Los Angeles Sparks On SI

Kelsey Plum's Career Night Leads Sparks to 84-67 Win Over Valkyries

Plum scored 26 of her 37 points in the second half of Friday night's WNBA season opener.
Ben Geffner|
May 16, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) gestures after a basket by forward Rickea Jackson (not shown) during the second quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
May 16, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) gestures after a basket by forward Rickea Jackson (not shown) during the second quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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 dramatically changed not only the WNBA landscape, but also the Sparks' 2025 season outlook.

Plum knew she could make a difference.

"I was brought here for a reason," Plum said 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. Changing the culture, that’s a day-to-day process."

Read more: Kelsey Plum Breaks Down Why She Chose to Join Sparks

She lived up to the hype with a career-high performance Friday night in her purple and gold regular-season debut. Plum poured in 37 points, five steals and six assists in the Sparks' 84-67 season-opening win over the Golden State Valkyries — and in front of a sellout Chase Center crowd of 18,064.

"Mentality for me tonight was just to come out and have fun," Plum said postgame.

Plum played all 40 minutes in the season opener and nearly matched her 40-point career-high set against Minnesota in July 2023. The seismic performance cemented her as the first player in WNBA history with 35-plus points, five-plus assists and five-plus steals in a single game.

She scored 17 points in the third quarter alone, tied for her second-most in a WNBA quarter through her eight seasons in the league.

The two-time WNBA champion was one of four Sparks to score in double figures. Dearica Hamby added 14, while Rickea Jackson and Azurá Stevens notched 13 and 11, respectively.

The Sparks (1-0) built their lead to 15 to close the fourth quarter, and held stout throughout the final period despite a late comeback attempt from Golden State (0-1). The expansion franchise, playing its first-ever WNBA regular-season game on Friday, cut the deficit to single digits, but couldn't close.

First-year Sparks' coach Lynne Roberts picks up her first career WNBA win. Los Angeles looks to add to it on Sunday in its home-opener versus the Minnesota Lynx.

More Sparks news:

A'ja Wilson Speaks Out on Losing Kelsey Plum to Sparks

Sparks' Kelsey Plum Reacts to Georgia Amoore's ACL Injury

International Legend Reveals Reason For Rejoining LA

Sparks Waive Two Players Ahead of 2025 Season

Sparks’ Cameron Brink Revisits Feeling After Tearing ACL

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Sparks, visit Los Angeles Sparks on SI.

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Ben Geffner
BEN GEFFNER

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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