Kelsey Mitchell continues to fuel Fever’s WNBA playoff run

Las Vegas – Kelsey Mitchell was speaking with journalists before the Indiana fever’s opening match in the WNBA semi -finals when cries of court interrupted the goalkeeper.

“Kelsey for MVP, baby!” Shouting her teammate Sophie Cunningham.

Mitchell cracked a smile, gleams and tried to stay on the subject, answering a question about the defense of fever against the high octane offense of the Las Vegas Aces. But the chahut of good humor of the injured players of Indiana continued.

“Vote for Mitchell!” Critini Clark shouted.

The next day, for the first time in his WNBA career, Mitchell was appointed one of the five finalists of the MVP Prize. But something more consecutive happened on Sunday on the field on Sunday: she scored 34 points on a 12 shot for 23 – the most points of a WNBA player in her first match in the semi -final in career – to lead the fever to an upheaval of match 1 of the leader AS of serial No. 2 on their home field.

“Obviously, we had no response to Mitchell,” said Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon. “I couldn’t even try to slow it down a bit.”

Seed fever n ° 6 did not expect to be here after losing Clark and three other guards against injury from late season to season. As they seek to maintain their unexpected playoffs, Mitchell has more responsibility on his shoulders than ever – but continues to meet the opportunity. Whatever the way in which the next weeks take place, this season has been Mitchell’s coronation like – in Hammon’s words – “one of the most difficult guards in the league to cover”. And it has long been to come.

“Kelsey Mitchell crossed the worst parts of this franchise, and she deserves to go through the best,” said Indiana coach Stephanie White on Saturday, carrying a “MVP Mitchell” t-shirt. “And she takes up the challenge.”

In one year, the rear area of ​​the fever was injured after an injury, Mitchell saved the team from wading and rather propelled Indiana to its first appearance in the semi-final of the WNBA since 2015.

Mitchell has become the first fever player to make an average of 20 points in the regular season, and so far, this playoff series is on average 26.0, equaling the quadruple MVP A’JA Wilson for the best brand in 2025.

The 104 Mitchell points are also the highest over a period of four games in the history of the franchise playoffs, and it sets up these figures with efficiency: 48.6% shooting on the field, 50% of the fork of 3 points and 96% on free throws.

“I think everything I experienced did me here,” Mitchell said on Sunday. “I think I can take advantage of this moment and be ready for the moment a little more.”

Mitchell may be more than ever under the spotlight, but the first years of his career came with little fanfare. As a choice n ° 2 in 2018, she arrived in Indianapolis a prolific marker – leaving the Ohio State with 3,402 points and 497 3S – and has at least 17 points per season since 2020.

But the fever was largely out of words, compiling six victories or less during its first five years in the WNBA. While the franchise struggled to find her stride after the 2016 Tamika captures, she traveled the head coaches, White being the fifth of Mitchell’s eight years with the team.

The year before Indiana drafted Aliyah Boston with choice No. 1 in 2023, the team has an average of 1,776 fans of the league and played matches in a place in the state fair – a big cry of the Gainbridge Field closed windows has been known since known.

It happened to the point, said Mitchell on Saturday, where about three or four years ago, she compiled a list of people who, according to her, had discouraged her: coaches who did not want her around and the media who did not want to speak to her.

“I was tired of losing,” said Mitchell. “This is growth, it is experience, it is being at the bottom of the barrel, it is the radar of anyone, being a loser. I have seen it. I know what it looks like.”

During all this time, Mitchell remained the course and remained in Indiana. The individual success and the team finally followed.

After adding Clark to the mixture with the choice n ° 1 in 2024, the fever repressed the consecutive appearances in the playoffs for the first time since the retirement of the captures. Mitchell has been named All -Star each of the last three years, continuing to settle as one of the best 3 -point shooters in the league while boasting of speed – “so sneaky, so fast,” Wilson said on Saturday – it can easily take him to the hoop.

“What makes her so difficult is that she runs routes for 40 minutes,” said Hammon. “She does not get tired. She should get assists because when she tears these screens, her rhythm opens the others. We will have to bring our track shoes to try to follow her.”

Without wounded guards Clark (groin), Cunningham (knee), Aari McDonald (foot) and Sydney Colson (knee), the role of Mitchell has widened. Not only should she get more, but the fever had to use it more as a playmaker and asked her to take greater defensive responsibilities.

She also had to adapt to basketball, and life, without her support system: her father, Mark Mitchell, died suddenly at 56 years in March 2024. Mitchell is still in mourning her loss-“it was my best friend, and we did everything together,” she told ESPN last year-but sees the ways she developed.

“My feeling of comfort when my father was alive was great for me,” said Mitchell. “When you don’t have that [person to lean on]You must find different ways to adapt, different ways of being a pro. This is what I try to do. “”

The fever helped to fill this void. Mitchell – Who was a free agent during the offseason before deciding to return to Indiana – congratulated White, the coaches and his teammates for having defended him on and off the field.

“I really never really had the business, the culture, the organization that I have been surrounded by the last two years,” said Mitchell. “To feel value, and have the impression that someone dumped in me and seeks my value is everything for me.

“To know that people believe in me, you all learned what it looks like because for a long time, nobody did it. My father was the only one. So when you lose someone, then you find someone else who could replace this, it’s great for me.”

Mitchell could have discreet behavior, but its impact – its game, booming leadership and its renewed confidence – is undeniable for fever and through the WNBA.

“It’s a hooper,” said his teammate Brianna Turner. “If you cross by it, you would never even know it. She is so humble and so sweet. I’m like” Kelsey, talk about your s —, you are one of the best guards in this league. “… Everyone deserves a Kelsey Mitchell in his team.”