When you think of the Indiana Fever in 2024, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Caitlin Clark. Then, maybe Aliyah Boston. Maybe a few more names (especially if you’re a newer WNBA fan) come to mind before you get to some of the Fever veterans. Out of all the moves and changes the Indiana Fever have made heading into what will be an exciting season for the young team, one is incredibly intriguing to think about—Katie Lou Samuelson.
The Fever signed Samuelson as a free agent earlier in 2024, after she had been with the Los Angeles Sparks from 2022-2023, and missed the 2023 season due to pregnancy/childbirth. Originally drafted to the Chicago Sky fourth overall in the 2019 WNBA draft out of UConn, Samuelson has played on a different team basically every year of her career, but has always been a mainstay in the league since being drafted. After her rookie season with the Sky, she was traded to the Dallas Wings for the 2020 season, traded to the Storm for the 2021 season and then finally to the Sparks prior to the 2022 season.
This offseason was the first time Samuelson moved to a new team by her own choice, leaving the Sparks for the Indiana Fever. Despite the movement from team to team throughout her career, Samuelson is an asset to every team she plays with. Her movement is more an indicator of her value than her fit with any of the teams she’s played with, or lack thereof.
As a forward, Samuelson brings a steady bigger wing presence to lineups. She shot a career-high 35.2 percent from three-point range in the 2022 season (her most recent) in LA, and her stats have steadily risen as she’s been given more responsibility throughout her career. Her 6’3’’ frame in the three to four position allows her an advantage on defense as well.
Samuelson is also in the small group of WNBA players who have played 3×3 basketball at the international level—something that adds to her game. 3×3 is incredibly fast-paced, physical and requires you to be able to find your shot without much space. The courts are smaller, the time is rushed and you have to get points on the board in any way you can. Samuelson’s experience on that side of basketball surely makes her a quick-thinker on the court, a physical driver and someone who can get off a contested shot.
Back in Seattle, she played the three-spot in a lineup of Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, Samuelson, Breanna Stewart and Mercedes Russell. Talk about star-power—that team made it to the WNBA semifinals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces won the championship, and Samuelson was traded for Gabby Williams and went to LA.
From her Seattle days to now, Samuelson has matured from a talented young prospect into a seasoned WNBA veteran—something that surely was helped along by playing under the leadership of Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike and others. While her one season playing for LA and her second on the sidelines preparing to welcome her daughter Aliya weren’t exactly the winningest for the Sparks, there is value to being around a building team.
That’s exactly the situation the Indiana Fever find themselves in now, and how Samuelson will help. After years of being a lottery team, missing out on the playoffs and winning minimal games per season, the tides are turning for the Fever. They drafted Aliyah Boston first overall in 2023, then Caitlin Clark first overall in 2024. They have several first-rounders from recent years, and have been careful in their choices for veterans to add around these young stars to maximize potential.
While Samuelson isn’t the most tenured veteran on the Fever roster—Erica Wheeler, Kelsey Mitchell and Damaris Dantas all have more years than her—the addition of Samuelson is exciting.
When you take a look at these vets the Fever have chosen, you see a theme starting to form. Wheeler and Mitchell are guards—they will likely lend to the on-court mentoring of players like Clark and second-year player Grace Berger. Dantas and Samuelson are 6’3’’ forwards, very similar to third-year player NaLyssa Smith. While Lexie Hull is a smaller wing at 6’1’’, she will learn a lot from Samuelson’s game, especially when it comes to things like shooting and aggression on offense. Aliyah Boston is listed technically as a forward-center, and there is a lot about Dantas’ game Boston can learn from.
The intentionality of the Fever to get these vets who will not only help form the culture of this young team, but also help with their on-court development, is massive. It’s something a little rare in women’s basketball, given the smaller roster sizes, to be able to get a variety of players like the Fever now have— people with varying levels and years of experience. The ones with nearly a decade of pro experience and the ones who were playing in college last month, with a lot of everything in between.
Samuelson in particular is an excellent example of the steadiness required to succeed in the WNBA. She has played on championship contending teams and on teams that haven’t made the playoffs. She has played overseas, she’s played 3×3 basketball. While she came into the league a promising prospect, she now has the experience to back it up, and to share with her young teammates. Someone who can not only get a bucket when you need one (something Samuelson is very talented at), but will stay calm under pressure, knows the game at this level and knows her opponents.
The signing of Samuelson to the Indiana Fever makes them a deeper team, but will also lend to the long-term success of their younger players. These players are being trained to be the faces of the WNBA for the next decade plus, and having a strong support network of teammates is essential to their success.
Overall, it’s also just exciting to see Katie Lou Samuelson making her return to the WNBA after the birth of her daughter. If other mothers who have returned from maternity leave are any proof, moms get it done on the WNBA court. Samuelson has always been a really fun player to watch on the court, and it will be exciting to see her shift into this new veteran role alongside some of the league’s biggest rookie and sophomore players.
