Kelsey Mitchell surpasses A'ja Wilson to set WNBA single-season scoring record

Kelsey Mitchell learned she had broken the WNBA's single-season scoring record the way most fans did — someone told her about it after the game. The Indiana Fever guard had just dropped 33 points in a 103-85 win over the Toronto Tempo on Friday night, and the record-setting bucket, a third-quarter three-pointer left alone on the wing, had slipped past her in the flow of the game.

I think you just told me, to be honest. Y'all know me. Y'all know how I get down in terms of accolades. I just want to be able to show up and respond when my number is called. Just be a good teammate, be a good person and show love to the game like I'm supposed to.— Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever guard

Mitchell now has 1,034 points this season, surpassing the 1,021 scored by A'ja Wilson — the reigning four-time WNBA MVP — for the Las Vegas Aces in 2024. Mitchell and Wilson are the only players in WNBA history to record a 1,000-point season, according to CBS Sports.

The performance was vintage Mitchell: 12 of 17 from the field, seven of 11 from three-point range. It also extended her own WNBA record for consecutive 20-point games to 25, according to Fox News. Her teammates greeted her in the locker room not with the usual Gatorade shower but with a blast of confetti, video shared by the Fever showed.

Caitlin Clark, playing her first game since helping the United States win the women's FIBA World Cup in Germany, added 28 points and matched her season high with 14 assists — her 14th double-double of the season, according to Fox News. Clark made 12 free throws without a miss. Indiana earned its eighth win in 10 games and, with the victory, moved into a tie with the Atlanta Dream for first place in the Eastern Conference.

The record comes with important context. Wilson set her mark across 38 games in a 40-game season. Mitchell broke it in her 41st game of a longer 2026 campaign — one expanded by the addition of the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire. The Fever have three regular-season games remaining, meaning Mitchell's total will only grow.

The scoring title, however, is decided by average — and Wilson holds a commanding lead there. Wilson, who had 29 points in Las Vegas's win over Seattle on Thursday, sits at 26.1 points per game this season, the second-highest single-season average in WNBA history, according to CBS Sports. Mitchell is at 25.2. Wilson is also on pace to reach 1,000 points herself this season, but has played two fewer games and will not catch Mitchell in total points. The scoring title would be Wilson's third consecutive.

CBS Sports noted that the league's expanding schedule has benefitted the pursuit of single-season totals across the board — just as Alyssa Thomas set the single-season assists record and Angel Reese set the single-season rebounds record using the additional games. For most of the WNBA's history the regular season was 34 games; Diana Taurasi's 860 points in 2006, scored at a 25.3-point average, now ranks ninth all-time. All eight seasons above it have occurred since 2023. The season will grow to 50 games in 2027.

Toronto's Laura Juskaite scored 22 points and Kiki Rice had 18, but the Tempo — who started their inaugural season 9-9 — have now lost five straight and gone 2-21 since that midpoint. The team was also without guard Marina Mabrey, who will miss the final four games of the season with a right adductor injury, according to Fox News. Toronto has been eliminated from postseason contention.

Indiana hosts the Washington Mystics on Sunday. The Fever have already clinched a playoff spot.

Why it matters — Mitchell's record redraws the ceiling for single-season scoring in the WNBA, arriving as the league's expanding schedule accelerates the pace at which its all-time marks are being rewritten.

Reported by yahoo.com, foxnews.com, cbssports.com, indystar.com