Kelsey Plum took a danger when she departed the Las Vegas Aces this offseason — and it’s quietly paying off. Plum’s Los Angeles Sparks aren’t contenders; they’re at present one sport out of the playoff race.
However, they’re only one.5 video games behind the Aces, and Plum is lighting up the competitors. The 30-year-old guard is averaging 20.1 factors, 5.9 assists, and 1.7 steals this season. The assists and steals are each career-highs, whereas she’s only a tenth of some extent off of her career-best in scoring (she averaged 20.2 factors per sport in 2022).
The Sparks have received 5 video games in a row, the longest win streak of any workforce within the WNBA. On Saturday, they narrowly defeated the New York Liberty, because of a Rickea Jackson game-winner on the buzzer.
It’s not simply Kelsey Plum who’s liable for the Sparks’ rise
Along with Plum, three Sparks gamers are at present averaging double-figures: Dearica Hamby (17.6 factors, 8 rebounds, and three.5 assists per sport), Azura Stevens (14.9 factors, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals), and Jackson (13.6 factors, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).
On every night time, a distinct participant has stepped up; Hamby led the best way with 24 factors and 14 rebounds in a July twenty second win over the Washington Mystics, Plum exploded for 30 factors and 6 assists in a July twenty fourth win over the Connecticut Solar, and Jackson led the best way with 24 factors and the game-winner on July twenty sixth.
Cameron Brink’s looming return ought to elevate the Sparks
The Sparks will quickly profit from the return of 2024 No. 2 decide Cameron Brink, who tore her ACL final summer time and is predicted to return to motion within the coming days. Brink has been sidelined for 13 months, however has formally been cleared to return and is working again into sport rhythm, Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts informed reporters this previous week.
Earlier than her harm, Brink had already established herself as one of many WNBA’s elite defenders, averaging 7.5 factors, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 1.1 steals. Presently, the Sparks have the league’s third-worst defensive ranking and the third-fewest blocks per sport. Brink, who was named the Naismith Defensive Participant of the Yr award in school in 2024, will certainly elevate that.
The Sparks haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 — the longest postseason drought in franchise historical past and the WNBA. If the whole lot comes collectively within the residence stretch of the common season, that might change this fall.
