The Indiana Fever are WNBA championship contenders, something star guard Kelsey Mitchell has envisioned for nearly a decade.
With Mitchell having an MVP-caliber season, she recently gave insight her relationship with the team’s other MVP candidate, Caitlin Clark.
Kelsey Mitchell Says She Has A Genuine Connection With Caitlin Clark
Mitchell was asked about her relationship with Clark while speaking to the media, and revealed their connection. Mitchell said “You sit on a plane together, walk on a bus together, walk in a hotel together, those interactions are stepping stones and building.”
Mitchell added “I think that connection for me and CC is genuine. The moment you get to know who a person is, what they being to the table, and you don’t judge. The one thing about CC and her career is that people have already been judging her. My job is to not be that person.”
Mitchell has quietly become one of the WNBA’s top veterans. The Fever selected her with the second pick in the 2018 Draft, and she quickly became a franchise player. However, the Fever was unable to sustain as an organization.
Mitchell endured plenty of tough moments playing for a losing team, but is finally able to reap the benefits of her hard work, thanks to the organization drafting Clark and franchise center Aliyah Boston.
Clark credits Mitchell for being a steady presence on the Fever as they continue moving up the WNBA standings. Both players are ranked in the league’s top five in scoring, which Mitchell partly credits to the two stars developing genuine chemistry on and off the court.
Mitchell mentioned the fame and expectations Clark deals with daily as one of the faces of women’s sports. Mitchell tries to make life easier for Clark, something Clark appreciates, while also saying that Mitchell doesn’t have an ego despite being a star player and the former face of the organization before Clark and Boston arrived.
The 21-12 Fever’s championship aspirations center on their dynamic backcourt continuing to lead the way. Mitchell has the ability to take over games at any moment, but also has the veteran instincts to let Clark run the show when she’s dominating.
As Mitchell looks to finally achieve her ultimate goal and help the Fever win a championship, she’ll likely look at those chemistry-building moments with Clark as a major reason for the team’s success.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.