By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com

Kelsey Mitchell took the microphone seconds before the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game tipped off. Just moments before the game was hurled into action, Mitchell made sure to bring the crowd into the fold.

“We wouldn’t be here without you guys,” Mitchell said. “…Shoutout to you guys for making it (the weekend) special.”

Mitchell, an All-Star for the third consecutive year, was named a starter earlier in the day on Saturday. She replaced her injured teammate, Caitlin Clark, in the first five on the floor for Team Clark.

She spent All-Star Friday night encouraging another teammate – Lexie Hull – as she competed in the 3-point contest. Mitchell, alongside Clark and Aliyah Boston, sat courtside for the festivities.

The weekend wasn’t a parade for her own personal achievement to Mitchell. It was a victory lap around her home city alongside her teammates as the group introduced the rest of the league to Indiana hoops, and the love that Indianapolis has for basketball.

“Everyone has a different walk of life…And I think basketball is just a good utilization to say that we can all do this together,” Mitchell said. “I think getting to know people as people, getting to know you as a person, is just a different way to love and connect. And I think sport is a dope way to do it.”

The three-time All-Star prioritizes those connections, and envelops them into her endeavor to remain grateful, never taking a second of her career for granted.

“For me it’s like, take these opportunities for what they are,” she said. “Don’t take them for granted…Me and my family, what we’ve been through, and my dad not being here, It’s an unbelievable opportunity for me to just stay grateful.”

Mitchell has spent her eight years in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever – a franchise with which she’s trudged through low lows, and now navigates new heights in women’s sports.

“I want people to see that I love my team,” Mitchell said. “Like, we have a really dope locker room, and from a standpoint of the weekend, like, they as women deserve it.”

Mitchell opened her All-Star performance with a near full court assist to A’ja Wilson. Her scoring came with a left-handed layup over Allisha Gray, and she followed that play with a leak-out layup before she sat down for a first-quarter breather.

By halftime, Mitchell had six points, a rebound, and two assists, but Team Clark trailed 82-60.

Mitchell’s offensive game had a chance to shine in the second half as she scored 14 of her 20 total points. She even knocked down a 4-point shot from nearly 28 feet.

Team Collier defeated Team Clark, 151-131.

“I told my team to have as much fun as possible,” Clark said pregame. “…Like, you joke about winning, but at the end of the day, it’s not that serious…It’s been cool just to see everything that’s going on and how much everybody’s enjoying it.”

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Mitchell not only led Team Clark with her 20 points, but she set a new All-Star game career-high after eclipsing her previous high of 13 points set in 2024. Her 20 points mark the second-highest scoring total in an All-Star performance by a Fever player, trailing only Erica Wheeler’s 25 points in 2019. Wheeler took home the All-Star game MVP award for that performance.

“Everybody played a big part in making this weekend what it was supposed to be,” Mitchell said. “Shoutout to the city of Indianapolis for putting on a great show for everybody.”

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