Kelsey Plum struck against her former team on Saturday, May 23, scoring 38 points with nine assists as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Las Vegas Aces 101-95 at Michelob Ultra Arena—right after the Aces raised their 2025 championship banner and received title r
The Las Vegas Aces handed out rings for their 2025 WNBA championship right before the season opener—and then Kelsey Plum walked out and made the celebration feel like a pregame highlight.
On Saturday, May 23, at Michelob Ultra Arena, Plum led the Los Angeles Sparks to a 101-95 upset of the Aces. It was the kind of stat line that doesn’t just win games; it reframes nights, especially for a player returning to the scene of what she left behind.
Plum matched her career high with 38 points and added nine assists. She also poured in the long-range damage with a 6-for-7 performance from 3-point range. All eight of her free throws went down, and she capped the night with a game-clinching steal.
The scoring wasn’t just productive—it was specific. The performance marked the first game of Plum’s career with at least 35 points, five assists, and five 3-pointers. On a night built around the league’s spotlight moments, she made sure the spotlight landed on her instead of the banner.
For the Sparks, it didn’t take a secret formula to get contributions from elsewhere. Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink each scored 16 points. Las Vegas still had its own answers, even after the momentum slipped away. Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson scored 24 points and enters the season as the league’s second-leading scorer with 25 points per game.
Wilson also had a reminder of how personal this matchup could get: she delivered an emphatic block against her former teammate late. But late in the game, the Sparks still had Plum.
The night carried an extra emotional charge because Plum spent seven seasons with the Aces organization before requesting a change. She quietly asked for a trade after the team fell short of a three-peat in the 2024 campaign. The Aces responded by granting her request and giving her the core designation—described in the source as similar to an NFL franchise tag—before trading her to Los Angeles in a three-team deal. That deal brought guard Jewell Loyd from the Seattle Storm to Las Vegas.
Las Vegas could still win without Plum at times. including by finding ways to compete after her departure. but Saturday’s result showed what she can still bring when she’s fully locked in. Plum has made her case across the season so far: she leads the league in points per game (26.8). three-pointers made per game (3.3). and she sits in the top five in assists per game (6.3). She also has the most games with at least 25 points this season with five. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is the only other player this season to reach five games with at least 20 points.
Plum’s start mattered too. She began Saturday by going a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line in the first quarter. The Sparks then kept pressing as the Aces tried to absorb what should have been a celebratory evening—one that included their 2025 WNBA championship banner rising ahead of the season opener.
Las Vegas entered the game with a recent run of form, but the Sparks snapped that rhythm. The matchup marked the end of a four-game winning streak for the Aces. Earlier. that momentum had been interrupted before it could fully settle into something routine: the Aces were blown out by the Phoenix Mercury after receiving their championship rings ahead of the season opener. On Saturday, they didn’t get a rebound.
With the Aces’ ring night turned into a comeback story for someone they once considered theirs, the outcome landed clearly in one place: Plum’s scoring, her precision from distance, and the steal that closed it.
And for Las Vegas, the lingering question after 101-95 wasn’t whether the championship happened—it was whether they could protect the next moment from the player who helped build the culture that came with it.
Kelsey Plum Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks WNBA championship rings A'ja Wilson Jewell Loyd Caitlin Clark May 23 Michelob Ultra Arena