Indiana Fever fire head coach Christie Sides after two seasons

Christie Sides, who was hired as Indiana’s head coach in 2023, led the team to its first playoff appeance since 2016. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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

Sides led the Fever to a sixth-place finish in the 2024 regular season, earning the team’s first playoff appearance in eight seasons, but the Fever were swept by the Connecticut Sun in the first round.

In a statement, Fever president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf called Sides “an incredible representative of the Fever and our community.”

“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,” Krauskopf said in the 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.”

Sides did not share an official statement in the Fever’s press release, but did take to X to share a somewhat cryptic parting message.

“Leave it better than you found it,” she wrote.

Leave it better than you found it.✌🏼

— Christie Sides (@ChristieSides) October 27, 2024

The Fever initially got off to a slow start, going 1-8 in May. But the team eventually finished the season with a 20-20 record and the long-awaited postseason berth, buoyed by the trio of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell.

Indiana will now start next season with an entirely new front office: Krauskopf was hired as president in September, while the team hired Amber Cox as chief operating officer and general manager earlier this month. The Fever will now need to find a new head coach as well before the start of the 2025 season.

Sides’ ouster marks the sixth head-coaching move this offseason. Earlier this week, the Washington Mystics fired GM Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault after the team missed the playoffs, while the Dallas Wings fired Latricia Trammell last week after the team finished second to last in the regular-season standings. The Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream also have coaching vacancies after parting ways with Curt Miller, Teresa Weatherspoon and Tanisha Wright, respectively.