After Caitlin Clark took the WNBA by storm in her rookie season, the Indiana Fever were desperate to build a potential contender around her. One big move to accomplish that was re-signing Kelsey Mitchell. After making that decision, the Fever also added Sydney Colson in free agency and traded for Sophie Cunningham. With those additions, there was not much of a role left for Erica Wheeler.
Wheeler left in free agency, signing with the Seattle Storm. For Wheeler, that was the perfect decision. Her role increased compared to the 2024 season, and she is averaging some of the best numbers of her career with 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
She has already scored 15 or more points four times. Last season, Wheeler hit that mark once. Wheeler has also led the Storm in assists four times this season. The veteran is thriving in Seattle and playing much better than she did with the Fever.
Indiana, meanwhile, is lacking solid guard depth.
Indiana doesn’t have much firepower behind Caitlin Clark
When Caitlin Clark is healthy, the Fever’s point guard depth isn’t much of a problem. If Clark is available, she is on the court as much as possible and orchestrates the Fever’s offense. Her injury shone a light on the Fever’s lack of point guard depth.
Sydney Colson is not having her best season. She put together a big game against New York, but has otherwise not been overly impressive. When Aari McDonald was with the Fever on a hardship contract, she even looked deserving of more playing time than Colson.
The Fever’s lack of good point guard depth is also evident in the team’s assist numbers. Clark leads the Fever in assists per game with 8.7. Next in line is Aliyah Boston, the team’s starting center, with 3.9. No other player averages at least three assists per game. Indiana currently ranks ninth in assists per game across the league.
Wheeler’s performance with the Storm should make the Fever rethink their offseason decisions
Bringing in Sydney Colson was a solid choice at the time. She has championship experience and is a good defender. Those are the attributes the Fever were looking for in the offseason.
However, Sydney Colson hasn’t been all that great for the Fever so far. She is averaging the second-worst plus-minus on the roster at -1.4 and is producing relatively little offensively.
Wheeler, on the other hand, has a plus-minus of 3.8, which is good for fourth-best on the Storms roster behind All-Stars Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, and Gabby Williams.
On top of that, the Storm are winning due to Wheeler’s contributions. Seattle has an 8-5 record and sits in fifth place in the regular-season standings. That’s two spots ahead of the Indiana Fever. Seattle has also beaten other contenders, like the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury.
Her revival makes one wonder what the Fever would look like offensively if Wheeler were still on the team.