The historic WNBA season ended with the New York Liberty securing their first championship, and now fans will have to wait over six months to see the players back in action. For Rookie of the Year and top pick in the last WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark, the season exceeded high expectations, especially considering the disastrous 1-8 start. The Fever finished with a 20-20 record, their highest win total since 2015, by winning nine of their last 14 games after the Olympic break, the result of a shared mission between Clark and former head coach Christie Sides that didn’t end well.

Sides and Clark’s Playoff Mission Falls Short

This mission between Clark and Sides began after the rookie was left off the team that won the eighth consecutive gold medal in Paris. In response, Clark sent Sides a message saying, “Hey coach, you woke up a monster.” And so it was – after returning from the month-long Olympic break, Clark stepped up her game and led the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Back then, the coach was Stephanie White, who is now rumored to be the front-runner for the Fever job, but who could also join Angel Reese on the Chicago Sky.

Sides and Clark’s mission didn’t end in a championship, as the Fever entered the playoffs as the sixth seed, only to be swept in the first round by Stephanie White and the Connecticut Sun, with Sides accused of failing to maximize the potential of her star player. I think White might have a bias towards the Fever, as she played there for four seasons and also coached the team for two seasons, reaching the finals in 2015 but ultimately losing to the Minnesota Lynx.

Sides Out, Fever Look to White After Clark’s Epic Rookie Run

The decision to fire Sides seems right to me, because even though she had little time to work with Clark, the Fever management knows they have a diamond in Clark and they don’t want to waste any time. This season, White turned the Sun into the best defensive team in the league, which would be beneficial for a young team like the Fever, bringing defensive strength and building more character.

Caitlin Clark, this season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, had perhaps the best rookie campaign in history. Her debut season with the Indiana Fever was nothing short of extraordinary. She led the entire WNBA in assists per game (8.4), set the record for most assists in a season with 337, and holds the single-game assist record with 19. Clark also dominated in three-pointers, making 122 and moving into second place all-time for most three-pointers made in a season, just behind Sabrina Ionescu’s 128. Among other records, she became the first rookie to record a triple-double, which she did twice.