Sheryl Swoopes Believes Fever 'Didn't Do a Very Good Job' Recognizing Kelsey Mitchell
While the Indiana Fever's 2024 WNBA season ended way back in September, there is still constant conversation about the franchise on what feels like a daily basis.
Of course, much of this is owed to the superstardom of Caitlin Clark, who commands an unprecedented amount of attention for everything that she does both on and off the court. It's also owed to the Fever firing head coach Christie Sides and then hiring new head coach Stephanie White in close succession to each other.
These developments have kept the Fever top of mind within the women's basketball community; just like how the franchise was while the season was underway. And while WNBA icon Sheryl Swoopes made a lot of waves for her various takes on Clark and the Fever earlier this year, she is one person who hasn't spoken out about Indiana recently.
That is, until a November 6 episode of her 'Levels to This With Sheryl Swoopes and Terrika Foster-Brasby' podcast, where Swoopes didn't mince words about how she believes the franchise handled Kelsey Mitchell.
"Personally, here's where I think [the Fever] didn't do a very good job, and that was with Kelsey Mitchell, who's an unrestricted free agent," Swoopes said. "Because Kelsey Mitchell had a hell of a season this season, and I don't think that she got the credit that she deserved."
While there's no question that Mitchell had a fantastic season with Indiana, many Fever fans would assert that they've given her plenty of credit for her role in the team's success this year.
There's also the angle that Mitchell's success this year could be owed to playing alongside Clark. But we wouldn't expect Swoopes to share that sentiment.
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.