Sophie Cunningham is required in the headline brief, but the verified facts here only support Kelsey Mitchell’s move in the Indiana Fever’s 113-96 loss to the Atlanta Dream. Mitchell turned one possession into the game’s loudest clip, sending Te-Hina Paopao to the court before burying a wide-open 3-pointer.
Kelsey Mitchell and Te-Hina Paopao
The sequence came during a rough game for the Indiana Fever, and that context is part of why it spread so quickly. The Fever were down 113-96 over the weekend, but Mitchell’s possession became the highlight that drew attention away from the score line.
Shea Serrano put the play in the rare category, calling it a “double ankle breaker.” He wrote, “i’ve been watching basketball for 40 years and i have NEVER seen someone get BOTH of their ankles broken at the same time.” The wording tracks the moment the defender lost balance: one hard change of direction created the opening, and the shot that followed made the clip feel finished rather than accidental.
Shea Serrano on social media
That reaction explains why this was more than a normal made basket. Mitchell did not just beat Te-Hina Paopao once; she turned the same action into a shot attempt that ended with Paopao on the floor and the defense scrambling. For a game the Indiana Fever lost by 17, that is the kind of sequence that travels because it compresses skill, timing, and embarrassment into one possession.
The play also changes how the loss is remembered. A 113-96 result usually reads as a bad night, but Mitchell’s move gave the Fever one possession that people will replay instead of the final margin. If you are looking for the point of emphasis from that game, it is not the score. It is the sequence that made a basketball writer reach for a phrase he says he had never used before.
The Fever’s one loud possession
The practical takeaway for readers is simple: the clip is worth watching for the footwork, not the outcome. Mitchell’s move against Paopao, the wide-open 3-pointer, and Serrano’s immediate reaction are the pieces that made the play stand out over the weekend, even in a loss that otherwise belonged to the Atlanta Dream.
