Sparks Coach Calls Out Kelsey Plum ‘Injustice’ in WNBA MVP Conversations
The Las Vegas Aces had no answer for Kelsey Plum. She scored 38 points on 70.6% shooting from the field and dished out 9 assists on top of it. She tied her WNBA career high, and it was one of the highest scoring games of this young season.
Plum is a bucket. That’s no secret. She held the NCAA scoring record until Caitlin Clark broke it, she set an Unrivaled record with 40 points in a playoff game, and she is one of only 23 players to ever score 40 or more points in a WNBA game. And yet, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts feels like Plum is underrated.
“I personally don’t think she gets talked about enough in the best player conversations, those MVP conversations,” Roberts said after the Sparks’ win over the Aces, per a video of the media availability posted by the organiaztion. “For whatever reason, she doesn’t get talked about enough, and it’s kind of an injustice.”
Kelsey Plum is on a scoring tear
Plum’s 38-point performance marked the fifth game this season in which she scored at least 25 points. She only missed the mark once in a 97-88 win against the Phoenix Mercury when she scored 16 points. She is only the third player in league history to score at least 25 points in five of her first six games. Maya Moore and Elena Delle Donne are the other two. Moore did it in 2014 when she was named MVP, and Delle Donne did it a season later in her first MVP year.
Plum currently leads the league in total points with 161. What makes the feat even more impressive is that she is doing it very efficiently, too, shooting at least 42.9% from the field in every game, and while being an outstanding playmaker. Plum has already totalled 38 assists, the fourth-most in the WNBA behind Alyssa Thomas, Caitlin Clark, and Chelsea Gray.
If the Sparks play their way into the playoffs and Plum keeps up her otherworldly production, her name should be in the MVP conversation.
There’s a lot of competition for the MVP award
The overwhelming betting favorites for MVP this season are A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark. Wilson is always a good bet when it comes to individual awards, and Clark has a real chance at taking home the trophy if she stays healthy this season.
Performance-wise Breanna Stewart is someone to keep an eye on as well. She is healthy and leads the Liberty in points, minutes, rebounds, and blocks per game. Allisha Gray is also off to a great start. She currently ranks fourth in points per game across the league and is leading an Atlanta Dream team that could be a dark-horse championship contender.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.