Kelsey Plum isn’t buying the idea of a superteam rivalry.

While the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces have three more meetings this season, the Plum and the Aces looked every bit the more dominant team in Thursday’s 98-81 win in Las Vegas.

“I say this with all respect, but I think it’s honestly the media (that) tries to make this out to be this crazy matchup,” Plum said after the game. “There’s a lot of really good teams in this league. We approach every game the same way, and we play the same way. We’re going to go out there and compete. It happened to be New York tonight, but for us it doesn’t change who we are.”

Plum led all Aces starters – all of whom scored in double figures – with 18 points. While Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello says the team had a “great game plan” entering the game, it didn’t hold up against what she called a “well-oiled machine.”

“Part of it was because of what they did, how fluid they were,” she said of the Aces. “They scored on us on post-ups and mismatches in our rotations. They’re in the right place all the time. They’re a scary team.”

The Aces and the Liberty both made headlines with big-name free agent signings in the offseason, and both have hovered around the top of the league standings. But the Aces placed themselves firmly at the head of the pack with their latest win.

The 2022 champions are now 14-1, tying the 1998 Houston Comets and the 2016 Los Angeles Sparks for the best start through 15 games in league history. The Liberty sit in third at 10-4.

“I think we play a fun style for the [players] and the fans, as does New York,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said. “Getting up and down — people like to play that way, shooting a lot of 3s. When the ball gets popping and everybody is happy with their teammate’s success, I think that is contagious.”

When the Las Vegas Aces added Candace Parker and Alysha Clark during the offseason, the 2022 WNBA champions were quickly dubbed a “superteam.”

But that’s not how star player A’ja Wilson views the Aces’ lineup.

“I don’t believe in superteams,” the two-time WNBA MVP said on a recent episode of “Podcast P with Paul George.”

“I just feel like we’re all coming together with an equal goal and we’re just trying to reach that goal. That doesn’t make us a superteam because we got a couple of accolades. …It’s like, I don’t believe in ring chasing.”

George, who plays for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, wasn’t so quick to buy Wilson’s argument,

“If you look to your left and see Kelsey Plum, you look to your right and see Candace Parker –” he started.

“That’s not a superteam!” Wilson interjected. “We’re talented, we’re skilled? Yes. But when it comes to a superteam? Nah.”

Wilson went on to note that the “superteam” label adds pressure she and her teammates didn’t ask for.

“(If) we lose a game, they’re like, ‘Oh, this superteam sucks,'” she said. “Well, no one told y’all to label us the superteam.”

Of course, the Aces haven’t yet lost a game yet. Las Vegas is off to a perfect 4-0 start, winning two of those games while head coach Becky Hammon was serving a suspension.

Wilson credited Hammon, who is in her second year as Aces head coach, with helping Las Vegas become a superteam — if that’s what people insist on calling them.

“Becky just makes us look like a superteam,” Wilson said. “Her mind is incredible, the way she views the game and picks it apart.”

New Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and Candace Parker didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye during their WNBA season opener against the Seattle Storm.

As the Aces rolled into halftime with a commanding 43-28 lead, Plum chided Parker in an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.

“Candace Parker, she’s wearing all black shoes with white socks. Which is, like, criminal, but she can pull it off,” Plum deadpanned.

“She’s the GOAT so we’re gonna let her do it today, but then we’ll talk to her about it after the game, right?” Rowe replied. (Video of the interview is embedded below.)

Fans took to social media to debate the fashion choice. Even “Art But Make It Sports” – a Twitter account dedicated to juxtaposing iconic sports moment and works of art — weighed in, comparing Parker’s shoe-sock combo to The Matador Saluting, a painting by Édouard Manet.

“Call me Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson Vibes),” Parker replied on Instagram.

The Aces won the game 105-64. The 41-point margin broke the WNBA record for largest margin of victory by any WNBA team in a season opener, per ESPN Stats & Info. Plum and Jackie Young recorded 23 points each, while four other Aces players also scored in the double digits: Chelsea Gray (14), A’ja Wilson (13), Candace Parker (12) and Alysha Clark (10).

