Intriguing trend reveals Kelsey Mitchell priority Fever must embrace

If there's one thing long-time Fever fans know, it's that Kelsey Mitchell is the heart of the team. Mitchell was drafted to the Fever in 2018 as the No. 2 overall pick, and by all intents and purposes, she's staying in Indiana forever. And that's a great thing for Fever fans — especially if Mitchell keeps playing the way she has been lately.

Mitchell, who was a major player in terms of keeping the Fever going during Caitlin Clark's absence, has scored 15 or more points in each of the team's last three games. If Mitchell can stay locked in and Clark continues to offer performances like the team's game against the Liberty on June 14, the Fever will have the potential to rocket up the WNBA rankings.

There's no denying that Mitchell has had to wait quite some time for the Fever's front office to build a strong team of true contenders. And the franchise has done exactly that — the decisions to draft Lexie Hull as the No. 6 overall pick in 2022, Aliyah Boston as the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, and Clark as the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 have all been part of a larger plan toward a championship season.

If the Fever wants to continue to win, the team needs to prioritize getting Mitchell the play and creating opportunities for her to shoot. Despite the ups and downs that have plagued the team so far this season, it's clear the Fever trust one another, and that trust is a big part of what facilitated the team's win Saturday.

In fact, Mitchell played a key role in making sure that win happened in the first place. During halftime, the Fever's coaching staff warned the team against allowing the Liberty to go on a run when the teams returned to the floor, something the defending champions quickly threatened to do when they scored the first nine points of the third quarter within the first two and a half minutes of play.

It was Mitchell who stepped up and stopped the Liberty's run before it truly started, something that inspired the Fever's ferocious 25-3 run that dominated the rest of the third.

Continued evolution will be key to the Fever's success this season, and with Clark back on the floor, the team may finally get the opportunity to truly gel like they need to. This will only give Mitchell increased opportunities to be great, and there's no doubt she will grab them all.