Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell suffered a serious injury scare during Game 5 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs' second round, leaving her squad even more shorthanded than usual in their 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces after being the team's engine for much of the season. Now, Mitchell has revealed the cause of her “once in a lifetime” ailment.
After being helped off the court and not returning to Game 5, Mitchell revealed that she had been hospitalized and diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs when overworked muscles break down and release contents into the bloodstream.
“I suffered from something called Rhabdomyolysis last night,” Mitchell posted on X, formerly Twitter. “My muscles stopped producing and reached their maximum capacity. I went into a sense of numbness/paralyzing feeling with no movement from my lower extremities for up to five to seven seconds.”
According to ESPN's Alexa Philippou, Mitchell said that she was told the incident occurred due to “overusage” and that she wouldn't be able to play a full game of basketball at the moment if the Fever had managed to move on to the Finals.
“Because my muscles stopped producing positive blood into my bloodstream, my body locked up from a physical standpoint, and from there, fatigue and cramping settled in,” she continued.
Mitchell also added that “moving forward [she] will learn more about how to take care of her body and what it needs.”
“It sucked. I panicked because I began to think the worst when I felt like I couldn't move my legs. It was an out-of-body experience for me, and I thank God for covering me at a time like that.”
The 29-year-old All-Star went down in the third quarter after appearing to cramp and needing assistance to get down on the floor. Teammates quickly formed a huddle to shield the scene as medical personnel rushed to her. A stretcher was brought out, but Mitchell refused it and was carried off to the locker room with trainer support.
Mitchell had been the Fever's leading scorer throughout the playoffs, averaging 23.3 points on top of her 20.2 points per game in the regular season. She scored 15 points before exiting Game 5.