Still, the Aces’ rout was overshadowed by the absence of head coach Becky Hammon, who served the first of a two-game suspension after a WNBA investigation found she made comments to Dearica Hamby about her pregnancy, violating the league’s Respect in the Workplace policies. Hammon has denied the claims. Assistant Tyler Marsh served as acting head coach during Saturday’s contest.

Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum criticized the WNBA for the way it conducted its investigation of the team in the wake of Dearica Hamby’s claims of misconduct.

The WNBA penalized the Aces as a result of the investigation, suspending head coach Becky Hammon for two games to start the season and rescinding the Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick. But Hammon, the Aces and the WNBPA have expressed dissatisfaction with the results; Hammon called Hamby’s claims “completely false,” while the players association called the penalties “far from appropriate” and pledged its continued support for Hamby.

Speaking as the first vice president of the WNBPA, Plum noted that her job “is to represent the players,” which puts her in an interesting position as she also is a starter for the Aces.

“My job is to represent the players, and that’s the totality of everyone,” she said. “It’s amazing when verdicts come back and no one is happy, and I think that just shows a poor level of leadership and a poor process on the investigation.”

The WNBA investigation was conducted by two former prosecutors, one from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and one from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The investigators interviewed everyone who they thought would have relevant information, including people suggested by the players association, but the Aces declined to recommend any potential interviewees.

Other Aces players expressed their support for Hammon after the league handed down its penalties.

“I know a number of us players have reached out and just been like, ‘We love you. We care about you. And we’re going to represent you in the best way that we can,’” Candace Parker said.

Reigning league MVP A’ja Wilson called the suspension “unfortunate.”

“But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that we’re performing and doing what we need to do on the court,” she continued. “We’re for Becky. We’re for anyone that’s for us. We’re going to play for her, no matter what. It’s going to be tough to be without her those couple games, but we still have to go out there and be us, through and through.”

Less than a month ago, Alexis Morris helped LSU win its first ever women’s basketball title. Now, the WNBA rookie is calling on college teams to better prepare athletes for the pro game.

Morris, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun as the No. 22 overall pick, took to TikTok after her first day of group workouts with the Sun.

“This is for the colleges and the institutions: in order to grow the league, you have to prep the players for what’s to come. In order to do that, you have to watch the league, you have to see the style of play, the systems that they’re running, so that the adjustment and the transition for college players — women’s college players — to the WNBA won’t be so difficult.

“I’m not saying that it’s difficult for everybody. But I do think that the style of play that you play in college can either help or hurt you when you’re transitioning to college.”

Morris has more college experience than most. The Texas native started her college career at Baylor (playing for Kim Mulkey), but was dismissed from the team after a reported arrest. She transferred to Rutgers (where C. Vivian Stringer was head coach), but had to sit out a year due to the NCAA’s then transfer rules. She then made the move to Texas A&M for one year before concluding her college career by playing two seasons at LSU (where Mulkey had been hired as head coach). In her video, she didn’t specify how her own college experience prepared her for the WNBA.

Morris is one of 20 players on Connecticut’s preseason training roster. A max of 12 athletes will make the team, but that number could be as low as 11 depending on when the team’s salary cap is hit.

Morris isn’t the first person to suggest college players need better preparation for the WNBA. After the 2022 WNBA Draft, then Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller — who has since been hired by the Los Angeles Sparks — said of the 30 prospects he spoke to prior to draft night, 80% either didn’t follow the WNBA or follow it closely.

More recently, Kelsey Plum announced that she was partnering with Under Armour to launch “DawgClass,” a three-day camp for top women’s college basketball guards with the goal of helping ease the transition between NCAA competition and the WNBA.

“The women’s game has such a massive gap in the transition from college to pro, unlike any other professional sport,” Plum told Just Women’s Sports.

