Aces Coach Becky Hammon Explains 'Not Personal' Approach to Playing Kelsey Plum

The Los Angeles Sparks are headed to Las Vegas to take on the Aces on May 30. There is a lot of intrigue about the matchup, as it marks the first time that Sparks star guard Kelsey Plum is returning to Vegas and playing her former franchise after joining Los Angeles this past offseason.

Plum has been absolutely cooking for the Sparks this season, as she is averaging 25.2 points per game (five points higher than her career high for a single season before), which is currently second in the entire WNBA. As a result, Plum has inserted herself into the early race for the 2025 WNBA MVP award.

And during a May 30 interview with Callie Fin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Aces head coach Becky Hammon discussed how Plum's offensive ability requires a unique defensive approach.

“Plum requires special defense. She’s just too elite of a player to just let her just do whatever she wants," Hammon said. She later added, “A lot of (our former) players, we’ll just play them like any other opponent. [Plum], because of how good she is, we’re gonna have to do things a little bit differently with her. But it’s not personal.

"I would do a special thing for [New York’s Sabrina Ionescu]. I would try to do a special thing for Caitlin [Clark]. It just is what it is," Hammon continued.

NEW: The Aces are already working to remedy their defensive struggles, but they’ll have to adjust even more for Kelsey Plum’s return to Vegas.

“Plum requires special defense. She’s too elite of a player,” Becky Hammon told me.

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— Callie Fin (@CallieJLaw) May 30, 2025

It will be fascinating to see what Plum can do against her former team on Friday and whether she can help propel the Sparks to their second victory of the 2025 regular season.

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