While the Indiana Fever’s comprehensive 96-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx will be headlined by Caitlin Clark’s near triple-double of 27 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, WNBA analyst Robin Lundberg has decided to give Kelsey Mitchell her due flowers, but not for her usual scoring.
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Following a play-by-play review of Caitlin Clark’s three-point shot in the early minutes of the game against the Lynx, Lundberg addressed an aspect of Kelsey Mitchell’s game that is often left untouched, that being her playmaking.
“I thought Kelsey Mitchell was super impressive with her passing in this one… Kelsey didn’t get to 20 points until later in the game… but she was still having such an awesome impact in the first half.”
“I hope she can bottle this playmaking because this is the kind of thing that will separate the Fever. Really, you know, we all know Kelsey can score, but when she’s going to do stuff like this…” Robin Lundberg said on his YouTube channel. “It’s a whole different ballgame.”
We all know that Caitlin Clark is the team’s primary facilitator, as her creative playmaking often helps Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston finish chances with ease. Lundberg believes that if Mitchell can also unleash her impact on the game apart from scoring, the WNBA’s top-rated defense (96.7) will become even more effective in the playoffs. And it seems like Mitchell is going in that direction.
In the Fever’s last ten games, Mitchell has recorded four or more assists in half of them. This is certainly a development, as Mitchell’s season average is now 2.8 assists.
However, Kelsey Mitchell’s greatest strength will always be her scoring, as she is currently second on the league leaders list after averaging 25 points per game, only behind Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson.
Even Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton understands this. The Pacers point guard is regarded as one of the best playmakers of his generation, and he recently stated that he would probably choose Mitchell over Clark if he had to pick one to team up with.
“Obviously, everybody knows I’m a big Fever fan, so it’s got to be either Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark or Aliyah Boston,” The 2025 NBA Finalist said in a clip posted by NBA2K. “Me and Caitlin play too much alike. She probably want the ball too much for me. So probably, I’d say Kelsey Mitchell cause I need somebody to score the rock.”
As Lundberg previously stated, Mitchell started the game slowly against the Lynx. In 27 minutes, she scored 20 points, while also dishing out four assists and three rebounds.
Mitchell is the type of player who can turn a small opening into points without needing the entire possession built around her. Clark and Mitchell complete each other’s game, and one wouldn’t be so efficient in their plays without the other. In fact, the duo has made WNBA history together.
Clark and Mitchell hold the WNBA record for both players scoring 20+ points in the same game at 21, surpassing Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter’s mark of 15 in 2008. Add Aliyah Boston into the mix, and the Fever would not reach where they are if not for the Big 3’s contributions.
Following the win against the Lynx, the Indiana Fever extended their record to 28-15 for the season and are currently in fifth place behind the Atlanta Dream. While it is unlikely the Fever will get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, another victory against the top-seeded Lynx will take them far in terms of momentum.
The Fever made a deep run in the playoffs last season thanks to Kelsey Mitchell, who led the team to the semifinals without the help of Caitlin Clark, who was out injured. But now that the Fever’s attack is looking better than ever, they’ll attempt to win their WNBA championship for the first time since 2012.