 | Kelsey Mitchell (26) | Queen Egbo (8) | Crystal Dangerfield (6) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse1,078 | 1–2 |- | 4 | May 13 | @ New York | W 92–86 (OT) | Kelsey Mitchell (24) | NaLyssa Smith (17) | Queen Egbo (4) | Barclays Center3,289 | 2–2 |- | 5 | May 15 | Atlanta | L 79–85 | Kelsey Mitchell (27) | Queen Egbo (9) | K. MitchellRobinson (4) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse1,745 | 2–3 |- | 6 | May 17 | Atlanta | L 79–101 | Victoria Vivians (16) | Emily Engstler (10) | Kelsey Mitchell (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse960 | 2–4 |- | 7 | May 20 | @ Connecticut | L 85–94 | Kelsey Mitchell (23) | Queen Egbo (7) | Danielle Robinson (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena4,428 | 2–5 |- | 8 | May 22 | Connecticut | L 70–92 | Victoria Vivians (15) | Queen Egbo (8) | Kelsey Mitchell (5) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse2,612 | 2–6 |- | 9 | May 24 | @ Chicago | L 90–95 | Kelsey Mitchell (25) | Emily Engstler (13) | EngstlerT. Mitchell (4) | Wintrust Arena7,741 | 2–7 |- | 10 | May 27 | Los Angeles | W 101–96 | Kelsey Mitchell (22) | Emily Engstler (9) | Danielle Robinson (11) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,417 | 3–7 |- | 11 | May 31 | Washington | L 75–87 | Kelsey Mitchell (26) | Queen Egbo (10) | K. MitchellVivians (4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,009 | 3–8
| 12 | June 1 | @ New York | L 74–87 | Kelsey Mitchell (17) | EgboRobinsonN. Smith (6) | K. MitchellN. SmithVivians (4) | Barclays Center4,079 | 3–9 |- | 13 | June 5 | @ Atlanta | L 66–75 | Kelsey Mitchell (20) | Queen Egbo (8) | Destanni Henderson (5) | Gateway Center Arena3,000 | 3–10 |- | 14 | June 8 | @ Connecticut | L 69–88 | NaLyssa Smith (19) | NaLyssa Smith (7) | Kelsey Mitchell (5) | Mohegan Sun Arena4,088 | 3–11 |- | 15 | June 10 | New York | L 83–97 | Kelsey Mitchell (23) | NaLyssa Smith (9) | K. MitchellVivians (4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,393 | 3–12 |- | 16 | June 12 | @ Minnesota | W 84–80 | NaLyssa Smith (21) | NaLyssa Smith (14) | Danielle Robinson (6) | Target Center6,806 | 4–12 |- | 17 | June 15 | Phoenix | L 93–80 | Kelsey Mitchell (26) | NaLyssa Smith (14) | Danielle Robinson (6) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,824 | 4–13 |- | 18 | June 19 | Chicago | W 89–87 | NaLyssa Smith (26) | NaLyssa Smith (11) | Kelsey Mitchell (9) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,706 | 5–13 |- | 19 | June 23 | @ Dallas | L 68–94 | Kelsey Mitchell (22) | Queen Egbo (12) | Danielle Robinson (5) | College Park Center2,791 | 5–14 |- | 20 | June 27 | @ Phoenix | L 71–83 | Kelsey Mitchell (22) | NaLyssa Smith (10) | K. MitchellRobinson (4) | Footprint Center5,044 | 5–15 |- | 21 | June 29 | @ Phoenix | L 78–99 | Kelsey Mitchell (21) | Emily Engstler (8) | Kelsey Mitchell (5) | Footprint Center5,833 | 5–16
