Love between Fever and Pacers provides perfect blueprint for WNBA's expansion plans

As of 2025, there are six WNBA teams that play in the same facilities as their NBA counterparts: the Liberty (Nets), Mercury (Suns), Lynx (Timberwolves), Sparks (Lakers), Valkyries (Warriors), and, of course, the Fever (Pacers). And while some of the teams enjoy cozy relationships with their NBA brethern, none are quite as tight as the Indiana Fever and the Pacers. For a lot of fans, this is the exact blueprint the WNBA needs to adopt going forward by establishing more teams within ownership circles that allow for resources to be shared.

The love between the Fever and the Pacers was on full display throughout the NBA playoffs, but shone especially bright Thursday night during the first game of the Finals, when at least five members of the Fever — Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Brianna Turner, and Natasha Howard — shared giant reactions to Tyrese Haliburton's clutch game-winning shot. And the reactions weren't staged; the Fever genuinely supports the Pacers and vice-versa.

Haliburton himself has frequently complimented the Fever and shown up at games; he and Clark have formed a tight friendship that appears built on mutual support and respect. The dynamic certainly lends support to the camp that believes WNBA teams belong within existing NBA franchises and ownership groups.

The Golden State Valkyries and Brandin Podziemski

The Valkyries and Warriors guard Brandon Podziemski are also building their own budding friendship; the 22-year-old has been a fixture at the team's home games so far this season, sometimes attending with Steve Kerr and his teammates and sometimes showing up on his own.

Establishing a WNBA team within the same ownership group as an NBA team automatically gives the women who play for that team a leg up. The Valkyries might be brand new this season, but the team's owner Joe Lacob has gone all in and made sure they have the best of the best, from practice facilities to locker rooms to the chevron-bedecked court the team plays on at home. That kind of investment is possible because Lacob already has a winning infrastructure in place, has the funding needed to carry the team as they work toward their first championship, and has a team of people who can assist Coach Nakase in every way possible.

The next two teams to join the WNBA will test this theory: the Toronto Tempo shares an owner with the Raptors, but the unnamed Portland team is owned by the same group that owns the city's NWSL team — but not the Trailblazers.

WNBA teams don't absolutely need NBA teams to survive and thrive. The Las Vegas Aces are a strong example of a team that's doing just fine without an NBA team nearby. There are also other teams who share a home city with an NBA team but not facilities or resources (the Dallas Wings and Mavericks and Atlanta Dream and Hawks immediately come to mind), something that can be a blessing and a curse.

As teams continue to be added to the WNBA, there will be continued conversations surrounding team unity and culture. If other teams can replicate what the Pacers and the Fever have, they'll be miles ahead of the crowd — which might be the entire point.