After spending eight years in the franchise, Kelsey Mitchell might not have a future with the Indiana Fever. Following the departure of Caitlin Clark, among others, due to injury, it was Mitchell who steadied the ship and carried them to the semifinals. But after an injurious exit from the semifinals, the eight-year veteran is ready to explore.

First reported by Fever insider Scott Agness, he revealed on X, “She’s [Mitchell] going to take her time to decide what’s next, with family being the primary factor.” However, there is no loss of love for her towards Indiana. As she puts it, “Indy is like my second family with everything I’ve been through the last 8 yrs.”

But she has left her future in Indiana hanging. Although Indiana will certainly extend an offer to the MVP finalist. Before the 2025 season, Indiana gave her a $20,000 time-off bonus for the current offseason. Furthermore, Mitchell agreed to a core qualifying offer that secured her a whopping deal worth $249,244. But the final decision lies in her hands.

And it will be interesting to see what she chooses next. However, Indiana has all plans to keep her on the Fever roster. This plan was confirmed by Fever general manager Amber Cox in her exit interview. When asked what her priorities are going into the offseason, she was crystal clear on Kelsey Mitchell.

As she puts it, “I’m going to sound like a broken record from last year, the priority will be Kelsey Mitchell. And making sure she remains in a Fever. I mean, what a season from her. She laid it all out on the line.” In her eight seasons with Indiana, Mitchell has only missed five games. That is a feat in itself. Cox notes stats like this, coupled with her performance this season, make her an indispensable person for the Fever.

The Fever GM concluded with, “Obviously sad the way that it ended for her in game five, but just tremendous and [she] will continue to be a focal point, as we head into free agency.” Currently, for Indiana, only Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Makayla Timpson are under contract heading into the offseason.

The rest of the players, like Lexie Hull, Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham, and others, will be under unrestricted free agency. Players are open to exploring their options in other teams. And Kelsey Mitchell has made it clear her family will be her priority moving into the next season. Even Fever’s enforcer Sophie Cunningham is looking into other opportunities for the next season.

Responding in a very Cunningham way, she said, “I might be blonde, but I can’t just not look at other opportunities.” However, she is open to staying in Indiana if the situation aligns. “But my hope is, I’ve had a great time here, and I would like to continue that.” But unlike her and Mitchell, Hull is excited to rejoin Fever next season. Hull said, “I’ve built a life here, and I love this franchise. I love the people, I love the fans, so we’ll see what comes.”

With key players like Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham looking for opportunities for the next season, the 2026 Fever roster might look completely different. Mitchell’s major concern is the league’s future itself. “I hope we got a league,” she said. But looking at the current war between WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the WNBPA vice president, Napheesa Collier, the future looks really bleak. However, Mitchell herself felt her future in the league was bleak during the semifinal game vs the Aces.

Kelsey Mitchell opens up on her injury and future concerns

While Mitchell is doubting the 2026 season of the WNBA, other players are actively rallying to remove the commissioner. But at one point, Mitchell was concerned about her future in the WNBA, too. With just over five minutes left in the third quarter of Game 5 vs the Aces, Kelsey Mitchell collapsed on the court, clutching her leg as teammates shielded her with towels while staff rushed to help. She was carried off the court with help from her teammates, too.

Later, Mitchell took to social media to explain what happened to her. “I suffered from something called Rhabdomyolysis last night. My muscles stopped producing and reached their maximum capacity. I went into a sense of numbness/ paralyzing feeling with no movement from my lower extremities for up to 5 to 7 seconds.”

Now, in her exit interview, the Fever guard explained how scared she felt like that. She said, “I feel fine… I probably should take a lot of time to reset because I lost a lot of fluid. In that moment, I felt scared because my legs were numb… and I couldn’t feel my feet.” Her fans breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed she is fine and can continue to play. But with her Indiana future in balance, it will be interesting to see where Mitchell decides to start her 2026 season.