The veteran center re-signed with Indiana on April 12 during the condensed free agency period, but couldn’t make the trip to Indianapolis right away. Dantas, a Brazil native, had to wait for her work visa to be approved, a process that took about two weeks.
In a regular offseason, a two-week wait for a work visa would not have been a big deal. A two-week wait in this condensed offseason, however, meant Dantas had to miss the Fever’s first week of training camp.
“It was hard to wait for my visa at home,” Dantas said Tuesday. “I had nothing to do, just wait. The visa took a little long this year again, so happy to be here, happy to be back.”
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Thankfully for Dantas, who is going into her third year with the Fever and second under coach Stephanie White, she’s already familiar with Indiana’s system.
Dantas played in 38 regular-season games as Aliyah Boston’s backup last season, averaging 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11 minutes per game. She had a down year beyond the arc, shooting just 26% from 3-point range in 2025, but she is a career 33.2% as a big who can stretch the floor.
“We know what DD does to stretch the floor, and there’s nothing better than having a post player that shoots the ball as well as she does,” Boston said. “We’re excited she’s back.”
Dantas will provide crucial depth behind Boston, something that they were missing in the final phase of the season last year. Dantas suffered a concussion in practice ahead of the playoffs, forcing her to miss all eight games of the Fever’s underdog playoff run and giving Indiana its sixth season-ending injury of the season.
“It was a hard moment for me,” Dantas said. “I think the playoffs are the best part, so it was so sad, but my teammates support me, and I do my best in the offseason to come back here and help the team.”
After recovering from that concussion, the 6-foot-4 center found her shot again while playing for Botas in Turkey, averaging 18.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 38.9% from 3-point range over 19 games. She also played in China for two weeks, joining Liaoning for the WCBA playoffs and averaging 26.7 points and 63.6% shooting from 3-point range over three games.
She also played for Brazil in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, averaging 22 points in 33 minutes over five games.
“I’m really excited,” White said. “She’s been playing great, she looks great. I heard that yesterday she shot the lights out (in a workout), so excited to get her back on the floor. I mean, she gives us a different kind of look from the post position, and I’m ready to get her integrated.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.