Odyssey Sims has been thriving in Indiana.
The Fever’s latest signing could be one of their best yet
The Indiana Fever have signed Odyssey Sims to a rest-of-season contract after a standout couple of weeks.
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Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
The 33-year-old veteran guard has averaged 11.4 points in 7 games with the Indiana Fever. Thus, on Sunday, it was no surprise that the Fever announced they’d signed Sims to a rest-of-season contract.
In her last two games, Sims has found an undeniable offensive rhythm; in a win over the Seattle Storm last Tuesday, she exploded for 22 points (8-14 FG) and 6 assists.
Then, on Friday, she tallied 21 points (10-20 FG), 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in a critical victory over the Los Angeles Sparks — the same Sparks team that waived her last month and is currently fighting for a playoff spot.
In turn, the Fever remain alive despite season-ending injuries to Aari McDonald, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson — as well as Caitlin Clark remaining out with a groin injury that’s sidelined her most of the season.
And, Sims — who has had an up-and-down couple of seasons on temporary contracts — finally has much-deserved job security for the remainder of the season. Since 2022, Sims has been waived by the Minnesota Lynx, Dallas Wings, and Sparks. She’s played on hardship contracts, she’s found herselves outside of the league altogether, and now she finds herself a starting guard on the most watched women’s basketball team in the world.
After injuries to McDonald and Colson, Sims signed a temporary contract with the Fever in early August. One seven-day contract became three, and soon enough, Sims signed a rest-of-season opportunity, and is well-positioned to play a crucial role come playoff time.
“Just going off the last two years, just up and down in the league, out the league, hardship contract, being cut, all that stuff doesn’t really matter,” Sims said after Friday’s win, per the Indy Star. “I think I’m the definition of you stay ready so you don’t have to get ready — take every opportunity that has been given to me. I’m taking full advantage of it. These are the opportunities that you can’t let slip away.”
At 21-18, the Fever have the league’s sixth-best record. If the playoffs were to begin today, they’d face the Atlanta Dream, and Sims would be one of the team’s starters, provided Clark remains sidelined. Considering just a few weeks ago she was (once again) out of the WNBA, that’s a pretty remarkable place to be.
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