INDIANAPOLIS — Following a difficult season, Fever forward NaLyssa Smith put out a statement on social media sharing her thoughts on her third year in the league.

“one, i could’ve never imagined my 3rd year to go like this lol but i know there’s a lesson in every loss,” Smith wrote on X on Thursday night. “the love i have for my teammates will forever be unmatched the amount of times yall picked me up & just brightened up my day by jus making me laugh when yall knew what i was going through is why i consider yall my family & i thank yall everyday 4 that.”

Smith, drafted No. 2 by the Fever out of Baylor in 2022, has been a starter for all three years of her time on the Fever. But her averages, including minutes, points, and rebounds, decreased from 2023, and she has commented on social media on the amount of touches she has been getting this season.

Smith averaged 15.5 points and 9.2 rebounds on 28.5 minutes per game in 2023, but those numbers slid to 10.6 points 7.1 rebounds on 24.8 minutes per game this season.

Through the final 10 games of the regular season, Smith was playing an average of 20 minutes while her fellow starters were playing 30-plus. She played just nine minutes after starting Game 1 of the playoffs against Connecticut, then came off the bench for only four minutes in Game 2, with the team out-scored by 12 points while she was on the floor.

“i’ve never questioned my basketball abilities in my life because i know im good enough & i know i belong,” Smith added in her statement. “do i have (expletive) to improve on absolutely i’ll never be perfect & yall shouldn’t expect me to be perfect but i’ll always work to be as close to perfect as i can be. that’s the thing about me is regardless of all the (expletive) i went thru it neva stopped me from working because i know who i am.”

Smith still has a year left on her rookie scale contract with the Fever, so it is not immediately clear if her statement means she and the Fever are officially parting ways. She did remove ‘@indianafever’ from her Instagram and X bios following Indiana’s elimination from the playoffs on Wednesday night, replacing it with ‘@wnba’.

Indiana picked up Smith’s fourth-year option ahead of the 2024 season, putting her under contract through the end of 2025. The fourth-year option is fully protected, per Her Hoop Stats, and Smith would be set to earn $91,581.

There are multiple ways Smith and the Fever could negate her contract. First, if the Fever leave Smith unprotected in the expansion draft, the Golden State Valkyries could pick her. Then, her contract would transfer to Golden State. Indiana could also negotiate a trade with another team in the league with Smith as one of the pieces involved.

Finally, the Fever and Smith could simply agree to a contract divorce. Contract divorces are negotiable in the WNBA, and Smith could possibly agree to be paid less than what she is owed from the Fever.

There is a recent precedent within the Fever for negotiated contract divorces — they agreed to a contract divorce with Victoria Vivians, who was going to be owed a $136,000 salary in 2024, ahead of the season. Vivians agreed to a buyout of $90,000, then signed with the Seattle Storm for the 2024 season.