The Indiana Fever appear to have two strong MVP candidates right now: Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. And according to WNBA analyst Sabreena Merchant, it’s quite difficult to determine who is ahead in the race between these two. While the Indiana Fever have a better net rating when Caitlin Clark is off the court this season, for Merchant, it’s quite difficult to reconcile that stat with the output that Clark has actually been generating.

“They actually have a better net rating when Caitlin’s off the court, but does that mean that she’s invaluable… It’s hard to distinguish all of that. What I do know is that Kelsey Mitchell is scoring incredibly efficiently. Like just one of the very best scorers that we’ve seen at the guard position in a very long time,” Merchent said on No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show.

“Her speed, her ability to move off the ball. It is so important for everything that Indiana does offensively… You look at Caitlin leading the league in assists. That’s nothing in addition to the 22 points that she’s already scoring, like that is so much offensive production that she is accounting for…”

“And the pace that Indiana plays with, just running the ball down your throat over and over again. Caitlin is as much a part of that as Kelsey Mitchell is. So, I think they’re all outstanding players. Caitlin doesn’t really work without Kelsey, and Kelsey doesn’t really work without Caitlin.”

Just as Merchant pointed out, Kelsey Mitchell is currently averaging 24.6 points per game this season, which places her second in the league. Alongside that, she’s averaging 2.7 assists, 1.7 rebounds, and 1 steal per game.

Mitchell also just broke A’Ja Wilson’s WNBA’s single season and all-time 20-point game records. Despite the loss to the Dallas Wings, Mitchell has now strung together 21 games where she’s scored at least 20 points.

In the same vein, Caitlin Clark is third in the league, averaging 21.7 points per game, while leading the WNBA with 8.3 assists per game. She is also averaging 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 steals per game.

And so traditionally, it would usually seem that Caitlin Clark is only racing for the MVP alongside players like A’ja Wilson and Olivia Miles, who are equally having quite outstanding seasons as well. However, as it appears, Kelsey Mitchell is also firmly in the race as well. 

Now, if the Indiana Fever end up going all the way and winning the WNBA championship, it would naturally appear that Clark is the sure candidate to take the award home. But, as Merchant pointed out, that is not really that simple a decision to make, judging from Mitchell’s output so far and her impact on the team.

So, will Caitlin Clark earn a guaranteed MVP if the Fever manage to go all the way, or does Mitchell have a chance? As Merchant pointed out, it’s also quite difficult to have a tie vote in the MVP race. What would be interesting is to see if her co-host, Annie Costabile, saying that the Fever winning could result in Clark and Kelsey sharing the award as co-MVPs, comes true.