Indiana Fever

Three days after parting ways with the Connecticut Sun, Stephanie White quickly landed on her feet with the Indiana Fever.

"I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal moment in this franchise's history, as well as during such an important time throughout women's athletics," White said in a statement. "This franchise has and always will be committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world."

In an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, White shared her excitement to coach Caitlin Clark and the Fever, revealing she has already had a conversation with the WNBA Rookie of the Year:

ESPN's Alexa Philippou first reported the Fever had hired White as their new head coach after the team made its first playoff appearance in eight years on the strength of Clark's debut season that earned her Rookie of the Year honors.

Indiana had an opening at head coach after parting ways with Christie Sides on Oct. 27. She went 33-47 overall in two seasons and led the team to a playoff berth in 2024.

The Sun's decision to move on from White came as a surprise because the team was incredibly successful during her two-year stint as head coach. She led them to a 55-25 record with back-to-back appearances in the WNBA playoff semifinals.

Connecticut's 2024 season came to an end with an 88-77 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the semifinals.

Sun president Jen Rizzotti told Philippou the organization and White "parted on good terms because some of [White's] decision-making process was not just about basketball."

White, who earned Coach of the Year honors in her first season with the Sun, is returning to Indiana where she played four years of college basketball at Purdue and four years playing for the Fever from 2000 to '04.

After White's playing career ended, she moved into coaching. The 47-year-old's longest stint as a coach so far was with the Fever from 2011 to '16. She originally joined the team as an assistant on Lin Dunn's staff before taking over as head coach in 2015 after Dunn retired.

The Fever advanced to the WNBA Finals in White's first season, losing to the Lynx in five games. She left the team to become Vanderbilt's head coach after the 2016 season.

Of the seven head-coaching vacancies in the WNBA this offseason, the Fever job was arguably the most desirable. They already have two young stars on the roster in Clark and Aliyah Boston.

Clark's impact on the offense was immediate, as they finished third in points per game and rating during the 2024 season.

As long as the Fever can improve their defensive efficiency—they have finished in the bottom three in that category every year since 2017—they are going to have a path to being a title contender.

In White's four seasons as a WNBA head coach, her teams haven't finished lower than sixth in defensive rating.

The Indiana Fever announced Sunday they're moving on from head coach Christie Sides.

"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," president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said.

"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. Coach Sides was an incredible representative of the Fever and our community, and we wish her nothing but success in the future."

Sides guided the Fever to a 20-20 record and their first playoff appearance since 2016 this season.

Despite the Fever's success, they telegraphed her ouster by weighing up her potential replacement before she was actually out the door. The Chicago Sun-Times' Annie Costabile reported on Wednesday that Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White was garnering interest from Indiana.

White played for the Fever for four seasons and then coached the team in 2015 and 2016, leading them to the 2015 WNBA Finals. She has plenty of familiarity with the franchise. Her stock has never been higher, either, after the Connecticut Sun went 55-25 with her at the helm for the past two years.

Bringing White back to Indianapolis would be a major win for the franchise and a sign of ambition. However, the process by which she was courted and eventually hired might renew concerns that the front office still can't get out of its own way, even with a new general manager (Amber Cox) installed.

That Sides was fired at all on the heels of making the postseason speaks to how much the perception of the Fever has changed.

During its seven-year playoff drought, Indiana registered a single-digit win total five times. A succession of lottery picks yielded little in terms of value or a long-term vision.

The pendulum started to shift with the selection of Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. Boston was an All-Star and the unanimous Rookie of the Year winner in her first year, and she represented the kind of cornerstone the Fever lacked for a long time.

Winning the 2024 draft lottery then supercharged the rebuild as they earned the right to pick Caitlin Clark. Clark shook off a slow start to live up to her sky-high expectations. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists, setting a slew of league and franchise records.

Thanks to the combined presence of Boston and Clark, the Fever arguably have the most attractive vacancy in a crowded coaching carousel.

That will carry big demands for Sides' successor. The 2025 season isn't shaping up as a championship-or-bust year for Indiana, but the organization clearly isn't content with just getting into the playoffs anymore.

Following a historic rookie season with the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark is already gearing up for her sophomore campaign.

Clark showcased her long-range accuracy during an offseason workout, hitting 25 straight three-pointers.

Even though the Fever selected the former Iowa standout with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, she still surpassed expectations throughout her inaugural year in the league.

In 40 starts, Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game on 41.7/34.4/90.6 shooting splits. Although her overall three-point percentage wasn't relatively high compared to her senior season with the Hawkeyes, the degree of difficultly on her attempts from behind the arc was likely a factor.

It's also worth noting that she shot 37 percent from three while taking 9.9 long-range shots per game in 14 appearances following the 2024 Olympic break.

Clark finished the 2024 season with 769 total points, setting a new WNBA rookie scoring record. She also dished out 337 assists, the highest single-season total in the association's history while her 122 three-point field goals represented the new record among rookies.

The 22-year-old was rewarded for her incredible season with the 2024 Rookie of the Year award, receiving 66 of a possible 67 votes.

As Clark prepares for Indiana's 2025 campaign, she's already looking sharp from behind the arc.

Caitlin Clark has range, and not just on the basketball court.

It turns out the Indiana Fever superstar and WNBA Rookie of the Year award-winner has some chops on the golf course, too, coming feet away from sinking a hole-in-one on Monday:

And yes, she successfully putted in for birdie.

Clark is not a mere hobbyist when it comes to golf. She will play in the LPGA Tour's The Annika pro-am in November and has previously said that her offseason plans include a healthy dose of hitting the links.

"That's what I was looking forward to the most with basketball ending," she said of playing golf in the offseason back in Sept. 2023, per Alex Myers of Golf Digest. "Our coaches were like, 'You need to get away from the gym,' even though that's really hard for me to do sometimes. I still want to be active and do something, so I'm going to go to the golf course."

Clark also said that golf has helped her improve her mental toughness.

"You have one bad shot on the golf course or on the basketball court, you gotta move on to the next," she told Myers. "Obviously in basketball I have four other girls on the court with me that I can lean on if I'm not having a good day or shooting well. If I'm on the golf course, it's all on me. You have to accept that not every day is gonna be great for you. That's helped me by translating that to basketball."

The Indiana Fever on Friday published a 14-minute documentary highlighting Caitlin Clark's WNBA Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024.

The No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft averaged 19.2 points and 8.2 assists per game while leading the Fever back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The documentary featured Clark's commentary on becoming the first WNBA rookie to record two triple-doubles in the same season.

Clark credited Aaliyah Boston for allowing her to grab the historic rebound with 10.2 seconds left against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sept. 4.

"Shout out to AB, she kind of let me get that rebound," Clark laughed. "But I was lucky, because it bounced right in my direction, so I had to get it."

Clark continued: "I think that you can tell the joy that it kind of brought my teammates as well, it just speaks to the team culture that we have here. Nobody really cares about themselves. They just want the best for their teammates."

In honor of the documentary, the Fever published a five-part thread on X highlighting each one of the records Clark set while leading the WNBA with 337 total assists.

Clark capped off the 2024 season by finishing fourth place in WNBA MVP award voting. The Fever rookie will make a bid for the first top-three finish of her career next season as she looks to lead Indiana back into the playoffs next fall.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will compete in the Pro-Am for The Annika, an event named in honor of golf legend Annika Sörenstam, on Nov. 13 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida.

"I love golf so the opportunity to play in the Pro-Am for a tournament with a legend like Annika Sorenstam's name on it is so exciting," Clark said Monday. "Gainbridge is a leader in supporting women's sports and that's clear through their commitment to me, this event, Billie Jean King, and Parity Week. I'm looking forward to seeing all the LPGA players on the driving range, being part of the Women's Leadership Summit, and, of course, teeing it up in the pro-am with Annika."

