Delight Mounts Over Kelsey Mitchell’s WNBA Future As Fever GM Outlines Clear Priorities

Things are finally getting serious in Indy! The Indiana Fever lucked out when they landed Caitlin Clark in their laps just after Aliyah Boston the year before. Indeed, 2024 was a successful season, even if they exited the playoffs in the first round. With heavy front office changes with new coaches and management, all they need is their strong base of players back in 2025. And as per Amber Cox, it might mean their backcourt giant alongside the reigning league ROTY: Kelsey Mitchell.

The official Fever X page posted a sit-down interview of the new general manager talking about the team with Pat Boylan. As she discusses the expansion draft and returning players, Cox makes one thing very clear, “The number one priority for us is resigning Kelsey Mitchell. I think that backcourt was about as lethal as we’ve seen in the WNBA, and I’m talking maybe in history in the second half of the season last year. So we wanna reunite Caitlin and Kelsey.”

She continues, “Kelsey, when I think about her and her time in Indiana, and you know, a lot of trials and tribulations throughout her career. So for me, and for us, I’m most excited about her to be in this moment and experience so much success.” Kelly Krauskopf, the Fever’s new President for Basketball Operations, said much the same thing in November when discussing free agents.

Not considering free agents looking for short deals “unusual“, Krauskopf also said, “It certainly doesn’t change our opinion of how important Kelsey is, and how important you know she is to returning to this team. So that she’s our number one priority.”

The point guard herself has stated uncertainty about her future, hoping to be a little selfish and choose the best team for her, in Mitchell’s own words. She acknowledged her gratitude to Indy for showering love on her all this time, calling it her “home.” But her number one priority at that moment was her family and herself.

When her dad suddenly passed away in March this year, she didn’t even know if she wanted to continue playing. But as Mitchell said in The Player’s Tribune, she’d be “a fool” not to continue playing.

Kelsey Mitchell’s 2025 team colors might be uncertain but basketball is an inevitability

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what colors I’ll be wearing next year,” Kelsey Mitchell admitted on The Players’ Tribune in early November. Stating her excitement for the free agency period, the Fever star also shared how she was looking forward to deciding her own basketball future. Because just after her dad passed, she didn’t know how to play the game without him anymore.

“When I think about some of the stuff I was able to accomplish this year, even through grief, it’s like even that came from him,” Mitchell wrote in The Players’ Tribune Nov. issue. 2024 was one of the best seasons Mitchell had career-wise.

Going to her very first playoff ride in the WNBA alongside Clark, she averaged 19 points per game with a shooting of 46.8% from the field. The backcourt in Indy was one of the most lethal ones, especially after the Olympics break, in the WNBA this season.

The 7-year veteran has also hinted at the fact that this year has been a turning point in her WNBA career and she has finally seen what things can look like when the spotlight is on. Previously, she had said, “I know what the bottom feels like, and I don’t want to be there no more.”

“My dad finished his coaching career at Wilberforce University, which is an HBCU in central Ohio, down in Dayton. I was training right up until he passed, with his kids. And so I thought, I’d be a fool not to want to compete. I was going to give my best to show the world what my dad showed me.”

While fans might have to wait for a little bit longer for the official decision, one thing is clear – the team and team execs want her back. One thing that should be clear to Kelsey Mitchell is that despite some of the harsh fan treatment from the growing W fanbase this year, Indy wants her back in every sense.