Sep 26, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) looks on during game three against the Las Vegas Aces of the second round for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Fever Star Kelsey Mitchell Reveals Inspiring Off-Court Commitment

Originally posted on Indiana Fever on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 1:50 PM ET

Indiana Fever star guard Kelsey Mitchell wasn't on the court when her team's season ended during Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces. on September 30.

Mitchell looked to be uncomfortable on the court for a few minutes in the second half of that winner-take-all game. After play stopped during one possession, Mitchell went to the ground and lay on her back. After a brief delay, Mitchell was helped up and carried away into the locker room. She ultimately didn't return, and the Fever lost in overtime to end their cinderella postseason run.

Mitchell addressed the injury she suffered with an October 1 X post, where she wrote, "i suffered from something called Rhabdomyolysis last night. my muscles stopped producing and reached it's maximum capacity. i went into a sense of numbness/paralyzing feeling with no movement from my lower extremities for up to 5 to 7 seconds. because my muscles stopped producing positive blood to my bloodstream, my body locked up from a physical standpoint and from there fatigue and cramping settled in."

"in other words, i played literally till my wheels fell off, lmao ," she later added in the post.

The fact that Mitchell was willing to take her body to the absolute brink and risk a scary-sounding injury to help her team advance to the WNBA Finals served as inspiration for fans, making them adore Mitchell even more than they already did.

Kelsey Mitchell Shares PhD Pursuit in Social Media Post

Mitchell doesn't just manage to be an inspiration from what she does on the basketball court. She's also doing so with an off-court pursuit, which she revealed in a November 19 Instagram post.

The post's video shows Mitchell speaking at the Indiana University Girls Leadership Symposium, which was hosted by the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington and was attended by over a hundred middle school girls.

At one point when speaking, Mitchell said, "I think my commitment to basketball made me commit to school. But it ended up being a good thing.

"I'm getting my PhD, currently, at Liberty University," Mitchell added. "Like, when y'all do homework, I'm probably doing homework, too. At a coffee shop or somewhere. I don't know how good I'll do, but I won't quit. And because I won't, you won't either. If you look at yourself in the mirror and know what you bring to the table, as a teammate, as a team member... You have to go through it to see it through. You legit have to take some L's to get some W's."