Fever's Biggest Problem On Pace For Record Rate

The Indiana Fever are on a historic pace when it comes to committing fouls.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever's fouling has become a major point of discussion around the team during the 2026 season. Indiana is currently averaging 24 personal fouls committed per game, which is leading the league.

This shows that the Fever need to foul less as a team. However, the rate at which they're fouling opponents is actually on pace to set records, which Fever radio broadcaster John Nolan conveyed in a June 21 X post.

Nolan shared in the post that no WNBA team has ever averaged more than 23.8 fouls per game, which means that if the Fever kept this current foul rate up, they would set a new league record for the most fouls committed per game. What's more, Nolan noted that the current league average for fouls committed per game is 20.6 (it's now 20.5 after the June 21 slate of games), showing that Indiana has well above the mean.

Fouls are way up across the WNBA this season, and the Fever are being called for fouls at a record rate.

Indiana’s been whistled for 24 fouls per game.

No team in the first 29 years of the W has ever averaged more than 23.8 a game.

This year’s league average is 20.6. pic.twitter.com/Cn2UZqcv3T

— John Nolan (@John_G_Nolan) June 21, 2026

More Context Behind the Fever's Record-Setting Foul Rate

There are several things to unpack regarding the Fever's fouling. It's totally fair for fans to feel frustrated about this, given that these are essentially free opportunities for their opponents to score points every game.

But perhaps more important is that fouling slows the game down, which is counterintuitive for the Fever's fast-paced, transition-centric offense. Therefore, each time they commit a foul, that goes against what head coach Stephanie White is trying to accomplish and how the Fever play when they're at their best. This might be even more detrimental than the points they're giving up at the free-throw line.

Not to mention, fouls compiling against their top players can send them to the bench for stretch, allowing opponents to take advantage. This has happened with both Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston at key points.

However, there are some silver linings to this foul issue; mainly that it's fixable, in that the Fever should, in theory, be able to tone down how often they're fouling. While they ultimately can't control what fouls the referees are calling, they can be more disciplined defensively. And this would (theoretically) result in fewer fouls getting called.

Plus, fouling is up across the entire league. No team averaged 20 fouls committed per game last season, and the league average was 17.8. More than half of the league's teams (nine) are averaging over 20 points committed per game this year, and the league average is 20.5.

This reflects the league's emphasis on calling more fouls this year, in hopes of preventing physicality from getting out of hand as much as it has in the past (which was often directed at Clark). So the Fever aren't alone in fouling a lot. They're just doing so more than any other team.