The WNBA, as a part of its promotional campaign for the upcoming season, put out a fun video on its official accounts in which the Indiana Fever team was seen playing a game of “Pass the Phone.”

And while most of the featured athletes opted to make light-hearted comments, Caitlin Clark saw it as an opportunity to give her backcourt partner, Kelsey Mitchell, her flowers.

When it was her turn in the video, the star hooper made a declaration about Mitchell, describing a key attribute about her teammate without hesitation.

“I’m passing the phone to the fastest player in the league,” Clark said, before handing off to Kelsey Mitchell.

Although the clip circulated quickly in the basketball world, highlighting what Caitlin Clark thought of Mitchell, she had already made her feelings known at training camp the day before.

“Just really fortunate that she’s back here,” Clark told reporters at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “She makes my job a lot easier. When you have somebody in the back court like that, there’s nobody better in the league for me to play with. So just really fortunate and lucky.”

Clark’s comments come after the two missed most of last season together, as she was limited to just 13 games due to a groin injury and bone bruise, leaving Mitchell to carry the full offensive load.

Kelsey Mitchell played all 44 regular-season games, averaging a career-high 20.2 points on 45.6% shooting, with 3.4 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers per game.

She finished fifth in MVP voting, earning All-WNBA First Team honors, while Indiana finished 24-20, their best record since 2015, and reached the WNBA semifinals for the first time in a decade.

Clark wasn’t off the mark when she labelled Mitchell the fastest, as her game is built around attacking the rim in straight lines, changing pace off the dribble, and forcing defensive breakdowns before help can arrive.

And when paired with Clark’s shooting and passing range, they create a two-guard combination that is difficult to build a defensive scheme around.

Having said that, Kelsey Mitchell will be returning for her ninth season in the league after last year’s run that pushed her capacity.

Kelsey Mitchell Returns After a Season That Tested Her Limits

The 2025 season did not end cleanly for Mitchell, as she collapsed in the third quarter with severe cramping in Game 5 of the semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces.

Kelsey Mitchell was then taken to the hospital, where she was treated with IV fluids and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis before being released that night.

She was cleared to return within two weeks, and her response to it this spring said everything about how she processed it.

“If I gotta do it all over again and let my body fall out the way it did, I’m going to do it,” Kelsey Mitchell said. “I love the game that much. I love competing that much.”

That being said, re-signing Mitchell was the Fever’s top offseason priority, and the organization finalized her contract on the first day deals could be signed, making her the highest-paid player in franchise history under the new WNBA CBA.

With Clark back healthy and Kelsey Mitchell fully recovered, Indiana opens the 2026 season on May 9 against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Read more at She Got Game!

Written by

Sauramita Debbarma

Edited by

Arvind Rao