“Kelsey Mitchell, even though she’s on you guys’ team — you guys have this biggest spotlight — she’s still the most underrated player.” When WNBA legend Lisa Leslie holds a player like Kelsey Mitchell in such high regard, it speaks volumes about the athlete and her team. But despite being a part of the Indiana Fever since 2018, Mitchell’s significant contributions have gone largely unnoticed, thereby earning her the title of an underrated gem. And as fate would have it, the narrative is changing this season.

As the natural scorer for the franchise, Mitchell came into the spotlight after Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was relegated to the bench. And boy, did her consistency as well as determination make noise in the paint! Remember that 88-78 win against the Dallas Wings earlier this month when she put up a statline of 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists? Yup, that was a banger with 100% field goal percentage. Even during the victory against the Chicago Sky (93-78) on July 28, the 29-year-old became the first player in Fever franchise history to record 35+ points in under 30 minutes, doing so in 29:51.

Now fast forward to their most recent matchup against the regional rivals, which, by the way, resulted in a win for Indiana (92-70), and Mitchell has again etched her name against another record. The official Indiana Fever account shared positive news with a poster of Mitchell in action, which unveiled the guard mid-air, making a bucket with the caption that read, “Kelsey. Mitchell. the WNBA’s leading scorer this season with 637 points.”

This achievement comes a few weeks after Mitchell officially crossed the 400-point mark against the Chicago Sky, becoming the first Indiana Fever player to do so since 2024. And if anything, the guard is on a roll, and when the opportunity showed up on Saturday night for the Fever to snap a two-game skid following a 4-game west coast road trip? She delivered! Both Mitchell and Boston elevated their intensity, and though Mitchell is typically an aggressive scorer, her determination as the Fever’s offensive hub in the middle of the floor broke open the Fever’s attack.

She marched through the halftime with 6 assists- just one shy of her season-high mark of seven set against the Dallas Wings. Boston, on the other hand, notched three assists in the first half of play, and the two combined to score 22 of Indiana’s 48 points. Operating on the perimeter, Mitchell went on to wrap the contest with 26 points to lead all scorers, and notched a game-high eight assists while recording just a single turnover.

Now leading the WNBA with 637 points, the latest news comes as a huge celebration-worthy feat for Mitchell & Co., and fans also swarmed in on the post, adding their two cents on the news.

Fans strongly react to Kelsey Mitchell’s latest stint

“Y’all should really be pushing an MVP campaign for her and AB,” a user wrote. Unable to contain their excitement on social media, fans flooded the comment section after the news of Kelsey Mitchell’s latest stint broke out. As someone who has been following her journey from the bench to leading the league, the fans were extremely supportive of Mitchell. After all, the veteran has battled a lot this season.

And this 22-point win against their rivals was Mitchell’s eighth 25+ point game of the season, one away from tying Caitlin Clark for the most in a single season in franchise history. Further, it was her 17th 20+ point game of the season.

Instead of downplaying her abilities, most of the fans praised Mitchell for her significant contributions to the roster, even before Clark was a part of the Indiana Fever. Another user took to X and wrote, “Kelsey Mitchell is the real deal. Just sayin’!” No wonder the President of Basketball and Business Operations, Kelly Krauskopf, signed her to an estimated $249,244 contract this offseason.

It is Mitchell’s contributions that have propelled the team to multiple victories so far. And it shows in the 11 games that she played in since the 2024 Rookie of the Year sat out with an injury, where she has managed to win in 6 of them. The veteran has made things smooth for whenever Clark joins the active roster. “Team is on fire! I can’t wait for CC come back,” another fan commented. They hinted at how the third team in the Eastern Conference division has been dominating this season. And once Clark returns, things will get even better overall. 

“Kelsey deserves to be in the MVP conversation. A player with so much resilience and dealing with ongoing obstacles, as well as her teammates, she’s one of one. Glad she’s stayed true to the Fever. Things can only get better,” another user asserted that Mitchell was MVP-worthy, looking at her contributions so far. Just look at this matchup against Sky itself, and you will find she recorded a new season high of eight assists. Not only that, she even credits her squad’s ability to rise above adversity, “I think this is the most resilient team I’ve ever been a part of, and I say that wholeheartedly.”

Mitchell has always put her teammates before herself, like a true leader. A user sided with the statement and wrote, “MVP. No one else has done more through adversity than KM.” Her dominating presence in the paint is a threat to opponents. Moreover, it is never easy to watch the roster get injury-stricken. But despite all the noise that questioned her ability to rise to the position, consistency, particularly with turnovers and defensive performance, the athlete rallied on and deserves to be honored for her contributions.

Following a season filled with personal tragedy, where her father, Mark, passed away suddenly, Mitchell feels more comfortable with herself than ever. And as the Indiana Fever locks horns with the Dallas Wings in the upcoming matchup, the team has nothing to worry about. Heavily reliant on Kelsey Mitchell to rally the roster ahead, the Fever would be looking to bag another win.