Just a few days ago, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham unintentionally lit the fuse on a fresh MVP debate, tossing Kelsey Mitchell‘s name into the same sentence as Caitlin Clark‘s. Nobody expected the debate to escalate this fast.
But after Indiana‘s 103-85 win over the Toronto Tempo on Friday night, the WNBA world was quick to deliver a verdict.
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Kelsey Mitchell Stuns the WNBA World With Her Performance Against the Tempo
Mitchell scored 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including 7-of-11 from three-point range, and her record-breaking night quickly became the story for the night. With her third-quarter three-pointer, Mitchell surpassed A’ja Wilson’s previous WNBA single-season scoring record of 1,021 points, set in 2024.
The Fever guard also continued her remarkable scoring consistency, recording her ninth 30-point game of the season while extending her WNBA-record streak of consecutive 20-point games to 25. Mitchell’s seven made threes also pushed her season total to 128.
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That combination of her performance and history immediately shifted the online conversation toward her MVP credentials.
“The MVP. This is ridiculous,” said one user.
Whereas another posted, “This is insane; I ain’t know she was scoring like THAT.”
Mitchell became the first player to cross the 1,000-point mark in a WNBA season since Wilson, and her 1,034 points are now the league’s single-season scoring benchmark.
The milestone naturally brought more attention to Mitchell’s individual season, and one influencer even declared her the GOAT.
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“Dr. K is the best player on the Indiana Fever and the only true MVP candidate. Energy vampires are always looking to extract and redirect. Kelsey Mitchell is one of the GOATs,” one account claimed.
“Best player in her team,” anotheruser declared.
Not everyone focused solely on Mitchell’s historic achievement, as one fan suggested that if another Fever star (likely pointing towards Clark) had produced the same statistical milestone, the MVP conversation might have been even louder.
“If she was someone else on the Fever, this stat alone would get her that MVP trophy, but yk,” they wrote.
As far as Clark’s production was concerned, the three-time All-Star scored 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 14 assists, matching her season high in assists and recording her 14th double-double of the year.
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Whether the actual MVP voting reflects the fan sentiment remains to be seen. But for one night in Toronto, the conversation belonged entirely to Mitchell, and the numbers made it nearly impossible to argue otherwise.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
