Indiana Fever Part Ways With Coach Christie Sides Despite Playoff Run

Head coach Christie Sides and Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever celebrate after a 85–83 victory against the Washington Mystics in Washington on June 7, 2024. Greg Fiume/Getty Images

The Indiana Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2016 under coach Christie Sides, but it wasn’t enough to save her job.

Indiana parted ways with Sides after two seasons. She is the sixth WNBA coach to be fired this offseason, along with changes in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington.

“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,” Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement on Oct. 27.

“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 had a 33–47 (.413) regular-season record over two seasons with Indiana. She was also instrumental in helping develop some of the league’s top young players, including Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, who were each named WNBA Rookie of the Year the past two seasons.

Sides is also the first coach in franchise history to be named WNBA Coach of the Month when she won the award in August 2024.

However, the Fever are confident they have the nucleus to win a WNBA title. This past season, Indiana was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.

Clark is the league’s most marketable player. With 700,735 All-Star Game votes, she was the first player in league history to earn WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors in the same month.

The Fever set the WNBA attendance record with more than 300,000 fans, with Clark as the starting guard.

Clark started all 40 games over the regular season, breaking the league’s scoring record with 769 points, surpassing the previous mark set by Seimone Augustus, who scored 744 points in 34 games in 2006. Clark also set the WNBA single-season assist record at 337.

Boston is also a force and averaged 14 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

Now, the Fever are looking for a coach to take them to the next level. They will have plenty of competition looking for a new coach.

The Dallas Wings parted ways with head coach Latricia Trammell after going 31–49 in two seasons.

Atlanta Dream fired head coach Tanisha Wright, who went 48–68 record and made the playoffs twice in the past three seasons.

Los Angeles Sparks and coach Curt Miller agreed to part ways after he finished 25–55 and did not make the postseason in his two years at the helm.

The Chicago Sky fire head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after she went 13–27 in her only season.

The Washington Mystics parted ways with both coach Eric Thibault and general manager Mike Thibault after finishing this season 14–26 and missing the playoffs.