“You’re just kind of thrown into the fire and you’re on your way, it’s like sink or swim.”

@luthorrrrr First day as a #connecticutsun ! Here’s my take away from my personal experiences! #fyp #beapromovement #fyp #womensbasketball ♬ original sound - Alexis Morris

Las Vegas Aces guard (and noted Tom Brady fan) Kelsey Plum is more than excited to have the NFL legend join her team’s ownership group.

Brady has acquired an ownership interest in the WNBA franchise, majority owner Mark Davis announced Thursday night. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback retired from the NFL in February as a seven-time Super Bowl champion, and he’s joining forces with the reigning WNBA champions.

“WHAT ISSSSSS LIFFEEEEEEE,” Plum tweeted in reaction to the news.

The 28-year-old All-Star met Brady, who she has proclaimed her “favorite athlete,” during a Aces home game last May at Michelob Ultra Arena.

“I went right up to him,” Plum said after the game. “I dapped him up, gave him a big hug, and I was like, ‘Man, you’re a dog, I love you.'”

Then she barked at him.

“He looked at me and he was like, ‘Yeah!'” she said. “We connected… He’s not going to forget that.”

The pair continued their friendship, as Brady sent Plum a signed Buccaneers jersey with a personalized note, then Plum promised to return the favor. With Brady joining the Aces’ ownership group, they should have more opportunities to express their mutual admiration in the future.

But Aces star A’ja Wilson offered some advice for her teammate, saying in response to Plum’s celebratory tweet, “Don’t be doing all that barkin’ & sh*t.”

Kelsey Plum isn’t just hoping for change, she’s taking an active part in it.

This April, nine of the top amateur guards in the country will descend upon IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. as part of the inaugural Dawg Class. There, they will participate in a weekend camp put on by the Las Vegas Aces guard and Under Armour.

The idea for the camp came from Plum’s own experience with the transition from college to the WNBA in 2017. The former No. 1 draft pick opened up to Just Women’s Sports’ Rachel Galligan last year about her mental health journey, which included severe bouts of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Choosing to share her story at that moment, she says, was something she felt called to do.

“I know that mental health is something that people are struggling with immensely, especially our youth, and particularly our young women,” Plum tells JWS. “It was time to really just peel back some of the layers of the onion.”

Now, Plum is taking those lessons and imparting them on the next generation of WNBA prospects. Women’s professional basketball, Plum believes, isn’t set up to help them succeed.

Currently, athletes have a short period of transition from college to the WNBA. This year’s WNBA Draft takes place just eight days after the NCAA championship game on April 2. Then, for draft picks who earn one of the limited WNBA roster spots, training camp begins on April 30 and the regular season tips off on May 19.

All the while, many incoming rookies will still be completing their final year of college.

“The women’s game has such a massive gap in the transition from college to pro, unlike any other professional sport,” Plum says, comparing it to the support NBA players receive from middle school all the way through college. “There’s a lot of money, there’s a lot of support, there’s a ton of resources to help them get to that point and be prepared.

“On the women’s side, it’s not like that. You’re just kind of thrown into the fire and you’re on your way, it’s like sink or swim.”

While much of the weekend with the Dawg Class will be about preparing the athletes for the pros, including lessons on what to look for in an agent and what to expect in the WNBA, Plum intends to treat them as she would anyone else.

“I’m there to train. I’m not above them,” she says.

“This is what I wish I would have gotten. A lot of these things I’ve learned in the last year or two, I’m like, man, how much would it have saved me, just like, quality of life, if I would have been able to learn these skills earlier? So, that’s the whole point of this class.”

Plum plans to be a resource for players beyond the weekend’s events, giving them her phone number for texts and calls. And if she can’t help them herself, she’ll find someone who can.

Launching the initiative with Under Armour, Plum says, was one of the reasons she signed with the brand in the first place.

