Indiana Fever Hold Team Meeting After Portland Fire Loss Fallout

The Indiana Fever held a team meeting after their brutal May 30 defeat to the Portland Fire, which was described as "much-needed" given where the 4-4 Fever are at this point in the year.

Several members of the Fever's roster and the coaching staff spoke about the team meeting when addressing the media on June 2.

"We had a long meeting yesterday; it was a really good meeting. And so hopefully, we've kind of turned the page, and everyone is kind of on the same page now," Fever wing Sophie Cunningham said, per a YouTube video from the Fever's account.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) talks with guard Sophie Cunningham (8) | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

She was then asked what kind of things were discussed at that meeting, and Cunningham said, "You know, just what everyone's kind of feeling: where we need to be, what our identity is. Offensively, where we're struggling, defensively, where is the breakdown? I think we were in there for like an hour and a half, almost two hours. We peeled back all the layers. So I think everyone's on a good page right now, and we're ready to work."

Cunningham was then asked whether it was a coach or player-initiated meeting. "We'll say, [it] started [with] coaches and then ended up being player [initiated]. It was much-needed, though. You know, after Portland, I mean, that was just that's not it. We can't be playing like that. We're too good. And so we needed that meeting."

"No one wants to have these meetings, but everyone every team has them," Cunningham added.

Sophie Cunningham revealed the #Fever had a team meeting yesterday.

“We peeled back all of the layers, and so I think everyone’s on a good page right now, and we’re ready to work.”

Added that they’re only running one defensive coverage because they can’t execute the others yet. pic.twitter.com/t5MwSWyH8R
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 2, 2026

Kelsey Mitchell, Stephanie White Speak About Indiana Fever Team Meeting

When star guard Kelsey Mitchell was asked about the meeting, she responded by asking how the reporters present knew there had been a meeting. She laughed when finding out that Cunningham had already told them about it before adding, "I think it's a part of being a family... If you think everything is glitz and glamour, then you're mistaken."

She was asked whether the meeting felt productive and added, "I think so. I think it's about being honest with yourself. I think our culture is being tested, to figure out if we actually truly intentional about who we say we were going to be. Only time will tell... I think I took away from it just having a little bit more grace... you get battle tested to figure out where you truly, truly are. And I think that's the takeaway, to really recognize and be honest about where our group is, and being authentic at that and then making the changes necessary to be great."

#Fever star Kelsey Mitchell: “How y’all know we had a meeting?”

“Sophie told us.”

“Well …” 😂

“If you think that everything is glitz and glamor, then you’re mistaken. I think that hard times make you or hard times can break you. And hopefully it don’t break us.” pic.twitter.com/kE7ycQk4x4
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 2, 2026

Head coach Stephanie White was also asked about this meeting, and said, "I mean I think it's productive. I think, anytime you get an opportunity to to have authentic, real conversation, it's good. This is collaborative stuff with us.

"It's like, you got to name it, right? You got to name it. You got to identify it. You got to understand, then what the action steps are, and then help one another. Every single person in here is a human being. Every single person has stuff going on. How can we help each other be the best that we can on the floor? Sometimes that engaging a little more off the floor."

"[It was] coach-led in terms of just asking some questions. Anything that we that we do, we want this to be a player player-led team. We want them to to to be empowered to take ownership, be empowered to have hard conversations, be empowered to uplift one another... And as some of the older ones in this group know, oftentimes with young people, you don't really know how to articulate some of the things that are happening. So, just facilitating in that way," White added.

Anybody who watched the Fever's performance against Portland knows why this meeting was necessary.

However, despite what it might seem, the Fever having a team meeting at this point in the year isn't their way of hitting the panic button. Instead, it's more of a reset and an opportunity to get this talented team back on track. And a lot of times, having authentic, tough conversations with one another is all it takes to right the ship.

The Fever have a chance to prove this this meeting was beneficial when they face the Atlanta Dream on June 4.

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