Caitlin Clark’s Fever fire Christie Sides despite first playoff appearance since 2016

The Indiana Fever fired coach Christie Sides on Sunday, the organization announced.

Sides went 33-47 in her two seasons with the team, including 20-20 this season. The Fever made the playoffs as the sixth seed, their first postseason appearance since 2016, but were swept in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.

Whoever takes over the Fever will have a strong young core to work with, led by Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. The pair have won the last two WNBA Rookie of the Year awards.

“We are incredibly grateful to Coach Sides for embracing the challenge of leading us through an integral period of transition over the past two seasons while positioning ourselves for future growth,” said Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf.

“While these types of decisions are never easy, it is also imperative that we remain courageous and assertive as we pursue our goals, including maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship to Indiana. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future.

Krauskopf returned to the Fever earlier this month after spending time with the Indiana Pacers.

Sides was a longtime assistant in the league, spending time with Chicago (2011-16), the Fever (2017-19) and Atlanta (2022) before landing the head coaching job.

The Fever had a brutal schedule to start the season, losing eight of their first nine games. Indiana finally got going after the Olympic break, winning seven of eight to get into the playoffs.

Indiana is the sixth team to make a coaching change this season, joining Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. All the coaches we let go had three years or less experience.