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Fans Suspect Kelsey Plum Threw Shade at Caitlin Clark With Cryptic 'Numbers' Remark

Some WNBA fans are feeling like Aces guard Kelsey Plum took a subtle shot Caitlin Clark with her postgame comments on Tuesday.
Grant Young|
Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; USA Women's National Team guard Kelsey Plum (5) controls the ball as Team WNBA guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends during the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; USA Women's National Team guard Kelsey Plum (5) controls the ball as Team WNBA guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends during the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Aces have advanced to the WNBA semifinals after defeating the Seattle Storm 83-76 on Tuesday.

Aces veteran guard Chelsea Gray produced an all-around solid performance. She finished the game with 12 points while adding 9 assists (some of which were world-class) and 4 rebounds.

While Gray's stat line may not jump off the page, her Aces teammate Kelsey Plum (who scored 29 points in the win) explained that Gray's impact isn't always shown through her numbers.

"A lot of people put up numbers — and that’s no fault of them," Plum said postgame, per Noa Dalzell. "But Chelsea impacts winning. Ask any player in the league, any high-level player, I guarantee they want Chelsea Gray on their team with five minutes left.”

Given what Plum said about "numbers" (which Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has been known to put up), some fans on social media suspect that the Aces guard meant this as shade toward Clark.

"Caitlin took a draft lottery team to playoffs and is best player on a franchise. Chelsea Gray only has to hand the ball to Aja Wilson and get out of way. 😂😂," X user @scaryman42 wrote.

Another fan noted, "But it takes a special player to come out of college with a team who hasn’t made the playoffs in over a decade and first year make the playoffs . They always trying to throw shade."

"CC lives rent free in Plum’s head….lol," asserted a third.

There's no way to know for sure whether Plum was trying to throw shade at Clark, or was just offering well-deserved praise to her teammate in the moment.

What's for sure is that Clark will be looking to put up numbers against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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