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Indiana Fever fans don’t have to think too far back when recalling when NaLyssa Smith was supposed to be a key part of their franchise’s turnaround after being bottom dwellers in the WNBA standings for most of the past decade.
Indiana selected Smith with the No. 2 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft after her very successful college career at Baylor. And Smith showed a lot of promise during her first two seasons with the team, including averaging 15.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during her sophomore 2023 campaign. Because of this, many thought Smith would take another step forward in 2024, especially because she would be receiving passes from rookie superstar guard Caitlin Clark.
Things didn’t turn out that way. Smith’s 10.6 points per game in 2024 were the lowest of her career at that point, and she couldn’t find a consistent role within the Fever’s new look offense with Clark running point. What’s more, Smith seemed disconnected and even discontent in Indiana, which sparked some frustration from the fan base.
Ultimately, Smith was traded to the Dallas Wings last offseason and then got traded to the Las Vegas Aces in the middle of the 2025 season, where she became vital to the Aces winning the 2025 WNBA title.
Smith’s Aces squad faced the Fever en route to that league championship during the WNBA Semifinals, which was a hard-fought, back-and-forth five-game series that ultimately proved to be a much tougher test for Las Vegas than the WNBA Finals, where they swept the Phoenix Mercury.
NaLyssa Smith Admits Fever Was Toughest Test in Aces’ WNBA Championship Run
Smith was the guest on an October 23 episode of Between the Lines with Lisa Leslie and gave her former team their flowers at one point.
“Most challenging, I would probably have to say the Fever, honestly, which hurts me to say that. No, I’m playing,” Smith said when asked who the Aces’ toughest matchup was in the 2025 WNBA playoffs.
“But I would have to say the Fever, for sure, because I feel like they just played with nothing to lose,” Smith added. “I feel like when you are down like players and you know, it’s an abnormal season, it just forces you to have to play out your body. So I feel like that’s kind of what they did. And kudos to them. I feel like they had a hard-fought series with us, for sure.”
It’s cool to hear Smith speak highly of her former team, if only because it makes it seem like any potential tension between her and the franchise has simmered down.
