After two seasons, the Indiana Fever fired coach Christie Sides, who had a 33-47 record with the team, including a 20-20 record in the most recent season. The Fever made the playoffs as the sixth seed but were swept in the first round. Sides was one of six WNBA coaches to be let go this offseason, with all of them having three years of coaching experience or less. Indiana is now looking for a new head coach to lead their young team, which includes standout players Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, who have both won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award in the past two seasons.
Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever’s president of basketball operations, expressed gratitude to Sides for her work in leading the team through a transition period and positioning them for future growth. Krauskopf, who recently returned to the Fever after working with the Indiana Pacers, emphasized the team’s goal of winning another WNBA championship. Sides, who had previously worked as an assistant coach with the Fever, Chicago Sky, and Atlanta Dream, had two years remaining on her contract before being let go. The Fever have struggled to find coaching stability since the departure of Lin Dunn in 2014, with multiple coaches coming and going in recent years.
The Fever had a challenging start to the season, losing eight of their first nine games before making a strong comeback after the Olympic break, winning seven of their last eight games to secure a playoff spot. Despite their performance in the regular season, the Fever were quickly eliminated from the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun. Krauskopf’s goal of bringing another championship to Indiana will now fall on the shoulders of a new head coach, who will inherit a team with a promising young core. With the talent of players like Clark and Boston, the Fever will be looking to build on their recent success and compete for a WNBA title in the future.
