Indiana Fever part ways with coach Christie Sides after two seasons
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever have fired head coach Christie Sides after two years.
Hired in November 2022, Sides posted a 33-47 record. That included a 13-27 record in 2023 and a 20-20 record in 2024, which gave Indiana the No. 6 seed and its first playoff berth since 2016. The Fever had gone 45-147 in the six seasons prior to hiring Sides.
“Leave it better than you found it,” Sides said on X.
Indiana Fever newsLWhat Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides said after being fired despite making playoffs
There were some growing pains in Sides’ tenure, as is normal for a first-time head coach. She struggled with defensive rotations and making necessary changes to lineups, as well as standing up for her players against the refs. The Fever started the 2024 season 2-9 (with no thanks to their grueling schedule to open the season), but Indiana ultimately managed to right the ship to finish in a playoff position.
She coached two consecutive No. 1 picks and Rookies of the Year in Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, three All-Stars in 2024 (Kelsey Mitchell joining the No. 1 picks), and tallied a win against every team other than Las Vegas.
Ultimately, Sides was the coach that brought the team back to a stable place after years of being in the bottom of the league. For the first time since the 2017 draft, the Fever are not in the WNBA Draft Lottery.
But new Fever president Kelly Krauskopf wants to swing bigger, especially in a time of transformational change in the WNBA. The league is expanding, with an expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries slated for December, and WNBA players are opting out of the league’s collective bargaining agreement following the 2025 season.
“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 Krauskopf 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.”
‘Transformational change’:WNBPA opts out of CBA to negotiate for higher salaries, benefits
The Fever are undergoing a complete front-office restructure. Former President Allison Barber stepped down as the Fever’s president following the 2024 season to lead the Marvella Project, an organization to encourage girls to play sports in Indiana. Krauskopf, the architect of the franchise, returned to the role of Fever president in 2024 after six years as an assistant general manager with the Pacers. Krauskopf then hired Amber Cox from the Dallas Wings as Indiana’s GM in place of Lin Dunn, who had been in the role since 2022 and is now a senior advisor to Fever basketball.
Now, they’re going to be the sixth team looking for a new head coach ahead of the 2025 season, joining Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington.
There are some quality coaches available in the market, as well, including Curt Miller, who was fired from Los Angeles after two years, and Stephanie White, who has one year left on her contract with the Connecticut Sun but has been talking with other teams, including the Fever, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile.