On Oct. 27, the Indiana Fever announced that they fired Head Coach Christie Sides. This did not come as a shock to the WNBA community. Many fans expressed their frustration with Sides’ coaching style on social media, saying she didn’t utilize her players well. Following the news of Sides’ firing, the Fever’s president of basketball operations, Kelly Krauskopf, said a new coach is needed to “maximize our talent”—a clue that the franchise saw what Sides’ critics did.
Two days after the Fever broke the news about Sides, they announced that Stephanie White (previously the head coach of the Connecticut Sun) would take on the role of head coach for the Fever. The Sun beat the Fever in the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs, so White is familiar with their game. In White’s introductory press conference (IPC), she said that the Fever are “a team that are incredibly fun to watch, [but] very tough to game plan against. I’m glad I’m going to get to work with [them] instead of thinking about how I’m going to stop [them]. The future is so bright.” She consistently praised the team’s stars, such as Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, showing that she recognizes their talent—an indicator that she has the “maximizing” capabilities that the franchise is looking for.
During the IPC, White said that Indiana “is a really special place. It’s been a part of my DNA from day one, and will always be part of my DNA…It feels like home.” She described the opportunity as the “stars aligning,” and expressed that the transition from the Sun to the Fever franchise has been very easy. Despite typically experiencing anxiety before new jobs, White said the move “feels perfect.”
White had connections to Indiana for the majority of her career because she lived in West Lebanon, Indiana, where she also played high school basketball. She then attended Purdue University. In 1999, she was named Big Ten Conference Player of the Year after winning the NCAA Championship. She achieved great things in college basketball and the WNBA, earning White an induction into Purdue’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. White also has roots with the Fever. She played with the team during her first season in the WNBA in 2000, and then worked as an assistant coach for the Fever from 2011-2014, during the time that they won the National Championship (2012). She was the Fever’s head coach from 2015-2016, but stepped down due to familial obligations and financial instability. Reflecting on her departure, White said, “It was a different time in the WNBA; we didn’t have a long-term contract. We certainly weren’t making very much money.” She coached college basketball at Vanderbilt University until returning to the WNBA to coach the Sun.
It’s safe to say that the Fever are in good hands for the 2025 season. The team, who made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, are on a great trajectory. Though it’s unlikely they will get a top draft pick, exciting player trades are highly anticipated. With the new WNBA expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, coaches are able to protect up to six players from the draft. It will be interesting to see how White navigates the expansion draft and what player relationships she builds in the off-season.