NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Lexie Hull led the Indiana Fever to the brink of the WNBA Finals last season.
She did it without Caitlin Clark on the floor after the superstar was injured.
Now, with Clark returning in 2026, Hull believe and expect they can win a championship and promote the game to the next generation of fans and aspiring players.
Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10), guard Caitlin Clark (22) and guard Sophie Cunningham (8) laugh near the team bench on June 3, 2025 during a game against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (IMAGIN)
“Seeing girls, seeing boys show up every day and being able to give them hope and show them what they can do and show them the possibilities,” Hull told Pakinomist Digital about the benefits of playing in the WNBA.
“Growing up, I didn’t necessarily watch the WNBA that much, didn’t have dreams of playing in the league at a young age. And now girls have the ability to see us, see us, dream of being professional athletes. And that’s what’s been the most rewarding thing about it.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
“I love the game and I love the time [the fans] emerge. And that’s part of the reason I love doing what I do is seeing fans in the stands, seeing little girls and being able to be a role model for them on and off the court. I think that’s really what drives me and fuels me.’
Drafted by the Fever in 2022, Hull played her first two WNBA seasons without the massive spotlight that Clark brought in 2024.
They caught play-off fever together for the first time since 2016, the year before Hull led the team to a play-off appearance, while Clark and teammate Sophie Cunningham sat on the bench with injuries in 2026.
In a career-best year in 2025, Hull averaged career highs in points (7.2), rebounds (4.3) and assists (1.8), while shooting 36.7% from 3-point range and appearing in all 44 games.
FEVER’S LEXIE HULL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST PLAYER ATTACKS AS TEAM’S POPULARITY GROWS DURING CAITLIN CLARK ERA
Lexie Hull of the Indiana Fever during a game against the Washington Mystics at CFG Bank in Baltimore on September 7, 2025. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
In the playoffs, she was average 10.3 points, five rebounds and two assists in eight games. It all ended in a 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals.
But Hull says she believes the 2026 team, in year three of the Clark era, will be a different show, and one that contends for the title.
“I think it’s because we made it where we made it last year without some of our key pieces, and with a lot of injuries, and a lot, like this adversity. … Our bench was longer than every other bench. We had more people in the training room getting treatment than any other team, and we still almost made it to the finals,” Hull said.
“Tasting it and being so close and feeling like we have so much more to give, I think it just changes our mindset a little bit. And it’s not necessarily cocky, but confident that we really have a chance. And we should play like every game matters and we’re preparing for the last one.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Indiana Fevers’ Lexie Hull, Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham look on as the Golden State Valkyries celebrate their 88-77 victory in a WNBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco on June 19, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
“I think it’s very achievable with what we’re going to be able to do with free agency.”
