The Indiana Fever backcourt of Kelsey Mitchell and Odyssey Sims combined for 51 points in a 16-point win over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals on Sunday. For her part, Sims tallied 17 points, three assists and three steals to give the Fever a 1-0 series lead. Mitchell and Sims are hoping to lead Indiana to their first WNBA Finals since 2015. Despite Game 1, the Aces still have the better odds to advance to the WNBA Finals.
However, Sims knows all about being an underdog.
Odyssey refers to a long and eventful or adventurous journey, and often implies several challenges or complications. Odyssey Sims is a 12-year WNBA veteran and journeywoman. Indiana marks her eighth move across six different franchises.
“When a team waives me, when I get picked up, I get waived again. It’s like I’m always just at the same mindset of just staying ready, and it’s paid off,” Sims told CBS Sports on Monday. “I never let anything faze me … I’ve been taking advantage of the opportunities that have come across me.”
The eventful journey for Sims now has her competing on an underdog Fever team. She was retained on a hardship contract after Indiana announced Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald suffered season-ending injuries. Less than a month later, the Fever announced 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark would also miss the remainder of the season. Indiana retained Sims, who started the season with the Los Angeles Sparks, for the rest of the season and playoff run.
“I will continue to say my heart goes out to each and every one of them that is injured. Those are my girls. Love them. Obviously, if they weren’t injured, then I probably wouldn’t be here,” Sims said.
It’s the harsh reality of sports, but Indiana is making the most of it. The five injured players have been coined the Bench Mob. What the group can’t offer on the court, they give as a hype squad of sorts. Their antics have even led to a $200 fine for Clark.
“[On] this team is doesn’t matter if you’re playing, if you’re not, if you’re one of the coaches, if you’re a head coach, if you’re from ownership. Everyone, collectively, we’re in it together,” Sims told CBS Sports.
To that end, Indiana’s Bench Mob is somewhat of a scout team. Sims says the players are very vocal — all but McDonald, according to Sims, who has a more lowkey vibe. The injured teammates liberally share their observations throughout games, pointing out little things that can give their active teammates a competitive advantage.
The constant communication Sims described is a concrete example of the team’s motto: We over me.
“That’s what we live by, and that’s what we’ve shown. We don’t really care about who is the star for the game. We don’t care about who has the most points or who has this accolade after a game. At the end of the day, we want to win,” she said.
The Fever’s playoff success undoubtedly runs through Mitchell, and Sims plays a critical role in opening the floor for her and frontcourt players like Aliyah Boston and Natasha Howard.
“They brought me here, and they wanted me to continue to do that. I’m really good, and I get downhill, obviously I command a lot of attention when I’m getting to the paint, so that my teammates could just be able to catch and shoot,” Sims said.
Additionally, she helps push the pace Fever head coach Stephanie White wants from her team.
“She reminds me 24/7 that when my pace is at a high level, then my team, we play at a higher level,” Sims said. “The ball moves a little bit quicker. We’re able to get the ball from side to side … she just tells me, like my pace sets the tone for that possession.”
Indiana finished the regular season top five in pace and leads pace among the eight playoff teams. Through four playoff games, Sims is averaging 12 points and 29.5 minutes per game; both are her highest averages since the 2020 season with Minnesota.
The oddsmakers still have the Fever as an underdog (Indiana has +200 odds to win the series at DraftKings despite the Game 1 win), but that’s far from how players see themselves. White praises her team for its resilience daily, while also reminding her roster they haven’t come this far to just come this far.
“We’re not satisfied with just being in the semifinals. We’re not just satisfied with being in the playoffs,” Sims said. “Every game we play is going to be hard and we know that… I just feel like we’re in a great place.”
For the Fever to beat the odds, they’ll have to get through an Aces team who rode a 16-game winning streak into the postseason, and has overcome their own adversity. Stealing a game on the road was a good start before the series moves to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Games 3 and 4.
“Vegas is a good team, a championship team. We know what they can do. We know they’re going to make a testament,” Sims said. “So we’re expecting that Game 2 will be harder, but we’re ready for it. We’re ready for anything that we could get thrown to us.”
Nobody knows that better than Odyssey. Although she claims to always botch the story behind her name, she does feel her WNBA career has been quite the adventure.
“I could have gave up last year,” the 33-year-old said. “I could have gave up after being waived by L.A. this year, but I said, ‘No, I’m not done yet,’ and look where I am? So, like I said, Everything happens for a reason, and I’m happy to be here.”