At this time, this kind of growth WNBA seen over the last year, that’s something Stephanie White We’ve been waiting for it for 25 years.
She will be able to benefit from this growth with her hometown franchise. White, of West Lebanon, Indiana, was officially announced as Indiana Fever head coach Friday. This comes after the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year parted ways with the Connecticut Sun after two seasons.
“First and foremost, this is my home,” White told ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “It’s a franchise, the Indiana feverIndiana Pacers is in my DNA. I grew up in Indiana, I played in Indiana, I played with the franchise, and of course, I was a part of the franchise when we won the WNBA championship. »
More: Stephanie White knew Caitlin Clark was going to thrive. Now, she will lead Clark’s next steps.
White has been a part of the WNBA in one form or another almost since its inception; she was drafted in 1999, two years after the league began in 1997. She has been a player, assistant coach, head coach for several franchises and won a WNBA championship as an assistant for the Fever.
In all her years, she has never seen anything like this in the league. The WNBA saw unprecedented growth during the 2024 season, catalyzed by Caitlin Clark and the rest of the rookie class. The Fever saw an increase of over 1,000% in merchandise sales, had 38 games on national television and sold out arenas cheering on Clark and Indiana everywhere they went.
White already has a familiar relationship with the Fever’s best player, in addition to being his new coach. White said she had known Clark since she was in eighth grade; White was coaching at Vanderbilt at the time, and Clark was high on many college coaches’ watch lists. Now, it’s been nearly 10 years since White first heard of Clark, and she has become the superstar many coaches predicted she would be.
“She’s a student of the game,” White said. “She loves basketball. She’s been so great in the way she’s handled, you know, all the attention. She just wants to play, she just wants to win. I can’t wait to coach players like that , and this young franchise, this young team, and take our next steps.”
Viewership across the board soared in 2024, with this season becoming the most-watched on ESPN in 25 years, a 170% increase from 2023. The WNBA Finals were the most-watched in 25 years , with each of the five games garnering over 1 million viewers and 32 games throughout the season were viewed over 1 million times.
White has seen this increase from both sides: During the WNBA offseason, she is an analyst for ESPN, covering NBA and Big Ten women’s basketball play. She knew this moment was coming, given the enthusiasm she had seen at women’s college basketball games in recent seasons.
“I think the best thing is just me, having been in the WNBA for 25 years, having worked on both sides, in the media and in the coaching room, and also being a player in this league. I mean “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,” White told NBA Today in her first interview since being named coach of the Fever. “So, I don’t know if you prepare for it as much as you accept it. Embrace where we are. Think about the momentum moving forward, where we wanted this league to be, where we still aspire to whatever it goes, and just take advantage of this moment, take this opportunity, continue to help this team, this franchise, better position ourselves for success.”
With her new role, White is now responsible for coaching Clark and 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, as well as Kelsey Mitchell (if she re-signs), Lexie Hull and the rest of the program to a playoff run in depth. This is a Fever team that is fresh off a rebuild, with its 20-20 season in 2024 marking the first time it has made the playoffs since 2016.
There’s a lot of young talent on this roster: three All-Stars, two Rookies of the Year and players who have an innate desire to win. And White has the skills to make him a contender.
“This young, exciting team, you think of a generational player in Caitlin Clark and back-to-back Rookie of the Years with Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell, I think, had the best year of her career,” White said. “It’s just an exciting team. What a great time we’re in in women’s basketball right now, and to come back and be a part of it in my home country with my local franchise, it’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am very grateful.”
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White hopes to ‘enjoy this moment’ in WNBA
