We're officially hitting the point in the season when a lot of attention shifts toward the looming WNBA Championships and the end-of-season awards. MVP is a huge one that is just about as high as one can get — the very best player in the league.
Four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson is unsurprisingly making a case for her fifth nod this year, and she might lock up the award outright. Olivia Miles has also proven to be a formidable challenger, and could end up pulling off something only Candace Parker has done — winning MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. A lot of MVP chatter has also focused on Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, who are both putting in career-high performances (and who are in their third and second year in the WNBA).
But some of it is also focused on Clark's teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, who is behind only Wilson in terms of points scored this season. Mitchell, who was drafted as the No. 2 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in 2018, has put her entire body on the line for the team time and time again, and this season is no exception. She's averaging 24.2 points on 50.3% shooting, and her 3-point percentage is currently 43.7%.
It's clear that the Fever relies enormously on both Clark and Mitchell, but one gets a lot more attention than the other. It's possible Mitchell likes it that way — the attention Clark gets doesn't always look that fun — and perhaps it even allows her to play basketball the way she wants. Mitchell is putting in the kind of performance we don't often see: she's scored 20 or more points in the last 19 games she's played this season.
Shooting is everything when it comes to determining who is the league's MVP. Mitchell has been endorsed by teammate Aliyah Boston, who told the Athletic's James Boyd, "Every single night you see her come out, and she drops I don't even know how many points at this rate. She defends her butt off… she does exactly what she needs to do, so I'm really proud of her."
There's also the reality that the league's MVP is usually on the team that wins the WNBA Championship. The Fever, who are ranked fourth in the league behind the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, and Las Vegas Aces, have everything they need to make it all the way to that final set of games. Should they achieve that, both Clark and Mitchell could find themselves suddenly thrust into the MVP spotlight in a major way.
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