Game On: Sports News, Highlights & Commentary
- Kelsey Plum sidelined since June 21 with a lower left leg injury; expected to return with minutes restriction, availability uncertain.
- Kelsey Plum was averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists through 12 games, both career highs, and led the league in scoring earlier.
- Phoenix Mercury gains a championship-tested scorer and secondary playmaker who could ease pressure on Alyssa Thomas.
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Kelsey Plum is headed to Phoenix.
The Los Angeles Sparks traded the five-time All-Star guard to the Phoenix Mercury late Saturday night in exchange for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick.
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The blockbuster deal came just hours before Sunday afternoon’s WNBA trade deadline and sent the biggest available name on the market to a Mercury team trying to make another postseason run.
LA Sparks guard Kelsey Plum reacts at the end of the first half against the Golden State Valkyries at Crypto.com Arena. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Plum, a two-time WNBA champion, has not played since June 21 because of a lower left leg injury. She was expected to return Sunday against the Portland Fire on a minutes restriction, though it is not yet clear whether she will be available when Phoenix visits the Chicago Sky on Monday.
The 31-year-old was putting together one of the best statistical seasons of her career before the injury. Plum is averaging 23.9 points and 6.4 assists through 12 games — both career highs — and led the league in scoring earlier this season.
Her time in Los Angeles lasted only a season and a half.
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Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum drives past Chicago Sky guard Ariel Atkins in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. (Jayne Kamin/Oncea-Imagn Images)
The Sparks acquired Plum before the 2025 season in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick, hoping the veteran guard could help accelerate a rebuild centered around Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. Seattle eventually used that selection on Dominique Malonga, who became an All-Star in her second season.
But the gamble never produced the turnaround Los Angeles envisioned.
The Sparks missed the playoffs in 2025 and currently sit at 10-17 after losing six straight games. They have gone just 2-9 during Plum’s latest absence and are in danger of missing the postseason for a sixth consecutive year.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Los Angeles also parted ways with general manager Raegan Pebley in July, leaving assistant general managers Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen in charge on an interim basis.
Plum was set to become a free agent after the season and reportedly did not plan to re-sign with the Sparks, making her the league’s most prominent trade candidate ahead of the deadline. The New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream had also shown interest.
Alyssa Thomas leads the Mercury with 8.3 assists per game. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Instead, she lands with a Phoenix team that appears determined to keep pushing forward despite its own disappointing record. The Mercury are 11-19 and six games behind the eighth-place Liberty for the final playoff spot.
So Plum has her work cut out for her.
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She should immediately provide Phoenix with another proven scorer, secondary playmaker and championship-tested guard. She could also take some of the offensive burden away from Alyssa Thomas, who leads the Mercury with 8.3 assists per game.
The move marks only the fourth time in WNBA history that an All-Star has been traded during the season.
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