Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell claimed that she has to be ‘selfish’ about her future as she appeared to make a dig at her team’s own fanbase. The Fever’s season came to a crashing end on Thursday night when they were knocked out of the WNBA playoffs in a Game 3 defeat against the Las Vegas Aces. With Indiana’s 2026 season over, Mitchell is set to become an unrestricted free agent after a breakout year on the court. Both general manager Amber Cox and coach Stephanie White acknowledged on Saturday that retaining Mitchell was a top priority. However, the four-time All-Star hinted that it might not be so easy. Mitchell said that she would be ‘selfish’ when it comes to her decision-making in free agency – and a big part of that may involve the Fever’s fanbase. ‘I have to be selfish,’ Mitchell said during her end-of-season media session on Saturday. ‘I think that’s where I am in my career… what I probably need and what’s probably best for me. So I have to be selfish in that room. Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell claimed that she has to be ‘selfish’ about her future Caitlin Clark and the Fever crashed out of the WNBA playoffs in the first round on Thursday’But I think, ultimately, being on the Fever and being a part of an organization that does come with a lot of ups and downs, what factors in and what is important for me is, obviously, having a good chemistry on and off the floor. I’ve only been with one team my entire career, so it’s all kind of like figuring this out. It’s hard, man.’She added: ‘It’s a lot to hash out. I just think that I’ve got to be selfish about where my career is going a little bit in terms of some of the things, as I get older, what’s important for me, whether it be winning, whether it be my own individual success. I worked my tail off to be here, though, man. So whatever I do, it’s gonna come from a selfish standpoint. I’ll be honest about that.’ Mitchell enjoyed a career year, setting the WNBA single-season records for points scored and 3-point field goals made.Her performance alongside Caitlin Clark in the backcourt has proven key to a lot of the Fever’s success this season. And while Mitchell admitted that playing alongside Clark will be a key factor in her decision-making, she also suggested that her teammate’s fans could deter her from returning to Indiana next year. ‘Showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you is hard,’ Mitchell said Saturday. ‘… I think this organization is unbelievable, man, but I think that when it comes to, like, really trying to be yourself, it hasn’t always been easy.”I don’t think people really understand how much we endure,’ Mitchell added ‘Like, if I showed y’all my DMs about the hate and all of the stuff that comes with being a professional athlete, but specifically being an Indiana Fever basketball player, it’s a lot that goes into that. And those days are hard as hell, man. ‘Playing with (Clark) and having the eyes that she’s got (on her), we get a lot of flak just from being on her team.’ Mitchell admitted that playing alongside Clark will be a key factor in her decision-makingThe Fever have found themselves in the headlines a number of times this season with the players having to play through a lot of outside noise. Fans were often left outraged by a number of incidents of physical play on Clark with many perceiving the officials to miss calls on the star. It has often led to fans calling out the league for not doing enough to protects its superstar. Meanwhile, Sophie Cunningham sparked a firestorm with her comments on ‘protecting young girls’ in sports, engulfing the WNBA in a transgender athlete debate. Most recently, the Fever’s fans were back in the spotlight after Aces star A’ja Wilson was caught in a heated exchange with one during Game 2. Wilson was seen storming towards a fan who was seated in the second row, pointing at him and shouting, ‘You don’t point at me,’ towards him during the fourth quarter of the game.