Stephanie White Explains How Odyssey Sims Factors Into Fever's Success
The 2025 season has come with plenty of surprises for the Indiana Fever -- some pleasant, others not so much. The emergence of veteran guard Odyssey Sims falls under the former category.
Initially inked to a seven-day hardship contract as a replacement for injured point guard Aari McDonald, who also began her Fever tenure under the hardship label, Sims filled a glaring hole in Indiana's backcourt.
With McDonald and free-agent acquisition Sydney Colson both sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Fever turned to Sims, hoping the 12th-year journeywoman could be a serviceable replacement. Flash forward to the postseason, where the 32-year-old is starting at point guard for a Fever squad that's two wins away from advancing to the WNBA Finals.
"The moment that we lost Aari and 'Syd', we knew we needed a playmaker," head coach Stephanie White recounted ahead of a Game 2 against the Las Vegas Aces. "[Odyssey] does that at a high level; she has done that at a high level throughout her entire career, so right time, right moment."
Kelsey Mitchell remains the star of the backcourt, but Sims has played her role nicely, averaging 10.8 points, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 turnovers in 16 games with the Fever, postseason included.
Also Odyssey Sims deserves to be on a roster full time.
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) September 21, 2025
"I think playing with this group who just allows her to do what she does best, I think it gives her a comfort zone to know that we need her to do that," White added.
Odyssey Sims Taking On Vital Role in Fever Playoff Run
It is both needed and appreciated.
Through four playoff games, Sims is Indiana's No. 2 scorer with 12.0 PPG. Her 4.5 assists trail Aliyah Boston's 4.8 for the team lead, while her 2.0 steals pace the squad. Plus, she's doing it all with a 3.60 assist-to-turnover rate, good for seventh-best this postseason.
Odyssey Sims has quietly been one of the most dependable players in the postseason. She’s averaging (4.5) assists to only (1.3) turnovers, which works out to a (3.46) assist-to-turnover ratio — numbers that show just how sharp she’s been with her decision-making.
— I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) September 23, 2025
Her control… pic.twitter.com/vwpQh4GQM9
"There are some games where I'm on her if she's too passive," White shared. "We are not successful if she's not the best version of herself -- which is getting downhill, getting into the paint, creating for herself, creating for others, and playing with that high intensity level."
The Fever have seen that version of Sims in each of the last two games, and it's worked in their favor.
Odyssey Sims deserves a massive shoutout for how she’s slotted into the Indiana Fever after being out of the WNBA last month
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) September 22, 2025
She’s averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 assists, 3 steals, and 0.5 turnovers across her last two games pic.twitter.com/f3ErynwkPZ
As Indiana stamped their ticket to the semifinals with an 87-85 win over the Atlanta Dream in a winner-take-all Game 3, Sims recorded 16 points and a playoff-best 8 assists, including the feed on Boston's game-winning layup.
Sims then helped the Fever set the tone against Las Vegas in an 89-73 Game 1 win, notching 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 32 minutes.
Odyssey Sims showed up in a BIG way in Game 1 of the Semi-Finals for the @IndianaFever 🔑
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 22, 2025
She finished with 17 PTS (13 in the second half), 3 AST and 3 STL to fuel the Fever win ⬇️#WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google pic.twitter.com/KDxKep1mu4
"She's been terrific for us, and we're gonna need her to continue to be," White declared.
Any team would sign up for this level of production out of their starting point guard. The fact that Indiana is getting it from a hardship player is merely icing on the cake.
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Lou Orlando is a Fordham University alum, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. At Rose Hill, he covered women's basketball for the university newspaper, the Fordham Ram. In addition to calling games on 90.7 FM. The Brooklyn native enjoys bagels and thinking about random early-2010s athletes, that is when he isn't penning stories for Women's Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI.
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