Caitlin Clark enjoyed a record-breaking season with the Indiana Fever and the WNBA All-Star had a good relationship with former coach Christie Sides.

Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides
Caitlin Clark (L) and Christie Sides (R) were part of a memorable incident on the practice court (Image: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

One of Caitlin Clark’s team-mates has revealed how former coach Christie Sides allowed the Indiana Fever star to bend the rules.

The 22-year-old was the first overall draft pick and won Rookie of the Year, setting numerous records in the process. The influence that the guard has had, not only on the Fever but on the WNBA as a whole, has been described as the ‘Caitlin Clark effect’

The Fever have since decided to part ways with coach Sides, with former Connecticut Sun boss Stephanie White heavily tipped to replace her. However, it is unlikely that Clark will be able to replicate her dynamic with Sides, as Fever forward Lexie Hull recalled a hilarious run-in on the practice court.

Asked if she had any Clark stories to share on The Ringer WNBA Show, Hull said: “Yeah, I do. There was one… practice, Christie turns on loud music. Because… we knew the [opposing] arena was going to be loud. And so she turns on this loud, loud music, and Caitlin screams, ‘Can someone turn it off? It’s giving me a migraine!’

“And everyone’s like ‘Uh, what?’ And Christie reacted and said ‘What did you say?’ And [Caitlin] repeated it. And all of us were… dying, because if someone, if I would have said that, if anyone on our team would have said that, and then been asked ‘What did you say?’ And you repeat it, no one else is repeating it. But she did.

“It was the funniest thing. We were all on the floor, rolling on the ground laughing.

Caitlin Clark and Christie Sides

Caitlin Clark (R) claimed the new training method gave her a migraine (Image: Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Perhaps it was Clark’s naivety or Sides’ knowing how important she was to the team, but the WNBA All-Star did not receive much pushback for her reaction. Clark started all 42 of the Fever’s games before losing to the Sun in the playoffs.

In the aftermath, the Fever decided to replace Sides after two seasons in charge despite leading the franchise to its first postseason games since 2016. The last coach to lead the Fever to the playoffs was White, who helped the team reach the 2015 WNBA finals and is available after leaving Connecticut.

Clark is using the off-season to improve her golf game after her remarkable rookie year. Meanwhile, Hull is the latest player to sign up for the new Unrivaled 3v3 basketball league, created by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.