Fever fire coach Christie Sides after Caitlin Clark’s rookie year

Caitlin Clark will have a new coach for her second WNBA season.

The Fever announced Sunday that they fired Christie Sides after two seasons and a 33-47 record, with the most recent campaign featuring Clark — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft — and an in-season turnaround that ended with the No. 6 seed in the playoffs after a brutal start.

Indiana, though, was swept by Connecticut in the opening round of the postseason.

“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. 

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

Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game during her rookie season, winning Rookie of the Year, making the All-WNBA First Team and setting numerous records throughout the campaign.

Sides received the lone Coach of the Year vote that didn’t go to Cheryl Reeve and Sandy Brondello — who coached WNBA Finals teams in the Lynx and Liberty respectively — this season, but the Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that Sun coach Stephanie White has been in talks with three teams about potentially becoming their coach, including the Fever.

That suggested Sides’ tenure with Indiana could end before the 2025 season.

And now, six WNBA teams have vacancies after the Fever joined the Dream, Wings, Sparks, Mystics and Sky.