Indiana Fever fires coach Christie Sides, becoming sixth WNBA team to do so

Christie Sides was sacked by the Indiana Fever on Sunday, the team said. In her two seasons with the team, Sides finished 33-47, including 20-20 this season. The Fever, who were swept by the Connecticut Sun in the opening round, qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed.

After Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, and Los Angeles, Indiana Fever is the sixth club to replace their coaching this offseason. Every coach that was fired had three years or less of experience. Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston will provide a solid youthful core for whoever takes over the Fever. The two have taken home the WNBA Rookie of the Year honors the past two years. In 2024, both enjoyed outstanding seasons and saw significant improvement all year long.

After the ruling was reached and the story went viral on social media, both sides responded. She announced her 2023–2024 season with the Fever in a quick social media announcement. Christie Sides posted a peace sign along with the message, "Leave it better than you found it," on social media. 

Breaking: The Indiana Fever have parted ways with head coach Christie Sides, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/P3lTiB80vu

— ESPN (@espn) October 27, 2024

Leave it better than you found it.✌🏼

— Christie Sides (@ChristieSides) October 27, 2024

Earlier this month, Krauskopf returned to the Fever after playing for the Indiana Pacers. Before accepting the position as head coach, Sides worked as a league assistant for a long time, first with Chicago from 2011 to 2016, then the Fever from 2017 to 2019, and last with Atlanta in 2022. In the 2022 season, she took over as coach in place of Marianne Stanley and Carlos Knox, her temporary replacement.

Indiana Fever made it into the playoffs after long time

Sides' contract was up in two years. Since Lin Dunn, who coached from 2008 to 2014, Indiana Fever have not had a head coach for more than three years. They have since had Stanley (2020–22), Pokey Chatman (2017–19), and Stephanie White (2015–16). Indiana dropped eight of their first nine games of the season due to a terrible schedule. Following the Olympic break, the Fever finally got rolling, winning seven of eight games to qualify for the playoffs.