In a move that will surely have Indiana Fever fans sleeping soundly, Indiana Fever has decided to give a core designation to veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell per the WNBA transactions page. Kelsey, who was on a 3 year/$618K contract with the Fever will receive her first core designation in her career.

On the November 13 episode of the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast, Indiana Fever President of Basketball & Business Operations, Kelly Krauskopf, emphasized that re-signing longtime Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell was the top priority of the team. “She’s our number one priority.” “Yes, we have the opportunity to core her. And it would be sort of irresponsible for me if we didn’t utilize that opportunity.” 

Some of you might be wondering what a core designation actually means right? Each WNBA franchise has the option to assign a “core” designation to one player during free agency, granting the team exclusive rights to that player who would otherwise enter the open market. Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a player receiving the core designation is automatically extended a one-year supermax contract offer. For the 2025 season, this supermax deal is valued at around $249,000.

This also essentially means that Indiana will secure its dynamic backcourt duo for another season. Both Kelsey and Clark averaged 19.3 points per game last season, making them arguably the most efficient backcourt in the league.

Since being selected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Kelsey Mitchell has been the epitome of loyalty and consistency for the Indiana Fever, spending her entire seven-year career with the franchise. A scoring machine, Mitchell has led the team in points for five seasons, with the only exceptions being her rookie year and the 2024 campaign.

She’s playing the best basketball of her career, earning back-to-back All-Star honors in 2023 and 2024. Heading into this offseason, Mitchell was widely regarded as one of the most coveted free agents on the market, but her future with the Fever is now secured. The Fever fans will be hopeful that this talented roster finally delivers the trophy!

With Unrivaled just around the corner, Kelsey Mitchell shocked fans by opting out of the league, leaving everyone wondering what’s her offseason game plan. Well, look no further because we got you covered!

Mitchell and her off-season endeavors

Despite not signing an Unrivaled deal, Kelsey was busy making big moves for herself during the offseason. She will be joining Chicago Sky players Chennedy Carter and rookie Kamilla Cardoso as rivals in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). Mitchell has inked a deal with the Shanxi Xing Rui Flame.

While Unrivaled will miss the star power of Caitlin and her teammate this season, it’s fair to say that this move has worked out for Mitchell. The veteran guard has been averaging 22.5 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game for the Shanghai Flame this season.

Indiana fans will be hopeful of seeing both Kelsey and Caitlin play for their franchise for years to come. While there’s no certainty of that happening, one thing is certain. Both these superstars will continue to play together for at least another year and continue to entertain us!