Kelsey Plum Gives Heartfelt Goodbye to Las Vegas Aces After Trade to Sparks
On January 26, news broke that longtime Las Vegas Aces superstar Kelsey Plum had been traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in a three-team deal that also included Jewell Loyd getting sent to the Aces and the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft going to the Seattle Storm.
While Plum was clearly ready for a move to a new WNBA team, her leaving Vegas is still a huge deal considering how it changes the WNBA's current landscape. Not to mention that Plum was drafted by the Aces' franchise (albeit while it was still the San Antonio Stars), won two WNBA Championships, and made three WNBA All-Star Games while there.
And Plum made her feelings felt about this major change on an Instagram post from January 31.
"A move from San Antonio. Bill Laimbeer. Marc Davis. Becky Hammon. Hall of Fame Teammates. Championships. All stars. Gold medals. It’s been an incredible journey to be a part of the Aces organization, and Vegas will always hold a special place in my heart," Plum wrote in the caption of the post, which contains a video montage of various moments from Plum's time in Vegas.
"Vegas is much more than the strip. 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 the chance to experience that love.
"The friendships I formed here, I’ll hold onto forever. I was blessed to play for and learn from star coaches, alongside the best possible teammates. It was a blessing and so very special to be a part of a team that was committed to raising the bar for both the WNBA and women’s sports in general," Plum continued.
"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. I’ve got nothing but love for the organization, the city, the community and everyone in it," she concluded.
The Aces franchise clearly meant a ton to Plum. But it will now be exciting to see what she can do in this next step in her already incredible career.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.