PHOENIX — It's always good to have a backup plan. Especially in the case of a major tech outage that leads to airline delays and cancellations across the country.

Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler, who was not selected as an All-Star this season, was supposed to fly to Phoenix on Friday morning to participate in the KIA Skills Challenge at Footprint Center on Friday night.

The CrowdStrike outage, however, led to her Delta flight from Atlanta to Phoenix to be delayed, then canceled. While Wheeler said in a tweet that Pacers CEO Mel Raines tried to get her a charter flight to Phoenix, but nothing was available on such short notice.

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"As you guys know, my flight was canceled," Wheeler said in a video posted to the WNBA's X page. "I will not be at the WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge. My feelings is hurt, my feelings hurt! I really wanted to be there, I felt it was going to be a great experience."

While Wheeler won't be participating, a Fever teammate will step in her place. Kelsey Mitchell, who has been in Phoenix since late Wednesday night as a second-time All-Star will fill in Friday night.

"We always have a backup plan, thankful for the backup plan," Wheeler said. "Kelsey Mitchell will be representing on my behalf. So Kelsey, go crazy, you gotta go crazy."

Mitchell has not participated in the skills challenge in her career; she was part of the 3-point contest in 2023, but she was knocked out in the first round.

Mitchell will join the Phoenix's Brittney Griner and Sophie Cunningham, Connecticut's Marina Mabrey and Atlanta's Allisha Gray in the challenge. The winner of the contest receives $2,575 from the league, per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but they will also get $55,000 from Aflac as part of a partnership between with the WNBPA.

"I'm excited about it," Mitchell said in the 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."

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kelsey Mitchell replaces Erica Wheeler in WNBA Skills Challenge