Kelsey Mitchell continues to fuel Fever's WNBA playoff run

LAS VEGAS -- Kelsey Mitchell was speaking with reporters up of the Indiana Fever's opening crippled of the WNBA semifinals erstwhile shouts from crossed the tribunal interrupted the guard.

"Kelsey for MVP, baby!" yelled teammate Sophie Cunningham.

Mitchell cracked a smile, chuckled and tried to enactment connected topic, answering a question astir the Fever defence going up against the high-octane discourtesy of the Las Vegas Aces. But the good-natured heckling from Indiana's injured players continued.

"Vote for Mitchell!" Caitlin Clark shouted.

The adjacent day, for the archetypal clip successful her WNBA career, Mitchell was named 1 of 5 finalists for the MVP award. But thing adjacent much consequential happened connected the tribunal Sunday: She scored 34 points connected 12-for-23 shooting -- the astir points by a WNBA subordinate successful her archetypal vocation semifinal crippled -- to pb the Fever to a Game 1 upset of the No. 2 effect Aces connected their location court.

"Clearly, we had nary reply for Mitchell," Las Vegas manager Becky Hammon said. "Couldn't adjacent effort to dilatory her down a small bit."

The No. 6 effect Fever weren't expected to beryllium present aft losing Clark and 3 different guards to season-ending injuries successful the regular season. As they look to support their unexpected playoff tally going, Mitchell has much work connected her shoulders than ever -- but keeps gathering the occasion. Regardless of however the adjacent fewer weeks play out, this play has been Mitchell's coronation arsenic -- successful Hammon's words -- "one of the astir hard guards successful the league to cover." And it has been a agelong clip coming.

"Kelsey Mitchell has been done the worst parts of this franchise, and she deserves to spell done the best," Indiana manager Stephanie White said Saturday portion wearing a "MVP Mitchell" T-shirt. "And she's rising to the challenge."

In a twelvemonth the Fever's backcourt suffered wounded aft injury, Mitchell saved the squad from floundering and alternatively propelled Indiana to its archetypal WNBA semifinals quality since 2015.

Mitchell became the archetypal Fever subordinate to mean 20 points successful the regular season, and truthful acold this postseason is averaging 26.0, tying four-time MVP A'ja Wilson for the champion people successful 2025.

Mitchell's 104 points are besides the astir implicit a four-game span successful franchise playoff history, and she's putting up those numbers with efficiency: 48.6% shooting from the field, 50% from 3-point scope and 96% connected escaped throws.

"I deliberation everything that I've been done got maine here," Mitchell said Sunday. "I deliberation I tin bask this infinitesimal and beryllium prepared for the infinitesimal a small spot more."

Mitchell mightiness beryllium successful the spotlight present much than ever, but the aboriginal years of her vocation came with small fanfare. As the No. 2 prime successful 2018, she arrived successful Indianapolis a prolific scorer -- leaving Ohio State with 3,402 points and 497 3s -- and has averaged astatine slightest 17 points each play since 2020.

But the Fever were mostly irrelevant, compiling six oregon less wins successful 4 of her archetypal 5 years successful the WNBA. As the franchise struggled to find its stride pursuing the 2016 status of Tamika Catchings, it cycled done caput coaches, with White being the 5th successful Mitchell's 8 years with the team.

The twelvemonth earlier Indiana drafted Aliyah Boston with the No. 1 prime successful 2023, the squad averaged a league-worst 1,776 fans and played games successful a venue astatine the authorities fairgrounds -- a acold outcry from the sellouts Gainbridge Fieldhouse has since go known for.

It got to the point, M...