Kelly Krauskopf returns to Indiana Fever as President of Basketball and Business Operations

Kelly Krauskopf will return to the Indiana Fever as President of both basketball and business operations after the season is over, the team announced Monday.

She led the franchise from 2000-18 before she left to become the Pacers’ assistant general manager. The Fever won the WNBA championship in 2012 by defeating Minnesota and reached the finals in 2009 and 2015 under her leadership.

Krauskopf comes back to an organization on the rise behind star rookie Caitlin Clark. The team led the league in attendance, averaging more than 17,000 fans at home and 15,000 on the road.

“The WNBA and the Fever have always been a part of me, and it is truly a privilege to be asked to return to lead this team at this unprecedented time of the growth in women´s basketball,” Krauskopf said. “I want to thank (Pacers president) Kevin Pritchard for asking me to join his management staff six years ago. There´s no doubt that experience will serve me well as I enter this next chapter.”

She will replace Allison Barber, who announced this month that she would step down as president and COO of the franchise after six seasons.

Krauskopf was hired in 1996 as the WNBA’s first Director of Basketball Operations. She joined the Indiana Fever in 2000 before the franchise’s first year.

Kelly´s entire career has been about stepping into critical roles and providing unparalleled leadership, and I am incredibly excited to have her lead the Fever through this historic moment for the franchise and the sport,” said Mel Raines, Chief Executive Officer of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “She laid the foundation for the success we are enjoying and is a true trailblazer for the sport, and there is no one better equipped to lead us into this exciting new chapter.”

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Rebecca Lobo Had Blunt Assessment of Caitlin Clark’s Bad First Playoff Game vs. Suns

The Indiana Fever didn’t get their postseason off to a great start in Sunday’s 93-69 blowout loss to the Connecticut Sun. The team’s youth and inexperience showed during the game as the Fever suffered one of their more embarrassing defeats of the year against a well-rounded Sun side, which featured new trade acquisition Marina Mabrey. Rookie Caitlin Clark, who has been on an absolute tear since the Olympic break, put up a dud of a shooting performance that elicited some blunt comments from ESPN women’s basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo on Monday. “Keep in mind Connecticut is one of the best defensive teams in the WNBA,” Lobo said. “They threw different defenders at (Clark), they threw different looks at her, but to be honest with you, she just missed a lot of open good looks.

“First of all, she had a pretty smart and good floor game, she took care of the basketball, only two turnovers on the day. But Caitlin even talked in the postgame presser about having open looks and at times, wide open looks that she simply just missed. This is an Indiana team that has been shooting the ball really well from three, especially since the Olympic break. They did not yesterday…You’d be more concerned if she wasn’t getting good looks.” Clark shot 4-of-17 from the field and an abysmal 2-of-13 from three, logging 11 points, four rebounds and eight assists in an overall disappointing playoff debut. The rookie guard was well-defended by Sun’s DeWanna Bonner in the first half and just couldn’t get her shots to fall in an uncharacteristically bad offensive outing. However, as Lobo notes, the Fever can still reasonably expect the AP Rookie of the Year to improve her shooting percentages next game. Clark and the Fever will look to keep their postseason hopes alive in Wednesday’s matchup against the Sun in the best-of-three series.