Kelsey Plum’s return to Las Vegas to face her former team headlines Friday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Sparks and the host Aces.
Las Vegas (2-2) won consecutive WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023 with Plum earning All-Star honors both seasons. She was selected for a third consecutive All-Star appearance last season, her finale with the Aces.
Six games into her tenure with Los Angeles (2-4), Plum is second in the league in scoring at 25.2 points per game. Her early pace is the best of Plum’s career, her peak coming in a 20.2-point per game 2022 campaign.
“I’m excited to have KP back in the house,” Plum’s former teammate and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson told reporters. “She won us two championships here, so obviously we’re going to give everything that we can (with) the energy, the positive vibes.
“But it’s going to be another game with the Aces and the Sparks,” Wilson added. “I feel like it’s always been a great game.”
Friday’s matchup is the first between the teams this season. Last year, the two split their regular-season series 2-2, with Los Angeles winning 96-92 and 98-93 decisions, the latter in overtime.
The Aces’ wins included a 34-point, 13-rebound and five-blocked shot performance from Wilson in August. Wilson opened this season with three straight double-doubles, a streak that ended in Las Vegas’ 102-82 loss to Seattle on Sunday when she posted season-lows of 15 points and five rebounds.
She looks to bounce back against a Sparks’ team that ended a three-game homestand with an 88-82 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday. Plum scored 27 points to complement Dearica Hamby’s 28 points.
“KP’s been amazing, and there’s been a lot of pressure on her. She’s done a great job of handling that. She’s one of those type of players where every time she shoots, you assume it’s in,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “And then Dearica’s just been having unbelievable stat lines.”
Hamby’s averaging 18.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. However, the Sparks are seeking consistency beyond the standout duo as the season progresses.
Azura Stevens finished with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double on Tuesday, but no other Los Angeles scorer managed more than five points.
–Field Level Media
