Justin Pissott showed out with a record-breaking performance, and a tattoo on her thigh told the perfect story. "Everything happens for a reason," it says. After riding the bench at the Indiana Fever
for the first half of the season, Pissot finally got the opportunity with the Las Vegas Aces
. And she showed out. Pissot dropped 19 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in just 10 minutes of action, including a WNBA debut record of 5 threes. Naturally, the Fever's decision to let go of this player has come under scrutiny.
"The Indiana Fever
, I feel like it is just very hard because they have let so much talent go. And it's not only recently, it's from the past too," Rosalina Lee said in her WNBA coverage.
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Pissot started out with the Indiana Fever as a developmental player but did not get an opportunity until the Las Vegas Aces came around. She continued to train with the team for 21 games, but Stephanie White did not use even one of her 12 games. When it came to retaining her, the Fever opted to retain Damiris Dantas
and Grace VanSlooten for "cultural reasons."
For context, Dantas has indeed struggled to score 19+ points consistently in recent WNBA seasons.
And this is not new. The Fever has a history of such potential blunders. While in the middle of a reset, the Fever waived Alanna Smith
in 2022. In 2025, she tied for the WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year award.
Julie Allemand
was originally selected by the Fever in the third round of the 2016 WNBA Draft but didn't immediately join the team. She spent several years honing her skills overseas before officially signing and playing her stellar rookie season for Indiana in 2020. Following her standout 2020 campaign, Allemand stepped back from basketball for mental health reasons, and her WNBA rights eventually led her to other organizations.
In 2026, Allemand has started 14 of the 16 games with the Tempo
. They drafted Emily Engstler
in 2022 and waived her after her rookie season. Now she is one of the best paint protectors in the league. They moved on from NaLyssa Smith
and she became a pivotal piece of the defending champions, the Aces. Additionally, their future looks complicated as well.
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"They're not going to have very high draft picks coming up. Having good players on your team is only part of the equation. But don't get me started on their salary cap issues next season," Lee further said.
Tankathon currently predicts Indiana Fever to have the 11th pick in the WNBA draft. This year, they drafted Raven Johnson at No. 10, and she has not seen as much playing time as many expected. She is averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game. While they struggle to recruit impactful youngsters, their period with this particular group could also be coming to an end.
Kelsey Mitchell
has signed a one-year supermax, while Sophie Cunningham
is also on a single-year deal. And Cunningham publicly admitted that she was unhappy with the contract's length. Caitlin Clark
could trigger the EPIC provision and sign a max extension as well. So, they have multiple important contracts to manage within their limited cap. In this math, they could have retained Justine Pissott, a stretch big on a rookie contract.
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The post "Let So Much Talent Go": WNBA Analyst Believes Indiana Fever Are Earning the Wrong Reputation After Waived Rookie Makes History in Aces' Debut
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