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WNBA Indiana Fever

Krauskopf Returns to Fever at "Seminal Moment" for Women's Sports

October 8, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


Under the leadership of Kelly Krauskopf, the Indiana Fever set a WNBA record by making the playoffs in 12 straight seasons from 2005-16, reaching the WNBA Finals three times over that span and winning the franchise's first championship in 2012.

As Krauskopf returns to lead the Fever once again as President of Basketball and Business Operations, she has her sights set on restoring the franchise to that previous level of success.

"This is a winning franchise," Krauskopf said. "We've had constant success of winning and being in the playoffs and my plan is to return us to that level of consistency. And that takes commitment. That takes players that really are invested in being great players and being a great team."

Krauskopf ran the Fever from its inception in 2000 until 2018, when she moved over to join the Pacers front office as Assistant General Manager, becoming the first woman in NBA history to hold an executive basketball management role. But when Dr. Allison Barber announced her plans to step down as President of the Fever at the end of the season, Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines approached Krauskopf to gauge her interest in coming back to the franchise she had previously led for 18 years.

It wasn't a quick decision for Krauskopf, but ultimately she was drawn back to a Fever franchise and a WNBA landscape that look remarkably different than they did six years ago. The Fever are coming off a 2024 season that saw them shatter attendance and viewerships records. Number-one pick Caitlin Clark rewrote the rookie history books en route to winning Rookie of the Year honors, the second straight season the Fever have won that award after fellow top pick Aliyah Boston took home the honors in 2023. The Fever had three All-Stars in Clark, Boston, and veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell and returned to the playoffs this fall for the first time since 2016.

"Any time you're asked to return to a place that you helped build, you had a hand in building, it's special," Krauskopf said "...This is a seminal moment in women's sports. It's a big opportunity to be a part of this rising tide that we're all experiencing. I think being a part of the first 18 years and building the franchise from the beginning gave me a lot of insight, institutional knowledge (before) six years on the NBA side to be ready for this moment, to leverage all that experience, and certainly look at this as a new business.

"I really feel like we're poised and set up for a really great, successful next era of Fever basketball."

With Krauskopf rejoining the Fever, general manager Lin Dunn - the Hall of Fame coach who has shepherded the franchise through the last three years, including drafting both Boston and Clark - will move into a new senior advisory role. The Fever announced on Friday that Amber Cox will join the organization as Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. Cox most recently was COO for the Dallas Wings and has also worked in the front office in both Connecticut and Phoenix.

"She's been a part of really building a lot of different teams," Krauskopf said of Cox. "So she brings in varied experiences, knows a lot of people around the league, a lot of agents. I'm looking forward to working with her."

Krauskopf said she expects Dunn to still be an important voice in the franchise's decision-making moving forward. Dunn coached the Fever from 2008 until her retirement in 2014 and was an assistant for four seasons before that and Krauskopf called their time working together some of "the best years of my career."

"Lin is a lifer," Krauskopf said. "She's a lifer (for the) Fever, she's a lifer in this game, and she's a life-long friend to me and has been a mentor to me, too...She has so much knowledge and insight into needs of teams and rosters that we'll be leaning on her quite a bit."

Dunn hired Christie Sides as head coach ahead of the 2023 season and Sides helped guide the team back to the postseason last year. The Fever opened the year 1-8 against an incredibly difficult schedule, but rebounded strong, winning 13 of their final 21 games to finish the regular season 20-20 and in sixth place.

"For a young team to make that kind of progress, it's hard to not be impressed," Krauskopf said of Sides' performance. "I think the outside noise, what she had to endure as a coach, what they had to endure as a staff to keep that team focused and together, it takes time...Christie is a resilient leader. She's a culture builder. I know that she's got that kind of stamina to stick to it and stick to her plan. She's a good person and she's a great leader. I was impressed with how they finished."

An immediate priority for Krauskopf and the Fever front office is retaining Mitchell, who is an unrestricted free agent. Krauskopf was still running the franchise when the Fever selected Mitchell with the second overall pick in 2018 and the 5-8 guard out of Ohio State was really blossomed the last two seasons. She was an All-Star for the first time in 2023 and enjoyed a career year last season playing alongside Clark in the backcourt, averaging 19.2 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from 3-point range.

"We wouldn't be where we are today without Kelsey Mitchell," Krauskopf said. "She's clearly a very foundational piece. She's got seven years of being in and out of this building. She went through a lot...all the remodels (to Gainbridge Filehoudse), Kelsey went through all of that. She got better, she never put her head down, she kept playing hard, and did everything we could.

"She's extremely important to the future. We intend to have lots of conversations and make sure she knows that, but I think she does know that."

Krauskopf felt rejuvenated by the "huge inflection of attention" Clark brought to the Fever and the WNBA in her rookie season. "There's clearly something about the way she plays the game - her passing, her shooting - that people really identify with," Krauskopf remarked.

"It's fun to see people turning out and talking about the Indiana Fever, talking about what Caitlin Clark did last night or Aliyah Boston. I feel like we sort of (feel) like finally, it's here. We can have that conversation."

Krauskopf noted the similarities between Clark and Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers' All-NBA point guard who led the NBA in assists last season. Clark not only led the WNBA in assists as a rookie (dishing out 8.4 per game), she shattered the rookie and league records for assists in a season (337) and set a new single-game mark with 19 assists in a game at Dallas on July 17.

Heading into free agency, Krauskopf said she would like to surround Clark and Boston with more experienced veterans like Mitchell. The Fever have money to spend this offseason and Krauskopf believes that Clark's playmaking abilities should only help attract interest from the top available players.

"I would think that if you are a smart basketball player and you watch the way she plays, you would want to play with her," Krauskopf said. "Much like Tyrese Haliburton, she gets you the ball in places that you didn't even know you were open because she passes to space, she finds openings and ways to free up other players...I would think that would be a big draw. I think it's an easy picture to paint to free agents."

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