Women's Fastbreak On SI

Kelsey Mitchell's New Basketball Team Touts Its Own Big Three

Indiana Fever superstar Kelsey Mitchell wasted no time joining another team's "big three" this offseason.

Grant Young

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) runs down the court after scoring a 3-pointer Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx at Gainbride Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Lynx defeated the Fever, 99-88.
Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) runs down the court after scoring a 3-pointer Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx at Gainbride Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Lynx defeated the Fever, 99-88. / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Indiana Fever held an introductory press conference on Monday for their new head coach, Stephanie White.

At one point in the press conference, White alluded to having a "core three" of players on the Fever. While she didn't specifically note the players she was referring to, the assumption is that she meant Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell.

Clark and Boston were both present and sitting in the front row of the press conference. Mitchell — who is now an unrestricted free agent after spending the first seven seasons of her WNBA career with Indiana — was nowhere to be found.

However, there's a clear explanation for this: She's currently across the world, playing for the Shanxi Flame of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA).

And a November 4 X post from the Chinese Women's Hoop Show account suggested that Mitchell has already joined a "Big Three" on this new team.

"The Big 3 are ready🥰," the account captioned with a video of Mitchell posing alongside Olivia Nelson-Ododa (who currently plays for the Connecticut Sun) and Liu Yutong, who is a star player for the Flame.

Of course, Mitchell being a part of this "big three" doesn't mean she can't be a part of the Fever's "core three" when she returns to the United States in 2025, as the WNBA and WCBA aren't mutually exclusive leagues.

Mitchell has also been keeping busy in China by starring in a commercial about the hotel she's staying at, which the Chinese Women's Hoop Show X account also posted about on Monday.

It seems that the former (and potentially future) Fever superstar is making the most of her offseason in China.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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