Caitlin Clark’s Fever Teammate’s in Deep Personal Turmoil as She Decides to Abandon Overseas Plans

A star guard, the cusp of the Chinese Basketball Association championship, and a personal decision. This decision to pull the plug on her contract at Shanxi who lies at the cusp of history, has left fans bewildered. Just as the Chinese second-seeded team eyed a deep playoff run, their best player seems to be walking away. But why? And what does this mean for the Fever’s WNBA aspirations?

Kelsey Mitchell lit up the Chinese Basketball league, and it’s not an exaggeration. The 29-year-old joined Shanxi Flame in late 2024 and went on a streak of 10(+) points in EVERY game of the season so far! The American also recorded a total of 11 games with 20 points or more, effectively leading her team to the playoffs.  What began as an off-season cross-continent adventure could have borne valuable fruits for the Indian Fever star. That is, if she decided to stay.

According to the Chinese Women’s Hoop Show, “Kelsey Mitchell won’t return to Shanxi for the rest of the season due to personal reasons.”

Mitchell averaged 23.1 PPG while converting 82.1% of the free throws at her disposal. The former No. 2 overall WNBA draft pick also averaged 4.5 assists every game. Her giant performances took the Shanxi team to a new level, letting the fans dream of a championship run. This was the first time Shanxi finished in the top 3 in their group since the 2017/18 season. However, her departure came as a surprise to both sets of fans: Fever and Shanxi.

Many players have had to bow out of either the WNBA or other global competitions due to reasons such as overlapping schedules. But Mitchell’s case is truly unique because of her relatively free schedule. The WCBA playoffs usually end around the same time as the men’s competition, which is March 31. In this scenario, Mitchell would still have a month and a half to prepare for the upcoming WNBA season.

While her reasons weren’t made public, one can only speculate what may have caused this sudden change in heart. The forward recently signed a one-year contract with the Indiana Fever for a supermax salary of $249,244. For her teammate, Caitlyn Clark, this move may be a morale boost as the two can begin to train with the rest of the squad earlier than usual. Clark, a superstar in her own right, has expressed her love for Mitchell’s game in the past.

In September last year, Clark said, ” I honestly thought she (Mitchell) deserved to be Player of the Month. Just what she was doing, and at the clip she was doing it this month — I think she was like 50/40/90 this month, which is really, really hard to do.” Clark’s admiration underscores just how valuable Mitchell is to any team. But while Fever fans may see this as a win, Shanxi and the WCBA might view it differently.

Will the WCBA make changes to its contract structures?

This extraordinary turn of events has obviously raised some eyebrows. One user on X stated, “This will put a crimp in Kelsey’s possible future employment in the WCBA though. I can even see their contracts in future having a one-month salary withholding clause to disincentivize early decampments. The numbers must be such that she thinks this risk is well worth her while.” A fair assessment that raises key questions. Did Mitchell have a clause in her contract that let her depart before the playoffs began? Or did the former Al Ahly shooting guard make the difficult decision despite the financial losses?

via Getty

Another user said, “Did she have to pay a steep fine in to leave early?” While there are no details made public yet, one can expect the teams abroad to follow stricter contracts to ensure nothing like this happens again. Even if the player did pay those fines, her loss is a massive roadblock for Shanxi to overcome. Chen Yujie, a 5’10” forward at Shanxi followed close behind Mitchell. She averaged 11.3 PPG and a 79.1% free throw conversion rate and was arguably their best player after the Fever sensation. But the loss of the 1x WNBA All-Star might just leave a massive hole for Shanxi.

A user reflected what many Fever fans may have been thinking, “If this news is true, then “personal reasons” might well mean getting prepared for a WNBA title run.” and another user echoed similar sentiments, posting a gif of Caitlin Clark winking with a sarcastic caption that read, ” “personal reasons” ” Fever fans get the Mitchell-fever as they believe that this could be a ploy for Fever’s all-time leading points-scorer to get back to her top form before the 2025 WNBA season begins.

A user also stated that this was, “Not professtional at all, should have stayed.” On the surface, the move does appear to have left Shanxi Flame out to dry. However, without any details about the departure, we can’t really understand if this was to please her American employers or other reasons.

Mitchell’s abrupt exit leaves more questions than answers. Will she use this time to recharge and dominate alongside Caitlin Clark in the WNBA? Or could this decision affect her future opportunities overseas? Stay tuned to find out.