Kelsey Mitchell deserves her flowers for Indiana Fever’s rise, and Caitlin Clark agrees

The Indiana Fever guard has been on a tear as of late, and Mitchell has been a major reason why.

When Caitlin Clark found out she won Eastern Conference Player of the Month, she wished that someone else had won it: her teammate, Kelsey Mitchell.

“I felt like [Kelsey] probably should have gotten a little bit of love,” Clark said before Wednesday’s Fever win over the Sparks. “I honestly thought she deserved to be Player of the Month. Just what she was doing, and at the clip she was doing it this month — I think she was like 50/40/90 this month, which is really, really hard to do. So I feel very fortunate to play with her. Honestly, I’m not even trying to be corny. I really think she deserved it.”

Clark had a historic month, and she’s been the engine that has made it all go. But she’s not wrong about Mitchell’s efficiency nor impact — the 7-year veteran has been a certified bucket-getter. Since the Olympic break, Mitchell is averaging 25.6 points on 51.4% shooting, including 44.8% from three and and 92% from the line. She’s second in scoring only to A’ja Wilson, who has averaged 29 points in her last 8 games, and her top-scoring game came last week in a 36-point outing against the Wings.

For the season, Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 46.4% from the floor and 39.5% from three, and she’s the fifth-leading scorer among guards.

If you look at the top scoring guards, however, only the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper comes close to rivaling her efficiency:

1. Arike Ogunbowale - 22.6 points on 37.7% shooting, 34.5% from three
2. Kahleah Copper - 22.2 points on 44.5% shooting, 32.4% from three
3. Jewell Loyd - 20.5 points on 36.3% shooting, 28.1% from three
4. Sabrina Ionescu -19.5 points on 41.4% shooting, 34% from three
5. Kelsey Mitchell - 19 points on 46.4% shooting, 39.1% from three

The WNBA is typically a league powered by forwards and bigs, not guards, so let’s try and contextualize just exactly how effective Mitchell has been. In league history, the only guards who have maintained Mitchell’s stat-line of 19+ points on 46%+ shooting and 39%+ from three are Kelsey Plum (2022), Elena Delle Donne (2018, 2019), Diana Taurasi (2009), Cappie Pondexter (2010), Seimone Augustus (2007), and Cynthia Cooper (2007). That’s elite company, so much so that Mitchell is actually the only non-Olympian on the list.

This season, Mitchell has the second-highest three-point percentage of any guard who has attempted at least one three-pointer per game, after the Lynx’s Kayla McBride. Clark has made her life a lot easier, but Mitchell’s ability to attract the defense and score at all three levels has conversely made it difficult for teams to blitz Clark the way they did earlier in the season.

Since the Olympic break, the Fever have had the league’s best record at 7-1, and together, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell have formed the highest-scoring backcourt in the league.

“I feel lucky to have a backcourt mate who has been at this for seven years and has really helped me and kind of let me flourish,” Clark said.

Fever head coach Christie Sides has praised Mitchel’s work ethic and poise all season.

“I just keep calling her one of the best professional players I’ve ever been around,” Sides said. “She’s just always consistent. Always consistent with getting extra work in. You can count on that.”

For Mitchell, her 7th year as a Fever marks her first postseason berth, and she’s made it clear she’s not interested in going back to losing basketball.

“I know what the bottom feels like,” ” Mitchell said, “and I don’t want to be there no more.”