The Indiana Fever fired head coach Christie Sides on Sunday after a 20-20 season that ended in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
“We are incredibly thankful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral transition period over the last two seasons, while also positioning us well for future growth,” said Kelly Krauskopf, the team’s president of basketball operations, in a statement.
“While decisions like these are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals, which includes maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.”
Sides’ Fever career ends with a 33-47 record in the regular season. Indiana lost in the playoffs in what was the team’s first postseason appearance — and first season at .500 — since 2016.
Sides, 47, had the responsibility of guiding the development of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, back-to-back WNBA Rookies of the Year.
Sides is the sixth WNBA coach to be fired since the end of the regular season. The Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks and Washington Mystics also are looking for new head coaches.
The Fever could be looking to turn back the clock to 2016.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday that the Fever were one of three teams Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White could lead in 2025. While she is under contract through the 2025 season, per the report, the Sun could choose to make her available to other teams.
The Sun, Fever and Sky are rumored as teams she could coach next season.
White was the head coach of the Fever in 2015 and ’16, with the first team losing to the Minnesota Lynx in five games in the WNBA finals. She owns a 92-56 career record in the regular season and 13-13 mark in the playoffs over four seasons with the Fever and Sun.
White, 47, previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach and five as a player with the Fever. She starred in college at Purdue.
–Field Level Media
