Paige Bueckers Sparks Wings Vs Fever Opening Weekend Spotlight
Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark met in wings vs fever as Dallas and Indiana opened their seasons at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on WNBA opening weekend. The matchup put two of the league’s biggest draws in the same building, with Azzi Fudd making her WNBA debut and the Fever trying to keep building on a stretch that has already taken them back to the semifinals.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse Hosts the Opener
Indiana’s home crowd saw the game’s biggest names immediately. Bueckers and Clark were on the floor for a season-opening matchup that carried more attention than a normal opener because of the players involved and the setting in Indianapolis.
Fudd’s debut added another layer. As the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, she entered the league on the same opening weekend stage as Clark, who came into the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 after becoming the all-time leading scorer in Division I college basketball.
Stephanie White Sees the Growth
Stephanie White said she does not feel pressure, even with the attention around the Fever. She pointed instead to what the moment says about the league’s reach and the kind of crowds it now draws.
“I'm getting chills right now just thinking about where we are as a league. This is what we dreamed of, right? From the time I was a rookie in this league to the time we won a championship in 2012. We were seeing sold out arenas only in championship games or in Finals games, to becoming mainstream.”
She added, “It's a dream for this kid who grew up in the country.”
The Fever’s rise has been long. Indiana won the title in 2012, returned to the finals in 2015, and reached the semifinals last season without Clark. Now Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell are all under contract and looking healthy, giving Indiana a core that changed the tone of opening weekend before the ball was even tipped.
Alanna Smith Returns for Dallas
Dallas had its own notable lineup change. Alanna Smith was upgraded from probable to available on the Wings injury report after sustaining a nasal fracture in Sunday’s preseason game against the Aces. She will wear a face mask in her Wings debut against the Fever.
Smith signed a multiyear deal with the Wings this year after spending two seasons with the Lynx. That gave Dallas another established rotation piece on a night when Bueckers and the Fever’s core drew most of the attention.
Clark still carries the heaviest individual spotlight. She entered 2025 coming off an injury-marred season and is still regarded as a longshot to win WNBA MVP, even though Brian Hamilton picked her to win the 2026 award. For the Fever, the opener offered an early look at how far that healthy core can carry them in a season that starts under the same weight the league has been building toward for years.
