Kelsey Mitchell has played six seasons in the WNBA, all with the Indiana Fever. She's developed into one of the best guards in the league and a consistent double-digit scoring threat. Last season she averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game, just a season after putting up 17.8 and 17.9 points per game respectively, the two years prior. That still wasn't enough for her to be named to the WNBA All-Star team.

Mitchell is actually down to 16.8 points this season which oddly enough earned her, her first WNBA All-Star selection as a reserve. The league's 12 head coaches vote on the All-Star reserves and for whatever reason, they felt like this was the season she warranted a selection despite having better overall numbers the past couple of years.

Nevertheless, it's been a long time coming for Kelsey Mitchell. The elevation in her game and the work she's put in, she's just glad that she's finally earned this top honor.

“I'm grateful, I'm graceful and more importantly, I'll never ever disrespect the game of basketball,” Mitchell told ClutchPoints. “To be here and be at this point in my life, there's been a lot that I've been through, some controllable and some uncontrollable. Sometimes you can't help the cards that you're dealt. I've been through a lot of situations at the pro level and I know what it's like to sacrifice a lot. To be here at this point in my life, I'm just happy.”

While Kelsey Mitchell put up career numbers last season to the tune of 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, 43.8 percent shooting from the field and 40.9 percent shooting from the three-point line, it apparently wasn't good enough for a WNBA All-Star selection. It was tough for Mitchell to come to grips with it, but this season is almost like a validation for her. It was a double recognition at All-Star weekend as she was also chosen to participate in the 3Pt-Contest.

Through the Fever's first 21 games of this season, Mitchell has been averaging 16.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists with splits of 41.5 percent shooting from the field, 36.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84 percent shooting from the free-throw line. She's playing a career-high 33.2 minutes per game.

She's become one of the most prolific scorers in Fever history as she's moved up to second all-time on the franchise points per game list behind only Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings. She's second all-time in field goals made behind only Candice Dupree. She's first in team history in three-pointers made. As good of a scorer as she's become, that was something she had to adjust to when she was first drafted by the Fever with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft.

“It was a big transition to go from being a true point guard to transitioning to a two-guard, and then you piggyback that with learning how to be a pro,” Mitchell said. “It takes some time. For me, figuring out where my spots are on the floor as well as knowing what I want from my life, it's combination of all of that to be at this point now. I think the biggest transition for me was just about my mindset and knowing that I belong here and I'm going to do whatever it takes to be here.”

It's not just Kelsey Mitchell's on court play that has been important for the Fever. The team has been in the midst of rebuilding the past couple of seasons. The Fever have had a lottery pick each season that Mitchell has been on the team. With each new, young player that is added to the roster, her role as a leader has increased.

Different players lead in different ways and for Mitchell, she's developed into more of a player who leads by example.

“It's been more of showing then telling. You don't want to be one of those leaders that's always like, ‘ahh…,” Mitchell said. “As long as I show my teammates how I would move in certain situations, I think as long as they can follow my lead, know that I'm respected and doing it the right way, I think that's the best way that I can lead.”

With the WNBA All-Star break in the rearview, the focus for the Fever becomes trying to make a postseason push. They are currently 6-16, tied with the Phoenix Mercury for the second worst record in the league. But that record is a little bit misleading. The Fever have been involved in plenty of close games this season. 11 of their 16 losses have been decided by eight points or less. They've already surpassed last season's win total of five games.

While it may be discouraging to be involved in so many close games only to see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, that's not how Mitchell sees it. For her, it's a testament to how this team is coming together. Despite being young and inexperienced, this type of competitive fire is something Kelsey Mitchell believes the Fever can use to build on as the second half of the season gets underway.

“Our competitive spirit has been really, really phenomenal. There's been a lot of times where we could have folded but we didn't,” Mitchell said. “That's the best part about our group because even though we're young, that competitive spirt doesn't matter about age and when you talk about having heart. We have heart, we've established that, we know the standard to be there. In order for us to compete with the rest of the people in this room, you have to keep sacrificing and I think we have a team that's going to keep doing that.”

As it stands, the Fever are three games back of the Chicago Sky for the eighth and final playoff spot. They're 1-9 in their last ten games and in the midst of a four game road trip that concludes this week with two games against the Los Angeles Sparks. They split the first two games of the trip, beating the Washington Mystics and losing to the New York Liberty. These upcoming games against the Sparks will go a long way in seeing if the Fever are ready to compete for a playoff spot.

For Kelsey Mitchell, that should be the Fever's main goal, making the playoffs. With the WNBA All-Star break in the rearview, it's time to buckle down and focus.

“Get back to focusing on what the team needs, what the team wants and then individually for me, as long as my confidence stays intact and I'm mentally aware of how the game is going to be played, I got a good chance to keep furthering my role as a leader for my team,” Mitchell said. “We got a good chance at making a playoff run and get back in conversations so it's about getting back to the focus of just the basketball part.”