Caitlin Clark Wants Kelsey Mitchell to Stay with Indiana Fever for Life: ‘We Need Her’

INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark has made her position unmistakably clear: she wants Kelsey Mitchell in an Indiana Fever uniform for the rest of her career.

Speaking at her end-of-season exit interview, Clark delivered an impassioned plea for the Fever front office to prioritize re-signing Mitchell, who becomes an unrestricted free agent for the first time in her nine-year WNBA career. The four-time All-Star and 2026 scoring champion is expected to draw significant interest from teams across the league.

“There’s nobody I would rather share the backcourt with other than her,” Clark said. “She knows how much I love her. We’re going to recruit her as much as we can. We need her, we love her”.

A Historic Season

Mitchell is coming off a campaign that cemented her place among the WNBA’s elite. The 30-year-old guard averaged a career-high 24.7 points per game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 45% from three-point range—both career bests. She set the WNBA single-season scoring record with 1,086 points and constructed a remarkable 27-game streak of scoring at least 20 points, surpassing A’ja Wilson’s previous mark.

The Mitchell-Clark pairing became just the second backcourt duo in WNBA history to each average over 20 points per game, joining Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter from the 2008 season. Together, they powered an Indiana offense that averaged 96 points per contest.

“I often tell her, ‘I feel like I have the best seat in the house every single night, because I get to watch you do your thing and be right next to you,’” Clark said.

The Complicated Reality

Despite the on-court success and Clark’s public recruitment, Mitchell’s return to Indiana is far from guaranteed. In her own exit interview, Mitchell acknowledged she would approach free agency with a mindset she described as “selfish”—a decision-making framework focused on what she needs at this stage of her career.

“I’ve never been in another uniform, I’ve never had to talk, even discuss another organization, so it’s a lot to hash out,” Mitchell said. “I just think I got to be selfish about where my career is going a little bit in terms of, like, some of the things, as I get older, what’s important for me. Whether it be winning, whether it be my own individual success, I worked my tail off to be here”.

Mitchell also spoke candidly about the challenges of playing alongside Clark in an environment with such an intense spotlight. While she praised the organization and expressed love for her teammates, she described the experience as having “ups and downs”.

“Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard. I don’t think people understand that,” Mitchell said. “Playing with CC and having the eyes that she got, we get a lot of flack for just being on her team. I just think people got to give us grace. This organization is unbelievable, but when it comes to really trying to be yourself, it hasn’t always been easy”.

Mitchell revealed that she has faced hateful messages on social media, stating: “If I showed y’all my DMs about the hate and the stuff that comes with being a professional athlete, but specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player, it’s a lot that goes into that, and those days are hard as hell”.

Clark Denounces Hate

Clark responded to Mitchell’s comments with visible emotion, denouncing those who have directed hateful rhetoric at her teammate.

“I saw Kelsey’s comments and as a teammate, it makes you upset because you care about your teammates so much, and you don’t want anyone to go through something like that,” Clark said. “I think as far as people that have used me to demonstrate racist rhetoric or hate or discrimination, that’s not something I stand for. That’s never been something I’ve stood for. For those of you who know me, that’s not what I’m about. It’s not how I was raised”.

Clark added that she and Mitchell have communicated since the season ended, though not specifically about the fanbase issue.

“It was more so wrapping up the end of the season and letting her know how much I really enjoy getting to be around her and play with her and appreciating everything that she’s done for me”.

Cap Constraints Loom

The Fever’s ability to retain Mitchell while building a championship-caliber roster presents significant financial challenges. Indiana has seven players under contract for 2027 and is projected to have approximately $3.6 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.

Aliyah Boston’s supermax deal will pay her 22.14% of the salary cap beginning next season, a projected $1.55 million. Clark is eligible for an EPIC (Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract) extension that could pay her up to 17% of the cap. If Mitchell commands a supermax contract as expected, the Big Three could consume more than half of the team’s cap space.

Clark was noncommittal Thursday when asked whether she would consider taking less than a full EPIC extension to preserve cap flexibility.

“I certainly know what I deserve and what I’m worth, but at the same time, sometimes you have to make sacrifices,” Clark said, adding that her focus remains on winning.

Organizational Priority

Fever general manager Amber Cox and head coach Stephanie White have both identified Mitchell’s retention as the franchise’s top offseason priority.

“Kelsey is obviously a major priority,” Cox said. “She has a lot of equity in this franchise and has put in a lot of time, and I think you can see and feel and hear the love that this fanbase has for her, and that permeates throughout this entire organization. Kelsey obviously has the opportunity and has earned the right to explore what other opportunities are out there, but our goal is for her to be a Fever girl for the rest of her career”.

Mitchell, who was drafted No. 2 overall by Indiana in 2018, has experienced both the franchise’s lowest points—including four seasons of six or fewer wins in her first six years—and its resurgence as a championship contender. She acknowledged the significance of potentially spending her entire career with one organization.

“Reparations, man,” Mitchell said with a laugh when asked about the journey. “I knew what this was like when it wasn’t so easy and so fun to be around, but I stayed down and I stayed down for the vision the Fever has. I always wanted to be part of their solution”.

As free agency approaches, the Fever face a pivotal moment. Clark’s public recruitment has set the tone, but the final decision rests with Mitchell—and a league full of teams eager to add a scoring champion to their roster.

For Clark, the message is simple: “More than anything, I hope she comes back here and the arena is chanting ‘M-V-P’ for her again, because that’s what she deserves”.