The 2025 WNBA season started off very differently for the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream.
After an offseason filled with major acquisitions and tons of anticipation, the Fever came out and stomped the Chicago Sky in their first contest. Caitlin Clark had a 20-point triple-double for Indiana en route to a 93-58 victory.
The Dream, on the other hand, had a relatively quiet offseason outside of adding Brittney Griner. The team had largely flown under the radar ahead of their season-opener, which ended up being a loss to the Washington Mystics — a team that many thought were going to be bottom-dwellers this season.
But in the second game of the season, the Fever and Dream faced off in Indiana, and it was an instant classic. Atlanta led for basically the entire game, but Indiana refused to go away and had a chance to win it in the final seconds. Unfortunately, the ball never got into Caitlin Clark's hands, and Natasha Howard missed two field goals in the final eight seconds of the game.
Now, the two franchises will change cities and face off once again on Thursday, May 22. Given how exciting the previous matchup was and how much these two teams mirror each other, it stands to reason that this rivalry could continue growing throughout the four scheduled games this year.
Caitlin Clark vs. Atlanta Dream is the rivalry the WNBA didn’t know it needed
Atlanta is led by a slew of exciting players like Griner, Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones and Allisha Gray, which fans are learning to love after watching them face off against the Fever. Similarly, the Fever have Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, DeWanna Bonner, Aliyah Boston, Natasha Howard, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham, all of whom are exciting players in their own unique way.
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The WNBA is trying to make the Sky and Fever a big rivalry because of the discourse surrounding Clark and Chicago star Angel Reese. However, Indiana has won four of the five matchups, and several of them have not been close.
Given that the Fever are not quite in the upper tier of the WNBA just yet, a budding rivalry with another up-and-coming franchise like the Dream makes perfect sense. Fans seem excited about the back-to-back matchups, and it should be another great contest on Thursday.
Indiana and Atlanta will also face off on June 10 and July 11, and it is very possible that these two teams split the season series. This could have serious playoff implications, as both franchises look to make strides in the postseason standings. All of a sudden, this is the rivalry that WNBA fans did not know they needed.