| 22 | July 1 | @ Seattle | L 57–73 | Queen Egbo (14) | Queen Egbo (12) | Tiffany Mitchell (3) | Climate Pledge Arena8,565 | 5–17 |- | 23 | July 5 | Seattle | L 73–95 | Kelsey Mitchell (21) | RobinsonVivians (6) | Danielle Robinson (4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum2,585 | 5–18 |- | 24 | July 7 | Chicago | L 84–93 | Kelsey Mitchell (27) | NaLyssa Smith (11) | K. MitchellRobinson (5) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,839 | 5–19 |- | 25 | July 13 | Connecticut | L 81–89 | Kelsey Mitchell (21) | NaLyssa Smith (13) | EngstlerVivians (4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum3,212 | 5–20 |- | 26 | July 15 | Minnesota | L 77–87 | Tiffany Mitchell (18) | NaLyssa Smith (9) | EngstlerK. Mitchell (4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,530 | 5–21 |- | 27 | July 17 | @ Seattle | L 65–81 | NaLyssa Smith (15) | NaLyssa Smith (9) | K. MitchellRobinson (4) | Climate Pledge Arena9,970 | 5–22 |- | 28 | July 19 | @ Los Angeles | L 79–86 | Tiffany Mitchell (22) | Queen Egbo (9) | K. MitchellRobinson (5) | Crypto.com Arena5,478 | 5–23 |- | 29 | July 21 | @ Las Vegas | L 77–90 | NaLyssa Smith (24) | Queen Egbo (8) | Kelsey Mitchell (7) | Michelob Ultra Arena5,737 | 5–24 |- | 30 | July 24 | Dallas | L 86–96 | Kelsey Mitchell (34) | Victoria Vivians (6) | Kelsey Mitchell (6) | Hinkle Fieldhouse1,048 | 5–25 |- | 31 | July 29 | Las Vegas | L 72–93 | Queen Egbo (13) | NaLyssa Smith (10) | EngstlerHendersonK. MitchellRobinson (4) | Hinkle Fieldhouse1,828 | 5–26 |- | 32 | July 31 | Las Vegas | L 69–94 | NaLyssa Smith (18) | NaLyssa Smith (13) | Destanni Henderson (4) | Hinkle Fieldhouse1,822 | 5–27
| 33 | August 3 | @ Atlanta | L 81–91 | NaLyssa Smith (21) | Emma Cannon (8) | Victoria Vivians (6) | Gateway Center Arena2,071 | 5–28 |- | 34 | August 6 | @ Dallas | L 91–95 (OT) | Lexie Hull (17) | Emma Cannon (8) | Danielle Robinson (8) | College Park Center4,184 | 5–29 |- | 35 | August 12 | Washington | L 70–82 | Emily Engstler (18) | Emma Cannon (8) | Destanni Henderson (6) | Hinkle Fieldhouse1,700 | 5–30 |- | 36 | August 14 | @ Washington | L 83–95 | Tiffany Mitchell (18) | EgboEngstlerN. Smith (4) | Tiffany Mitchell (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 5–31
Standings
Statistics
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Kelsey Mitchell 31 31 32.6 .438 .409 .861 1.9 4.2 0.9 0.2 18.4 NaLyssa Smith 32 32 30.7 .419 .381 .618 7.9 1.4 0.5 0.3 13.5 Victoria Vivians 35 30 26.9 .336 .280 .742 3.6 2.4 1.1 0.3 9.8 Danielle Robinson 31 30 23.6 .419 .225 .850 2.9 3.8 0.7 0.2 7.4 Queen Egbo 33 31 21.8 .442 .000 .645 6.3 0.9 0.9 1.2 7.2 Emma Cannon≠ 23 2 14.3 .522 .500 .739 3.2 0.5 0.6 0.1 7.0 Tiffany Mitchell 34 8 16.3 .451 .387 .865 1.2 1.2 0.8 0.1 6.5 Crystal Dangerfield‡ 3 0 16.3 .429 .333 1.000 1.0 3.3 0.0 0.7 6.0 Destanni Henderson 36 5 16.4 .401 .366 .719 1.6 2.5 0.8 0.1 5.3 Emily Engstler 35 6 18.2 .396 .356 .553 5.2 1.5 0.7 1.1 5.2 Alanna Smith‡ 9 1 12.9 .333 .240 .714 2.7 0.6 0.9 0.7 4.3 Lexie Hull 26 4 12.8 .267 .186 .900 1.5 0.7 0.6 0.1 3.8 Alaina Coates‡ 8 0 9.4 .636 .000 .933 2.0 0.3 0.3 0.4 3.5 Bria Hartley‡ 10 0 8.7 .346 .333 .667 1.0 1.0 0.1 0.0 2.5 Khayla Pointer≠ 10 0 5.8 .583 .250 .500 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.0 2.2 Rennia Davis≠ 7 0 5.7 .333 .000 .000 1.1 0.1 0.3 0.0 1.1 ‡Waived/Released during the season †Traded during the season ≠Acquired during the season
Awards and honors Recipient Award Date awarded Ref. Kelsey Mitchell Eastern Conference Player of the Week May 31 NaLyssa Smith WNBA All-Rookie Team August 25 Queen Egbo
References
External links Official website of the Indiana Fever