Indiana Fever fire head coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s historic rookie season

By Wayne Sterling, CNN

(CNN) — The Indiana Fever have fired head coach Christie Sides after two seasons, the WNBA team announced Sunday.

Sides led Indiana to its first postseason appearance since 2016 with the help of the 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, who had a historic season. The Fever were 20-20 in the regular 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,” Fever President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf said 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.”

As for Clark, the 22-year-old became the first rookie in 16 years to be named to the All-WNBA first team while setting the league single-season assists record, an accomplishment which included a WNBA-record 19 assists in one game. Her 8.4 assists per game average is also a WNBA record.

She also became the first ever rookie to record a triple-double and holds the record for most three-pointers made (122) by a rookie in league history.

“Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future,” Krauskopf added.

Sides had a 33-47 regular season record during her tenure. Indiana was swept in the first round of the 2024 playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.

In Sides’ first season on the bench, forward Aliyah Boston won the 2023 Rookie of the Year award.

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