Fever Player on Temporary Leave Sends Tearful Message as She Returns to Indiana
Damiris Dantas' time away from the Indiana Fever did not end in an ideal manner. This, after Brazil suffered a heartbreaking loss to the United States in the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup final on Sunday, 92-84, which was held in Santiago, Chile.
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Dantas has been on temporary leave from the Fever amid her national team obligations, which officially came to an end on Sunday. Brazil went undefeated until the final, but they ultimately came up short against a powerhouse Team USA side.
On Monday, Dantas took to Instagram to share a photo of herself inside a plane. The 6-foot-4 center-forward is now headed back to rejoin the Fever following her nearly two-week leave, and it appears that her picture was taken during her flight back to the United States.
Dantas added a brief caption to her post.
"The return will be long 🥹" she wrote, as translated from Portuguese to English by an AI tool.
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Dantas appeared to be emotional as she posted her message, and the use of the teary-eyed emoji is a testament to this notion. This Instagram story also follows an earlier post where she made a painful admission about Brazil's loss in the tournament.
Dantas was Brazil's driving force in the tournament. She averaged a tournament-best 21.4 points in seven games played, to go along with 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 triples per game.
In the final on Sunday, the 32-year-old veteran dropped a tournament-high 35 points, which still proved insufficient to lead Brazil to victory.
Damiris Dantas of the Indiana Fever shoots the ball against the Seattle Storm. Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Fever are back in action on Wednesday against the Golden State Valkyries, but Dantas' status for that one remains unclear at this point. Fatigue will also be a factor for her after having played seven games in 10 days during the AmeriCup.
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Related: Indiana Fever on Temporary Leave Suffers Painful Blow on Sunday
Related: Fan Receives Unexpected Favor From Caitlin Clark on Monday
Related: Lexie Hull Reacts to Indiana Fever News on Sunday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
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