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Indiana Fever fires head coach Christie Sides following Caitlin Clark’s historic rookie season
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Indiana Fever fires head coach Christie Sides following Caitlin Clark’s historic rookie season



CNN

The Indiana Fever have fired head coach Christie Sides after two seasons, the WNBA team announced on Sunday.

Sides led Indiana to its first postseason appearance since 2016 with the help of 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, who was coming off a historic season. The Fever was 20-20 in the regular season.

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

“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.”

Christie Sides led the Indiana Fever to the team's first postseason appearance since 2016.

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 single-season assists record, a feat that includes a WNBA record 19 assists in a single game included. . Her average of 8.4 assists per game is also a WNBA record.

She also became the first rookie ever to record a triple-double and holds the record for most three-pointers (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 by the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.

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