Team Update: Interim Head Coach Carlos Knox will not be retained for the 2023 season.

https://t.co/5BxpfILADv pic.twitter.com/RJpaacS3zF

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 31, 2022

Knox was tapped as the interim head coach this season on May 25 after Indiana fired Marianne Stanley. Knock recently returned to the organization as an assistant coach on December 1, 2021. When he took over, Indiana was 2-7; they ultimately finished the season with a 5-31 record, tied for the most losses in WNBA history, the worse in Fever history, and the worse in the League.

“We thank Carlos for stepping into this role last season and for helping our young, talented team continue to improve. We took important steps forward this year, but the expectation for this team and this franchise is sustained success on the court. We are working hard to build a coaching staff that will deliver on that expectation,” Fever Interim General Manager Lin Dunn said.

Interim GM Lin Dunn said she was still evaluating the coaching staff after the regular-season ended. She said she wanted to do her research and said that exit interviews with players and support staff before making any decisions. Last season, the Fever focused on the long-term future of the franchise as they looked to develop around No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith and No. 10 pick Queen Egbo, who was named to the W’s All-Rookie team.

Despite that highlight, Indiana finished the season on an 18-game losing streak and averaged a League-worst 78 points per game. Since 2017, the Fever has worse the winning percentage (45-147, .234) of any team in the W, NBA, NFL, or NHL. The Fever hopes to win the top pick in next spring’s 2023 WNBA Draft.

Last season was about building for the Fever’s future, with seven rookies on the roster. Plenty of them showed promise, including No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith and No. 10 pick Queen Egbo, who was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team. But it didn’t translate to wins. The team lost 18 straight games to finish the regular season and averaged a league-worst 78 points per game.

Since 2017, the Fever has had the worst winning percentage (45-147, .234) of any team in the WNBA, NBA, NFL, or NHL. 

The post Indiana Will Begin Head Coach Search After Deciding to Not Retain Carlos Knox appeared first on SLAM.

Rhyne went CRAZY this season @howard_rhyne is your 2022 Kia @WNBA ROY pic.twitter.com/ZP9Dcblhti

— WSLAM (@wslam) August 25, 2022

Howard led the Dream (14-22) to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference standings. The former Kentucky All-American averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game on 36.1 percent shooting from the field and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. She was the only rookie to be nominated to the 2022 All-Star Game. She also made history after she became the sixth rookie to score 30+ points in her first four games.

Howard earned 53 votes out of a possible 56 votes she could’ve gotten from WNBA media members and broadcasters. Howard also headlines the All-Rookie team that features NaLyssa Smith, Queen Egbo, Shakira Austin, and Rebekah Gardner. Austin received two ROY votes, and Smith received one. Howard is the second Dream player to win the RY after Angel McCoughtry received it in 2009.

Howard entered the WNBA after a legendary career at Kentucky. Her accolades include earning First-Team All-American honors twice and winning the Freshman of the Year award from the WBCA, USBWA, and SEC. Her SEC accolades include earning the back-to-back Player of the Year awards, four All-SEC nominations, including three First-Team nods from 2019-2021, and an All-Defensive team nod in 2020.

The post Rhyne Howard Crowned the 2022 Rookie of the Year appeared first on SLAM.

The 26th annual WNBA Draft was held at Spring Studios in New York and was broadcasted on ESPN. The 2022 WNBA Draft was the first in-person W draft since 2019.

Kentucky legend Rhyne Howard went No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Dreams. NaLyssa Smith of Baylor went second off the board to Indiana followed by the Mystics’ decision to draft Shakira Austin third overall out of Ole Miss.

FIRST ROUND:

No. 1 Atlanta Dream: Rhyne Howard — Kentucky

No. 2 Indiana Fever: NaLyssa Smith — Baylor

No. 3 Washington Mystics: Shakira Austin — Ole Miss

No. 4 Indiana Fever: Emily Engstler — Louisville

No. 5 New York Liberty: Nyara Sabally — Oregon

No. 6 Indiana Fever: Lexie Hull — Stanford

No. 7 Dallas Wings: Veronica Burton — Northwestern

No. 8 Las Vegas Aces (From Minnesota): Minnesota Lynx

No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks: Rae Burrell — Tennessee

No. 10 Indiana Fever: Queen Egbo — Baylor

No. 11 Las Vegas Aces: Kierstan Bell — Florida Gulf Coast

No. 12 Connecticut Sun: Nia Clouden — Michigan Sun

Second Round

No. 13 Minnesota Lynx: Khayla Pointer — LSU

No. 14 Washington Mystics: Christyn Williams — UConn

No. 15 Atlanta Dreams: Naz Hilmon — Michigan

No. 16 Los Angeles Sparks: Kianna Smith — Louisville

No. 17 Seattle Storm: Elissa Cunana — NC State

No. 18 Seattle Storm: Lorela Cubaj — Georgia Tech

No. 19 Los Angeles Sparks: Olivia Nelson-Ododa – UCon

No. 20 Indiana Fever: Destanni Henderson — South Carolina

No. 21 Seattle Storm: Evina Westbrook — UConn

No. 22 Minnesota Lynx: Kayla Jones – NC State

No. 23 Las Vegas Aces: Aisha Sheppard — Virginia Tech

No. 24 Connecticut Sun: Jordan Lewis — Baylor

Third Round

No. 25 Indiana Fever: Ameysha Williams-Holiday — Jackson State

No. 26 Phoenix Mercury : Maya Dodson — Notre Dame

No. 27 Los Angeles Sparks: Amy Atwell — Hawai’i

No. 28 Minnesota Lynx: Hannah Sjerven — South Dakota

No. 29 New York Liberty: SIka Kone — Mali

No. 30 Dallas Wings: Jasmine Dickey — Delaware

No. 31 Dallas Wings: Jazz Bond – North Florida

No. 32 Phoenix Mercury: Macee Williams — IUPUI

No. 33 Seattle Storm: Jade Melboure — Australia

No. 34 Indiana Fever: Ali Patberg — Indiana

No. 35 Las Vegas Aces: Faustine Aifuwa — LSU

No. 36 Connecticut Sun: Kiara Smith — Florida

RELATED: After an Illustrious Career at Kentucky, Rhyne Howard is Ready for the WNBA

The post 2022 WNBA Draft: Complete Results of Every Pick appeared first on SLAM.