With Caitlin Clark out, the Fever needed someone else to step up as the team’s big-time star. Kelsey Mitchell has done just that. She is averaging 20 points, which marks a career high, 1.9 rebounds, and three assists per game. Mitchell even cracked the 30-point mark three times already.
She has been one of the best guards in the league all season long and already earned an All-Star nod. At the end of the season, she could add another accolade to her resume. Mitchell is making an excellent case to be on the All-WNBA Second Team.
Kelsey Mitchell hasn’t made an All-WNBA team yet
Kelsey Mitchell has been a reliable, high-level scorer for most of her career. However, playing for the struggling Indiana Fever hurt her case to be in All-Star and All-WNBA conversations. She just made her first All-Star team in 2023, when she averaged 18.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists over 40 games. Since then, she has made two more All-Star rosters, joining teammates Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston.
An All-WNBA team selection is still missing from Mitchell’s resume. Before 2022, All-WNBA teams were made up of two guards, two forwards, and one center. Now, they are positionless. Considering that most of the top players in the league are forwards or bigs, the positionless approach has made it more difficult for guards to get selected to an All-WNBA team.
In 2024, Caitlin Clark was the only guard to make the All-WNBA First Team. Sabrina Ionescu, Kahleah Copper, and Arike Ogunbowale made the second team. The previous year, not a single guard made the first team, but Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, and Sabrina Ionescu all made the second team.
Kelsey Mitchell can compete with the best
The WNBA is filled with talented guards. Kelsey Plum, for example, ranks third in scoring behind only Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson. Sabrina Ionescu, who has done a lot of heavy lifting for the Liberty recently, ranks fourth. Allisha Gray has put together an MVP case, and Paige Bueckers is the only rookie in the top ten in scoring.
The forwards and bigs have been making waves as well. Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson have been the top two players all season long. Nneka Ogwumike and Breanna Stewart are putting up big numbers, and Dearica Hamby lost out on an All-Star selection despite ranking tenth in scoring across the league.
Mitchell can compete with all of those players, though. She ranks fifth in scoring in the league and is leading a strong Fever team. After some initial hiccups, the Fever snuck into the top five of the standings. That should only help Mitchell’s All-WNBA case.