It appears the Indiana Fever are trying to rebrand everything about the franchise. That includes the head coaching position.
Christie Sides, who helped guide Caitlin Clark through her historic rookie season and get the club into the playoffs for the first time since 2016, has been shown the door.
The move comes after a not wholly unexpected sweep to the Connecticut Sun in the first 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 include maximizing our talent and bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana.”
The Fever won the WNBA championship back in 2012.
Coach Christie Sides Is Out
Christie Sides responded to her firing with a post on the social media platform X.
“Leave it better than you found it,” she wrote, accompanied by a ‘V for victory’ emoji. And that, she most certainly did.
Sides received one vote for 2024 Coach of the Year this past WNBA season, the only one outside of Cheryl Reeve or Sandy Brondello, who both coached in the Finals but faced none of the superstar drama or explosive growth Sides managed.
“Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future,” the team added in their statement.
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Connecticut coach Stephanie White, who helped make Caitlin Clark’s first playoff appearance a short one, is “expected” to replace Sides.
White is a former Fever player and coached them from 2015-2016 after serving as an assistant there for 4 years. She led the team to the WNBA Finals her first season.
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Complete Rebranding
Krauskopf has been making widespread changes to the franchise. Earlier this month, she announced a plan to use Caitlin Clark as a starting point to rebrand the team in the same mold as Apple.
The Fever aims to encapsulate similar values of excellence, innovation, and fan engagement. This rebranding strategy involves not just a change in aesthetics but also in how the team operates, engages with fans, and positions itself in the market.
It looks like Coach Christie Sides is a part of that transformation or, rather, a casualty.
Sides came under heavy fire during the season after not drawing up a play for the team’s best player which cost them a game against rival Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.
It was the only time Reese got over on Clark the entire season.
“Imagine Phil Jackson dialing up plays for a 1-2 with Steve Kerr and Bill Cartwright with Michael Jordan standing in the corner,” one critic wrote in a rather harsh take.
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