Four days after the Indiana Fever opted not to match a contract offer sheet of one of their developmental players, she set a WNBA record in her debut.
The Las Vegas Aces on Monday signed rookie Justine Pissott to a standard contract offer sheet, and the Fever opted not to match it, keeping their roster instead of waiving a player. The Fever selected Pissott in the second round of the 2026 WNBA Draft three months ago, and the 6-foot-4 forward out of Vanderbilt showed her potential in the fourth quarter of the Aces win Saturday.
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She hit a 28-foot 3-pointer in her first professional minute, and later a 29-footer. They were two of her five made 3-pointers, scoring 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting (5 for 6 on 3s), as the Aces beat the Phoenix Mercury 106-58. The five made 3-pointers were the most in WNBA history by a player making her debut.
“I would definitely say I was nervous,” Pissott said postgame. “But everyone kept telling me to shoot the ball when you go in, play with confidence, and then coach Becky (Hammon) was just like, ‘Go in there and do what you do,’ and I feel like when she told me that, I kind of just like, ‘OK,’ and I just breathed. And then I just played my game.”
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Pissott played the entire fourth quarter after the Aces (17-6) led 79-36 after three quarters. They host the Fever (13-9) at 9 p.m. Sunday.
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“I think (it was) just not having, really, the feeling that we had the ability to open up the roster spot,” Fever coach Stephanie White said Tuesday about the decision to let Pissott go. “I think that’s the great thing about these development spots, and the challenging thing about these development spots, is that you have opportunities to develop players, then when they get an ability to get a standard contract … this is what it’s meant for. To continue to advance opportunity for the players, and to continue to keep them ready for when their opportunity presents itself.”
Upon selecting Pissott in April, the Fever opted to sign her directly to a development contract, new in 2026, in training camp. It gave Indiana exclusive negotiating rights for two weeks and, essentially, protected her on their team with the option to match a standard contract offer sheet from another team. It eliminated the option for her to be waived after camp and allow a team to claim her.
“We wanted to lock Justine in,” Fever general manager Amber Cox told IndyStar in April. “She is a bit of a unicorn in that she led the SEC in 3-point shooting, and she’s 6 foot 4. She still has some growth areas, as all rookies do coming into the league, but we really want to see what she can do as a part of this roster. What signing her (to the developmental pool) now allows us to do is, instead of putting her in a standard player contract, we get to the end of camp and waiving her, then you put her on the waiver wire for somebody else to pick her up, she is already with us, and so it gives us a bit more control over her destiny.”
The decision made this week, however, was to keep rookie forward Grace VanSlooten and veteran Damiris Dantas, who each played in the 106-92 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday. Center Aliyah Boston was out that game due to an injury, and early foul trouble opened up opportunities for VanSlooten and Dantas.
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“First and foremost, they’re great culture players, great culture teammates, they’re going to be ready when their number is called,” White said Tuesday. “Grace is a young player who I think can really develop into a solid four in this league, DD is a veteran who understands how to stay ready so she doesn’t have to get ready, who we can play in certain lineups and certain matchups, who are going to give us great minutes in practice as well, and who are going to help continue to elevate and build and pour into our culture.”
The Fever may have to scheme against a player they’re familiar with from utilizing in practice, although with a newfound confidence from her team’s leader.
“I think the biggest thing when it came to Justine, I just wanted her to feel comfortable,” four-time MVP A’ja Wilson said after Saturday’s win. “I know it’s a lot coming into a new system and a new team, let alone the Aces. So my biggest thing, I just told her, ‘Go do you. Just go do you and we’ll follow behind you,’ and so we gave her a little bath in the locker room because this was a big deal.”
“A cold one,” Pissott interjected.
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Wilson continued: “We hope that she can continue to not just play like this, but get comfortable in our system.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former Indiana Fever rookie sets WNBA record in debut for team they’ll play next