After the Fever were swept out of the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun last month, the Rookie of the Year winner told reporters she envisioned playing a lot of golf in the offseason:

Clark said in a 2023 interview for the Big Ten Network she comes from a family of avid golfers and would hit the links a lot back home in Des Moines, Iowa.

This will be the second time the All-Star guard has taken to the tee for a pro-am event. She was among the stars on hand for the John Deere Classic Pro-Am in July 2023.

Clark is coming off a debut campaign in the WNBA that may have even exceeded the sky-high expectations for her. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists as Indiana made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was officially named the WNBA's Rookie of the Year on Thursday, an award she said she was "honored" to receive.

"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season—my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season," she said in a statement. "I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds."

Clark earned 66 of the 67 votes for the award, with the lone holdout going to the Chicago Sky's double-double dynamo, Angel Reese.

The 22-year-old was brilliant in her debut season for the Fever, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading the team to the postseason.

She also set a number of records. She became the first WNBA rookie to ever post a triple-double. She had 19 assists during a July 17 matchup against the Dallas Wings, another league record. She set the WNBA's single-season record for assists and rookie records for single-season scoring and three-pointers.

Clark has quickly emerged as one of the most popular figures in any sport and backed up the immense hype she received coming out of Iowa after setting an astonishing number of records during her college career.

Perhaps more impressive, a Fever team that went just 13-27 last season was 20-20 this year and made the postseason, though they were sept in the first round of the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was one vote away from being a unanimous Rookie of the Year winner.

The WNBA announced the voting results Thursday. Clark received 66 first-place votes, and the lone outlier went to the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese.

"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season—my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season," Clark said. "I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds."

Clark and Reese also claimed two of the five spots on the All-Rookie team:

The ROY race wasn't necessarily over before the season began, but Clark opened with a large lead on the competition thanks to the hype she carried into her pro career. Expectations were through the roof following her legendary run at Iowa.

For a brief period, Reese arguably overtook Clark and put herself atop the rookie leaderboard. The 6'3" forward reeled off 15 straight double-doubles to set a WNBA record, while the Sky, who many pegged to be one of the league's worst teams, were on track to earn a playoff bid.

The Fever, meanwhile, were still digging themselves out of the hole they dug thanks to a 1-8 start. Clark's performance mirrored that of her team as she encountered the natural difficulties that can come with the jump from college to the WNBA.

The pendulum shifted firmly in Clark's favor after the midseason break for the Summer Olympics. In Indiana's final 14 games, she averaged 23.1 points, 8.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds. She also shot 43.5 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Reese continued to be a double-double machine but missed Chicago's final six games thanks to a wrist injury. The Sky going 2-12 to finish out the campaign and miss the postseason didn't help her Rookie of the Year candidacy, either.

Clark set the league's single-game and single-season assist records with 19 and 337, respectively. She also became the first rookie in WNBA history to post a triple-double and pulled off the feat twice.

The 6'0" guard had a historically significant rookie season, and now she has the hardware to prove it.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark gave thanks to the people who have supported her journey to becoming a professional basketball player via X on Wednesday.

Clark met the hype and then some, leading the Fever to their first playoff campaign since 2016. The ex-Iowa star averaged 19.2 points, an WNBA-high 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, setting a host of records along the way.

Keith Jenkins of ESPN listed them all, but the most notable ones include most assists in a single season, most points by a rookie in WNBA history, first-ever triple-double by a rookie in league history and the rookie single-season scoring record. She also became the first player in league history to record 20-plus points, 15-plus assists and five-plus rebounds in a game.

In addition, the All-Star won WNBA Rookie of the Month four times and Eastern Conference Player of the Week three times.

Ultimately, it was a sensational year one that should lead to a phenomenal career. For now, Clark should enjoy a well-deserved offseason before year two.