Kelsey Plum expected to give Mercury a big boost after blockbuster trade with Los Angeles

PHOENIX (AP) — Kelsey Plum was 10 years old when she saw Diana Taurasi play on television, walked into the kitchen and told her mom she was going to play in the WNBA.

Not only did Plum fulfill her self-proclaimed prophecy by playing in the WNBA for nine seasons, she's now on Taurasi's former team, the Phoenix Mercury, following a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Sparks.

“It means everything,” Plum said prior to the Mercury's game at Chicago on Monday. “That was the reason I started playing basketball. She actually texted me today and said there’s no one she’d rather have, so I’m just very honored.”

An up-and-down, injury-plagued season put the Mercury teetering between being buyers or sellers at Sunday's WNBA trade deadline. At 11-19 prior to Monday's game, the Mercury are 11th in the WNBA, six games behind the New York Liberty for the final playoff spot with less than two months left in the season.

Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren doesn't like to be pigeon-holed into buying or selling, so he went into the trade deadline willing to see what options were out there.

All-Stars have rarely been traded in the WNBA’s history, yet the Mercury and U'Ren were able to pull off a whopper of a deal, adding one of the WNBA's best players for Monique Akoa Makani and two draft picks.

“Kelsey is one of the most impactful players in our league,” U’Ren said. “We’ve coveted her for a long time because of her skill, because of her toughness, because of her character, because of our work ethic. So for those reasons, I’m so excited to add to our current group.”

The current lineup includes do-everything forward Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper, key cogs in Phoenix's run to last year's WNBA Finals.

Plum adds a proven scorer and veteran presence to the Mercury mix.

Plum was the NCAA's all-time leading scorer while at Washington — Caitlin Clark passed her two years ago — and has scored at least 14.8 points per game the past six seasons. She's a five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist who's still in the prime of her career at 31.

Prior to suffering a lower-leg injury in mid-June, Plum was averaging career-highs of 23.9 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 53% from the floor. She's second in the WNBA in scoring and sixth in assists.

“She fits with pretty much everybody," U’Ren said “Her experience fitting in with other great players or experience at a championship level all played into it, and made her really appealing to us.”

Plum was traded to the Sparks in a three-way deal that included her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, and Seattle prior to the 2025 season. She's a free agent after this season, yet was surprised upon learning she had been traded late Saturday night.

Plum went from expecting to make her return against Portland on Sunday to scrambling to join her new team. She used the time to familiarize herself with the Mercury, watching game film and going over the playbook during the trip.

Plum didn't make it to Chicago in time to practice with her team teammates, but is expected to play about 20 minutes in her first game.

“They’re great players and they’ve played with great players,” Plum said. “And so, it's really just trying to learn fast and not make the same mistake twice, and also just trust my instincts.”

Plum has trusted her instincts since she first saw Taurasi play on TV, pushing herself to become a WNBA player

Now, 21 years later, she's trying to help the team where Taurasi built her legacy push toward a playoff berth.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball