Playing the All-Star Game at home creates special feeling for Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever players

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell spent last week tamping down the All-Star excitement.

First, she had to play some crucial games.

On Friday, she finally had a chance to show how she felt about playing Saturday’s game on her home court. Mitchell’s eyes opened wide, the trademark grin stretched across her face and the words started flying out of her mouth.

“I feel grateful,” she said. “I feel happy that my family and friends are able to come. It’s close for us because I’m from Cincinnati, so a lot of us get to connect, reconnect through basketball. It’s just fun, it’s a good experience and I’m grateful, I’m grateful I’m here.”

Mitchell is making her third straight All-Star trip, this one just down the street from home, and is joined by two teammates – guard Caitlin Clark and center Aliyah Boston – for the second straight year. Nothing about this is routine, though.

Indianapolis is the 13th city to host All-Star weekend, which was played primarily in the New York to Washington corridor during its first decade of existence and has moved West more recently. Last year’s game was in Phoenix, and Las Vegas hosted three of the previous five and could be in the mix next summer, too.

If things go as well Saturday as they did Thursday and Friday, perhaps Indianapolis will find itself in the regular rotation. Friday night’s festivities drew an estimated 15,000 fans to the arena.

“The last time I did the 3-point shootout in Vegas, it didn’t feel sold out,” 3-point champion Sabrina Ionescu. “The last time (Stephen Curry) beat me when we were here in Indy. So really happy to be able to be here and put on a good show.”

Most players in town such as Atlanta guard Allisha Gray know “Hoosiers” both as the Indiana University nickname and as the popular movie title and appreciate playing in a state with so much basketball history.

But not everyone has had the same hometown experience for home All-Star Games.

“Playing in front of home fans is definitely fun, though it brings in a mix of everything,” said four-time All-Star Kelsey Plum, who played six seasons with Las Vegas before joining Los Angeles this year. “At the time, I was in Vegas (where) we had a lot of visitors in town, so it didn’t feel super homey. It felt kind of like everyone was cheering for their person.”

That’s unlikely to be the case Saturday night.

While Clark and Boston, the last two WNBA Rookies of the Year, possess more star power, Mitchell is revered locally for her scoring prowess, upbeat personality and resilience. The eight-year veteran finally got her first taste of playoff basketball last year, which explains why Clark expects Saturday to be an emotional game for Mitchell.

But it’s not just the hometowns with drawing power.

Former Fever guard Erica Wheeler, now a teammate of 34-year-old Skylar Diggins in Seattle, drew a loud ovation when she was reintroduced during Friday’s skills challenge.

Diggins, a seven-time All-Star, was Indiana’s 2009 Miss Basketball Award winner before leading her hometown Notre Dame Fighting Irish to three consecutive Final Four appearances, one in the very same fieldhouse hosting Saturday’s game.

“It’s always love when I come here,” Diggins said, calling Thursday’s orange carpet presentation the best she’s seen. “The fans are amazing. This is a great host city. It makes sense that it’s here and I’m happy because like I said, I get to see a lot of my family and friends, and I’ve already seen people around town that I haven’t seen in years.”

The Indianapolis experience already has others making pitches for their cities to play host.

“It’ll be nice, but I feel like tonight we’ll represented by a lot of Atlanta Dream fans, so I can’t wait,” Gray said. “The league needs to put its All-Star (Game) in Atlanta – soon.”

Mitchell might endorse that idea, too, given that it would give her another chance to eat at Wheeler’s restaurant in Atlanta.

For now, though, Mitchell intends to savor this rare moment with her family, friends, teammates and, yes, even competitors.

“For us as people, it’s an opportunity to connect on different levels and for us, I think, basketball is a way to do that,” Mitchell said. “And I think it’s fun for the city, I think it’s fun for our families. It’s just fun for the world, considering everything that’s happening.”