Is Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever a WNBA MVP contender? Caitlin Clark thinks so.
Clark didn’t attend Sunday’s game against the Connecticut Sun as she rehabs her groin injury. But she registered her vote as Mitchell scored a WNBA season-high 38 points in a Fever 99-93 overtime victory.
Clark, who was in the MVP conversation entering the season but has missed more than half the games with various injuries, posted on social media late in the game: “MVP kels”
Mitchell, as well as the rest of the Fever, struggled mightily until the middle of the third quarter Sunday. She scored 34 points after halftime.
Mitchell came into the game averaging 19.9 points (fourth in the WNBA) and 3.3 assists per game, hitting 37.7% of her 3-pointers. She made 5-of-8 3s Sunday and had six assists.
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever teammates react to Kelsey Mitchell’s career game
“I don’t even think there are any words,” Aliyah Boston beamed. “When you watch Kelsey play, you look at what she means to the squad — I think coming out of that second half and going off the way she did, it speaks for her case in general. She comes out, she defends, she scores the ball, she plays 40 minutes per game and she still consistently puts up these numbers.
“I feel like if she’s not MVP, shoot. That’s crazy.”
WNBA MVP candidates
Here are other likely WNBA MVP candidates (in alphabetical order):
Napheesa Coller, Minnesota Lynx: League-leading 23.5 points, 1.8 steals for the league’s best team.
Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream: 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists per game as Atlanta is fighting for the No. 2 playoff seed.
Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty: 19.2 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds.
Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks: 20.3 points, 2.5 3-pointers per game, 6.1 assists.
Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury: 16.1 points, league-leading 9.0 assists, 8.6 rebounds. This season, she became the first player in league history with three consecutive triple-doubles.
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces: 22.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocked shots for the 2024 MVP.
