For years, Mitchell was a lone warrior, putting up All-Star numbers without any team success to show for it.
“I’m a Fever girl, seven years in. It’s been a difficult year for me personally. I lost my dad five or six months ago, and that was tough. Looking back now, I’m just so grateful to be here because I never thought I’d be doing this without a parent.”
But in 2024, something drastic changed. What really happened behind the scenes? How did Caitlin Clark, a rookie, save Mitchell’s career? Stick around, because this interview reveals everything.
The Struggles Before Clark
For seven straight seasons, the Fever missed the playoffs—seven years of constant rebuilding, different coaches, different systems, and different game plans, none of which ever led to success. Yet through all of it, Mitchell kept grinding. She never let up, proving she was one of the best scorers in the league.
But basketball isn’t just about individual talent. You can drop 20 points a night, but if your team isn’t winning, people stop paying attention. In a league like the WNBA, where every moment in the spotlight matters, Mitchell wasn’t getting the recognition she deserved.
It wasn’t just the losing record holding her back—imagine going through four different head coaches in seven years. Every time a new coach comes in, it’s like starting over: new strategies, new philosophies, new expectations. There was no time to build chemistry or establish a long-term identity. For Mitchell, who was expected to be the face of the franchise, it was beyond frustrating.
She had every reason to walk away. She could have asked for a trade, sought out a team that was already winning, where she wouldn’t have to carry so much of the burden. But she didn’t. She stayed. That loyalty, as painful as it was at times, became part of her identity.
“It’s about team, not individual success. I was always open to having great pieces around me. I trusted the organization in different ways, trusted the management and the people they brought in. Looking back, I’m grateful.”
Despite everything working against her, Mitchell kept playing at an elite level. From 2018 to 2023, she averaged over 16 points per game—not just as a high-volume scorer but an efficient one. She was deadly from three, able to create her own shot, and had one of the quickest releases in the league.
But no matter how hard she worked, success never found her team.
A Turning Point: The Arrival of Caitlin Clark
Then, in March 2024, Mitchell’s world was rocked when she lost her father. If you’ve ever lost a parent, you know that kind of pain doesn’t just go away—it changes you. It makes you question everything. For Mitchell, it made her question basketball.
She described her father as her OG, her biggest supporter, her toughest critic. He was the one who pushed her to be great, and now he was gone. She didn’t know if she could keep playing. She even admitted in an interview that she thought about stepping away from basketball entirely. The passion that had driven her for so long suddenly felt distant.
And then, something unexpected happened: Caitlin Clark arrived.
When Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Fever, the entire basketball world held its breath. She was the most hyped rookie in WNBA history. People weren’t just watching to see how she’d perform; they were watching to see how her teammates would react. Would they embrace her? Would there be tension? Would veterans like Mitchell feel pushed aside?
But that’s not what happened. Clark’s presence did something no one expected—it revitalized Kelsey Mitchell.
For the first time in years, Mitchell wasn’t alone. She wasn’t the only offensive threat. She wasn’t the only player defenses had to focus on. With Clark running the floor, Mitchell started getting more open looks than ever before.
Before Clark, every team knew that shutting down Mitchell meant shutting down Indiana. She was used to being double-teamed, trapped, and forced into tough shots. But now, defenses couldn’t afford to do that. Clark’s gravity as a shooter and passer opened the floor for Mitchell in a way she had never experienced. And she thrived.
Her numbers skyrocketed. She played with more confidence, more aggression, more efficiency. Suddenly, the Indiana Fever were no longer a bottom-tier team—they were a team everyone wanted to watch.
