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Before the 2025 WNBA season even began, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was one of the betting favorites to win the award.
The reigning Rookie of the Year got off to a hot start too, averaging 19 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.0 rebounds through her first four games before missing some time with a quadriceps injury.
She picked up right where she left off after returning in mid-June with a 32-point outburst against the New York Liberty followed by a 20-point outing against the Connecticut Sun the following game, but injuries have limited Clark to just seven more appearances in Indiana’s 23 games since, all but dashing the 23-year-old Iowa alum’s chances of taking home the top honor in the league.
But in Clark’s absence, one of her teammates has not only filled her scoring void in Indiana’s lineup but also seemingly taken her place in the MVP race.
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Kelsey Mitchell entered Sunday’s matchup against the Sun fourth in the league in scoring (19.9 points per game), fourth in made 3-pointers per game (2.4), and fifth in 3-point percentage (37.7), and her performance in the Fever’s 21-point comeback may have earned her a seat at the table in the MVP discussion.
Mitchell finished with a game- and career-high 38 points along with six assists, two steals, and a rebound in the Fever’s 99-93 overtime win, marking the biggest come-from-behind win in franchise history.
Among those celebrating Mitchell’s monster performance was Clark, who took to social media to make it known Mitchell has her vote for MVP.
“MVP kels,” Clark wrote on X.
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Clark wasn’t the only one impressed with Mitchell’s heroics as two of her other teammates hit social media to rave about her performance.
“KELSEY FREAKIN MITCHELL,” Sophie Cunningham wrote on X.
“Kelsey Mitchell isn’t real,” Sydney Colson also chimed in.
Sunday was Mitchell’s fourth 30-point game of the season, and it marked the 20th time in 35 games this season she scored 20 or more points.
The Fever lost Cunningham to a knee injury in the second quarter, and the rest of the team struggled to mount any offense against the Sun for the first two-and-a-half quarters. In fact, Mitchell scored just four points by halftime.
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