Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell was a last-minute replacement for her Fever teammate Erica Wheeler in the WNBA All-Star skills challenge competition.
Wheeler wasn't able to get to Phoenix because of the faulty software update that caused technological havoc worldwide Friday and delayed flights.
The Fever guard was trying to fly from Atlanta to Phoenix, but her flight was first delayed and then canceled. She said in a tweet that Pacers CEO Mel Raines tried to get her a charter flight to the All-Star festivities, but nothing was available on short notice.
Mitchell had never participated in the skills challenge but was part of the 3-point contest last year. She joined Phoenix's Brittney Griner and Sophie Cunningham, Connecticut's Marina Mabrey and Atlanta's Allisha Gray in the event, which was won by Gray in a finals time of 32.1 seconds.
Mitchell, who didn't qualify for the finals, was wearing Wheeler's jersey.
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— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 20, 2024
"I'm excited about it," Mitchell said in a video. "I don't know how I'll do compared to Erica, but for her, I'll make sure I hold it down, keep the Fever organization going in trying to win this thing and have fun with it."
The winner of the contest receives $2,575 from the league, per the collective bargaining agreement, but also gets $55,000 from Aflac as part of a partnership with the WNBPA.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.