Kelsey Plum powered the Los Angeles Sparks to a 101-95 victory over the Las Vegas Aces, scoring a season-high 38 points while tying a season-high nine assists. After the win, the All-Star guard joked that her dream of a 50-40-90 season comes with a brutal free
For the Los Angeles Sparks. Saturday’s 101-95 win over the Las Vegas Aces felt like momentum you could measure—101 points. a season-high total to that point. and a second straight game they could walk away from believing the offense finally fits. The night belonged to Kelsey Plum, who scored a season-high 38 points in 37 minutes.
Plum didn’t just light up the scoreboard. She tied a season-high of nine assists and added four rebounds as the nine-year veteran continued a blistering start to her season. Entering the game, she was second in the league in scoring at 24.6 points, and the Sparks leaned into her all game long.
Afterward, Plum made her hopes for the season sound both ambitious and painfully personal. Her dream is a “50-40-90” stat line—50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, and 90 percent from the free-throw line. Then she admitted the part she didn’t expect to be the hardest.
“My dream would be to go 50-40-90. I know that’s going to be tough. I didn’t know the free-throw’s were going to be kicking my a** right now,” Plum said.
On the season. Plum—now in her second year with the Sparks—has been near-unreal with her shot-making: 56.4 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from the 3-point line. From the free-throw line, she’s at 77.8 percent. Her field-goal percentage is a career-high, and her 3-point percentage is the third highest mark of her career.
But the numbers don’t match the 90 she wants. Her free-throw percentage is the lowest of her career. and she has made 21 of her 27 attempts from the stripe this season. She’s already reached the 90 percent or above mark twice in her career—94.4 percent in 2021 during her Sixth Player of the Year season. and 91.2 percent in 2023.
Still, Plum’s mindset isn’t stuck on chasing a rare efficiency label. The scoring has always been her strength—back to college, when she set the NCAA record for most career points—but she said she wants to ease the volume as the season goes on.
“I just think I go out there and play and I’m trying to win games right now,” Plum continued. “I think we need me to score the ball a lot right now. but hopefully as the season goes on. you actually see me scoring a little bit less. Like tonight, we have six people in double figures and that’s how you win in this league.”.
That spread showed up in the box score. After Plum’s 38, Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink finished with 16 points each. Ariel Atkins added 11, and Erica Wheeler and Rae Burrell poured in 10 points apiece.
The assists mirrored that team-wide output. The Sparks’ starting backcourt of Plum and Wheeler combined for 15 assists, and the team as a whole recorded 26 assists on 37 made shots. It wasn’t just Plum getting hers—it was the offense feeding multiple options, turning comfort into production.
Plum also connected the Sparks’ rise to the way the court is starting to open up for them. “Our spacing was better. I think when your spacing is better, the reads are a lot easier to make,” she said. She acknowledged that a couple possessions in the second half looked like she got “a little bit too eager driving in. ” and the Aces responded by collapsing. But the broader point was learning in real time.
“Coach’s system is unique because it’s not very structured,” Plum said. “And a lot of times people run a lot of sets and stuff. but I think as every game goes along. you’re gonna see players individually and collectively feel more comfortable. And then from there, it’s just kind of like a read and react. Some games it’s you, some games it’s somebody else. That’s the beauty of it. So I just think that you’re probably seeing people starting to be more comfortable.”.
The Sparks entered Saturday already riding a wave—two games in a row after the 101-95 result over the Aces. In the three wins they’ve had so far this season, Los Angeles has posted its three highest points totals, reaching 99 and 97 points in its previous wins before hitting the 101 mark Saturday.
For Plum. the stat line chase is real. the humor is there. and the urgency is tied to something bigger than a personal milestone. Right now, it’s a team finding its rhythm. And in between the spacing. the reads. and the shared scoring. her “50-40-90” dream is still alive—just with free throws currently living rent-free in her jokes.
Kelsey Plum Los Angeles Sparks Las Vegas Aces 50-40-90 WNBA season-high 38 points free throw percentage Dearica Hamby Cameron Brink Ariel Atkins Erica Wheeler Rae Burrell