It was a tough week for the Indiana Fever. They went 1-2 and would’ve been 0-3 without the heroics from Kelsey Mitchell against the Sun. And they lost another key player to a season-ending injury when Sophie Cunningham tore her MCL on Sunday.
The Fever are now without Cunningham, Sydney Colson, and Aari McDonald for the remainder of the season and still without a return timetable for Caitlin Clark. With only nine regular-season games left, it’s fair to wonder if Clark will return at all this season for the Fever. Those injury concerns, along with going 2-4 in their last six games, have led many to have major questions about the Fever right now.
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And those questions are shown in the latest WNBA power rankings from ESPN, The Athletic, and CBS Sports. Each of those platforms had the Fever drop this week, but just how far did Indiana plummet in each one?
Where are the Fever located in the newest WNBA power rankings?
Aug 17, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; The Indiana Fever react during a time against the Connecticut Sun in overtime at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
ESPN writer Michael Voepel put together this week’s WNBA power rankings, and he put the Fever at seventh, dropping from sixth, where they were last week. He had this to say about the Fever at the current moment.
The twists and turns of Indiana’s star-crossed season continue: guard Sophie Cunningham is out the rest of the season with a knee injury suffered during Sunday’s game at Connecticut. The Fever trailed the Sun by 21 points and were reeling from the emotional blow of losing another teammate, but still staged the biggest comeback in franchise history — led by Kelsey Mitchell’s 38 points — to close it out 99-93 in overtime. This came after Indiana had lost to the Wings and the Mystics at home earlier in the week. -Voepel.
CBS Sports agreed with ESPN on its placement of the Fever, as they also put Indiana at seventh in their power rankings. Here’s what CBS Sports writer Jack Maloney, who put together this week’s power rankings, had to say about the Fever.
The Fever appeared to be heading toward a third consecutive loss to a lottery-bound opponent Sunday until they pulled off the largest comeback in franchise history to beat the Sun thanks to a career-high-tying 38 points from Kelsey Mitchell. Unfortunately, they lost Sophie Cunningham to what looks like a serious knee injury in the process. She’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity, but for the time being they’re now without Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson and Cunningham. -Maloney.
The third and final WNBA power ranking we’ll take a look at today wasn’t so kind to the Fever. The Athletic has Indiana lower than where ESPN and CBS Sports put them, and has the Fever taking one of the biggest tumbles down the power rankings out of everyone. The Athletic put Indiana at eighth in their power rankings, dropping three spots from where they were last week. While they didn’t go in-depth on the Fever in their article, it’s clear why Indiana dropped so far down the rankings for them.
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Now the Fever enter a tough stretch of basketball, with two games against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on tap this weekend. Beating the Lynx with a fully healthy squad is already hard enough. Beating them without Clark, Colson, Cunningham, and McDonald will be a huge challenge, even if Napheesa Collier remains out for Minnesota. The Fever will need someone other than Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Natasha Howard to step up and play great. If not, this losing stretch could continue.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Fever plummet in newest WNBA power rankings following latest injury
