Kelsey Plum Breaks Down Why She Chose to Join Sparks
The Las Vegas Aces' decision to move star guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks via a blockbuster three-team trade in late January sent shockwaves through the WNBA world.
Plum headed to the Sparks in exchange for Seattle Storm star Jewell Loyd. Los Angeles sent forward Li Yueru and the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft back to the Aces.
While the sign-and-trade decision came in the form of a trade and not a free agent signing, the move was certainly intentional for Plum.
The Aces extended Plum a "core" qualifying offer on January 13, a fully guaranteed one-year maximum contract, with Plum able to veto any trade before signing with a team. Before the trade to Los Angeles could be confirmed, Plum had to sign off on it.
She approved the deal, and further emphasized her desire to be with the Sparks through words in a Los Angeles Times article on April 27.
“With all due respect, we finished last last year, so everything that we did last year was thrown out the window," Plum said. "Changing the culture, that’s a day-to-day process.
“It’s the turn of a new leaf in a lot of different ways, in leadership and investment in the franchise. “That’s why I decided to come here ... “I was brought here for a reason," she continued.
"I do know that in everything that I do, I will win."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 14, 2025
Kelsey Plum shares her mindset on leading the Sparks to success 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9xwVK7bPXF
The three-time WNBA all-star led the Las Vegas Aces to back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, along with a second place Western Conference finish (27-13 overall, 12-8 West) in 2024. On the flip side, the Sparks, her new team, finished 8-32 last season — a league worst.
Now bringing her win-filled resume to the Sparks, Plum hopes to provide increased leadership while helping to fill scoring and playmaking voids this upcoming season amid a gradual culture shift in Los Angeles.
Read more: A'ja Wilson Speaks Out on Losing Kelsey Plum to Sparks
“Changing the culture, that’s a day-to-day process,” Plum told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s not something that you can rush. There’s a lot of young talent…I’m excited about the opportunity, and I’m excited about the potential this team has.”
Lynne Roberts, announced as the Sparks' newest head coach this past November, believes Plum can help guide Los Angeles back into WNBA prominence in 2025.
“Just everyone being around her, it’s going to elevate them in terms of how they prepare themselves, how they work and how they handle it," Roberts said. "The players are eager to get this franchise back where it belongs, and so there’s a definite commitment."
Lynne Roberts named head coach of the LA Sparks. https://t.co/ZIRgZSNI9l pic.twitter.com/l9RjAsARpS
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) November 20, 2024
The Sparks begin their season on May 16 against the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA's newest expansion team.
More Sparks news:
Sparks' Kelsey Plum Reacts to Georgia Amoore's ACL Injury
Ben Geffner is an award-winning sports journalist and current student at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. A greater Los Angeles native now with countless years of extensive and dedicated experience — including beat reporting, writing, play-by-play broadcast, television anchoring, podcasting and video production — Ben remains eager to contribute as credentialed media covering the LA Sparks.
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