Mitchell joined ESPN’s NBA Today and revealed the reason behind Fever’s success, which is all about draft selections.
Recently, Kelsey Mitchell explained on NBA Today why the Indiana Fever are performing so well in the 2025 Playoffs. She highlighted the team’s star, Caitlin Clark, as the key factor. Since 2019, the WNBA franchise had not advanced this far. How did they get here? Draft decisions played a major role.
Mitchell joined the Fever in 2018 and has witnessed the team’s growth firsthand. She admitted it was not easy, but adding key players made the difference in 2025.
A series of smart choices propelled the Fever to the top
According to Essentiallysports, Kelsey Mitchell is sure that Caitlin Clark is the X-factor behind the Fever. She said:
“I think our draft picks turned out great. Lexi was a great draft pick, then you get Caitlin, and then you get A.B., and so on… You combine that with, you know, my experience and having gone through a few things before they arrived. I think it was a match made in heaven, because I was still young enough to really get to know these players for who they were. Then you bring in Caitlin, who changed everything, changed the game’s dynamics. As a friend and teammate, you come to appreciate her because she opened doors for the Fever, and you have to respect that.”
Kelsey saying her experience + the org’s the draft picks in Lexie, AB, and CC was a “match made in heaven” to kickstart Fever’s organic growth.
She says Caitlin “changed the world & dynamic of basketball and opened doors coming to the Fever” and values her as a person too ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zsgAl4Az2Q— allison (@_girltalk) September 22, 2025
For the Fever player, the team wouldn’t have achieved this success without Clark. Since her recruitment, she became one of the league’s biggest attractions. In fact, during every regular-season game, the team reached about 1.2 million viewers, nearly 200% more than in 2024.
Unfortunately, Clark could only play 13 games this season, but she had already paved a path that once seemed impossible. Thanks to her, players like Natasha Howard joined, becoming a key factor in the playoff run.
Regarding Clark’s impact, Mitchell emphasized: “I love her as a teammate, because she handled everything with grace and welcomed us with open arms to make this happen. It took a lot of key pieces to build what we have now.”
Clark transformed Indiana’s culture and sent a clear message to management: “Protect our locker room. Protect the culture we started.” She emphasized looking out for each other to stay strong, even amid challenges like the departure of five of the team’s top stars this season. Without a doubt, the Fever set a standard for the WNBA.
