The 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago was a high-octane celebration of basketball excellence, setting attendance records at the United Center as the league marked 30 years of professional play. Yet for the Indiana Fever’s decorated All-Star trio — Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell — the weekend’s most profound moment unfolded away from the main stage, where sports, historic legacy and culture collided.
During official pre-game activities, the Fever “Big 3” made history as part of the first professional athletic contingency to take the floor at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. The practice session double-functioned as an intimate meeting with former President Barack Obama, offering the league’s top stars a chance to reflect on leadership, community engagement, and the global expansion of women’s athletics.
For Mitchell, a nine-year veteran making her fourth All-Star appearance, stepping foot onto the center’s Home Court brought the sport’s rapid evolution into sharp relief.
“I didn’t realize that we was the first professional (league) so that puts in perspective what’s happening,” Mitchell said regarding the WNBA being the first league to enter the newly openly Obama Center. “I’m very grateful … it gives our game opportunity to keep growing. This is a groundbreaking opportunity, and the last thing you want to do is take it for granted. But I think if any professional sport deserved it, I think we kind of deserve it.”
Reflecting on her interaction with President Obama, Mitchell highlighted how high-profile civic support amplifies the league’s cultural footprint.
“It was a dope feeling,” Mitchell said. “The best part about it for me was the fact that you get to see him in person… when you see him in person and you see that human too, I think it gives a little more credit to who he was and everything he did for our country when he was in office. His giving back to the community and just constantly being around the game for us is also growing us… the exposure our league is getting from leaders like that wanting to come watch us play and supporting different players in our league is big.”
Boston echoed that excitement, describing the experience of coming face-to-face with the nation’s 44th president during the center’s inaugural court session.
“It’s pretty surreal. It’s super exciting to meet him,” Boston said. “Obama’s pretty dope, so I’m super excited.”
During his session with the athletes, President Obama imparted a central message: remain rooted in the joy of the game despite the relentless pressures of modern professional sports. That advice echoed strongly with Clark during the weekend festivities.
“I think everybody in this room can probably take it to heart a little bit more,” Clark said regarding Obama’s message on finding joy. “For myself, I came out and I was just trying to have fun and enjoy tonight, play hard, and try to set the tone for my team… It’s always an honor to put this jersey on and play and compete and be around the best players in the world, and I don’t take that lightly. I want to put a great example of what the game is for the fans and the young people that come and watch.”
While the weekend featured lighthearted moments — including Clark and Mitchell facing off on opposite sides of the court during the All-Star game — it also highlighted the unique personal depth and bond within Indiana’s roster. Beyond her performance on the court, Mitchell continues to navigate a rigorous academic path, pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership and completing course assignments in locker rooms before games.
“I have to do a discussion post before 11:59,” Mitchell said, recalling doing coursework before a recent game. “It just comes down to sacrifice. You do what you got to do, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If you got business to handle, you do your best to handle it … it’s a discipline that I didn’t know I needed at the age of 30. The balance of being a professional athlete and then having to go home and do some schoolwork keeps me honest.”
When asked about the team’s internal chemistry and the Indiana franchise’s rising national profile, Mitchell emphasized a philosophy centered on mutual respect, inclusion, and staying grounded amid public scrutiny.
“It started off kind of like, what is this about to be? And then as you get into it and you get to know people … me accepting who (Aliyah Boston) is, me accepting who CC is, they accepting me for who I am,” Mitchell said. “And then we take everything that we all are accepting and gel it together. It’s like you get one big mystery of greatness. Inclusion and diversity is for everybody… when you bought into the Fever, it’s for everybody. At the end of the day, if we’re all humans and we treat each other with love and respect, basketball is basketball. How you treat me and how you respect me is what matters.”
Boston praised Mitchell’s leadership and relentless work ethic, noting how the veteran guard’s standard sets the tone for the entire squad.
“Kelsey’s approach to basketball, the way that she shows up every single day, the way she gives us everything is so amazing,” Boston said. “I think it’s about time that people give Kelsey her flowers right now… she just puts her head down and keeps working.”
As the midseason break concludes and the Fever prepare for a second-half playoff push, the All-Star gathering in Chicago demonstrated that Indiana’s stars are shaping the landscape of professional basketball both on the court and across the broader cultural fabric.
Contact multimedia & senior sports reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on X @3Noral. For more news, visit indianapolisrecorder.com.
Noral Parham is the multi-media reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder, one of the oldest Black publications in the country. Prior to joining the Recorder, Parham served as the community advocate of the MLK Center in Indianapolis and senior copywriter for an e-commerce and marketing firm in Denver.
