Kelsey Plum Posts Farewell to Aces After Sparks Trade: 'Been an Incredible Journey'
Kelsey Plum is bidding farewell to the Las Vegas Aces after six seasons and back-to-back championships.
The three-time All-Star, who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, said it has been "an incredible journey to be part of the Aces organization" in a Friday post on her Instagram.
"Vegas is much more than the strip," Plum wrote. "It is a community of incredible people that have a real zest for life, and it is a true basketball town. The support and loyalty the city has for the Aces is incredible, and I'm so grateful that I got a chance to experience that love."
Plum concluded: "Now this chapter closes and our time together comes to an end, but I'll never forget my time in Vegas, nor the profound impact it's had on my life."
The star player also posted a video of herself wearing a Sparks jersey on Saturday:
Plum was traded last weekend as part of a three-team deal that sent former Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd to the Aces.
The Storm originally selected Loyd at the top of the 2015 WNBA draft, two years before Plum was drafted first in 2017.
The deal marked the first time in WNBA history two former No. 1 picks were moved as part of the same trade, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
The Aces were known as the San Antonio Spurs when they drafted Plum in 2017. She stayed with the club through the move to Las Vegas the following year, spending three seasons averaging fewer than 10 points per game before missing the 2020 season with an Achilles injury.
After winning the 2021 Sixth Woman of the Year Award for her successful return to the Aces' reserves, Plum resumed her former starting role for her last three years with the team.
She averaged 18.9 points per game through her final three regular seasons with the Aces, and 17.4 points per game through three subsequent playoff runs.
Plum departs from the Aces ranked second in franchise history with 946 career assists and fourth with 3,368 career points. She joins perennial MVP candidate A'ja Wilson as the only player to record a 40-point game for the Aces.
The trade will now split up Wilson and Plum, who played together not only in Las Vegas but on the U.S. Olympic team.
NBC Sports' Callie Fin reported that Wilson and Loyd have a "close relationship," and that Wilson's voice may have "weighed heavily" in the Aces' trade decision. The Aces will now look to build on that relationship and contend for a title again in 2025.
Plum is meanwhile headed to the Sparks, a team still figuring out how to rebuild after losing star players including Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike over the last five years. After playing behind Wilson in Las Vegas, Plum could be set to become the go-to option on the Los Angeles offense.