The Indiana Fever’s 2024 season was cut short in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, following a clean 2-0 sweep by the Connecticut Sun. While Indiana entered the postseason with a high level of confidence, inexperience seemed to plague the Fever.
Indiana was headed by rookie Caitlin Clark, who averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game this season. She led the Fever in assists and was tied with Kelsey Mitchell as the team’s leading scorer.
Mitchell produced one of her best seasons in a Fever uniform posting a career-high 19.2 points, while adding 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Clark and Mitchell were seen as a dynamic duo in the eyes of many Fever fans, but Mitchell will now be heading into free agency, so her future in Indiana is in question.
She spoke with the media amid her exit interview, mentioning that there’s multiple options on the table and she’s going to have to be “selfish” and do what’s best for her.
“It’s definitely a lot of emotions and thoughts that flow through my mind,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know what I’m gong to do, but I know that when the time comes and the opportunity right for me to make those decisions. Obviously I’ve always had a home in Indy so it could potentially be home for me again… I think right now, the switching dynamic of my family… I got to do what’s best for me. I got to be selfish about that process.”
Her comments led to a frenzy from fans on social media, worried that she’ll be departing from Indiana.
Mitchell was arguably the Fever’s most important player during the 2024 season. While Clark and Aliyah Boston obtained most of the media attention, Mitchell was Indiana’s most consistent player.
She’s been with the Fever since 2018 and has been a starter since the latter half of her rookie season. Mitchell has never averaged less than 12.7 points, which came in her rookie year. She’s an elite scorer that’s also proven to be a clutch performer.
Caitlin Clark (middle, left) and Aliyah Boston (middle, right) of the Indiana Fever
© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Mitchell will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025. She previously signed a three-year, $618,000 deal, earning a base salary of $212,000 in 2024. When Mitchell becomes a free agent, she will have turned 29
She has yet to speak on potential teams she may be interested in signing with, but given Mitchell’s response to free agency, it seems she will weigh her all of her options.