“Even before I signed, Under Armour and I, we sat down and I said, ‘This is my number one, this is what I want to attack. I want to make an impact in young women’s lives, and I feel like this is the best way that I can do it,’” she says. “There’s a massive need that’s not being met.”

Under Armour’s proven investment in women, starting with their No. 1-ranked AAU high school circuit, was what really sold the deal.

“I’m really proud to be a representative of their brand because they really put their money where their mouth is,” she says. “For them to allow me to do this is massive, and I think it’s going to be huge for the sport.”

Throughout this process, Plum has also been thinking about her own future. The 28-year-old guard shined for the Aces last season, starting all 36 games, averaging a career-best 20.2 points per game and earning a spot on her first All-Star team, where she won All-Star Game MVP. Named to the All-WNBA First Team, Plum was also a part of the Aces’ first WNBA championship.

She attributes the success to her own mental well-being after hiring a mental health coach in her fourth year in the WNBA.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve felt at peace as much as I’ve ever been, and I’ve also performed at a high level,” Plum says. “For me, it’s more of a lifestyle, on the daily what I do to maintain that peace.”

img
Plum and 2022 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson are just two stars on Las Vegas' WNBA superteam. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Plum knows that the Aces have a target on their backs heading into the upcoming WNBA season. The reigning champions added new signings Candace Parker and Alysha Clark to a roster that already includes Plum, two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, Finals MVP Chelsea Gray and All-Star Jackie Young.

With one of the most talented rosters in the WNBA, Las Vegas has been dubbed one of the league’s superteams alongside the New York Liberty.

“This is the thing when you amass that much talent, the biggest kryptonite is ego. And I gotta start with myself. To try and be a good player in the WNBA, you have to kind of have an ego. You’ve got to have this, like, unfazed confidence about yourself,” Plum says.

“Everyone’s like, repeat, repeat, and I just laugh because I’m like, people don’t understand how hard it is to win. You just gotta go a day at a time. And I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Plum is having more fun playing basketball, which she realizes now is the key to seeing beyond the pressure and enjoying success. And that’s exactly the example she wants to set for her new group of mentees.

“We have the sports world’s attention, bigger than just the W,” Plum says of her and her teammates. “When you have that, you can look at it as pressure, but I honestly think it’s a privilege, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Emma Hruby is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @EHruby.

The Las Vegas Aces dealt Dearica Hamby to the Los Angeles Sparks this weekend, which prompted a tribute from her longtime Aces teammate Kelsey Plum.

“This one stings,” Plum wrote on Instgram. “My sister, my friend, my teammate, just an amazing human being. I love you, ur strength never ceases to amaze me. I will miss you and Amaya dearly. LA got a good one.”

The pair have played together since 2017, when Plum was drafted No. 1 overall by the franchise. Hamby was drafted with the sixth overall pick by the franchise in 2015.

Hamby made her own thoughts on the trade known as well. She called out the Aces, who she said acted “unprofessional and unethical” in their treatment of her pregnancy. The 29-year-old forward revealed her pregnancy at the Aces’ championship parade.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, teams are allowed to sign a replacement player under a maternity cap exception if they do not have the cap room.

Yet Hamby wrote that her “honesty was met with coldness, disrespect, and disregard from members of management.”

“To be treated this way by an organization, BY WOMEN who are mothers, who have claimed to ‘be in these shoes,’ who preach family, chemistry and women’s empowerment is disappointing and leaves me sick to my stomach,” she continued. “We fought for provisions that would finally support and protect player parents. This cannot now be used against me.”

Kelsey Plum recently stopped by Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls series to talk about her introduction to the league, as well as the fight for pay equity.

Plum says that while she entered the league as a college standout, it took some time to earn people’s respect.

“They were trying to kill me, I was humbled very quickly,” Plum says. “Growing up, I loved Diana [Taurasi]. That was kind of why I started playing basketball.”

During a game against the Phoenix Mercury, Plum says that Taurasi gave her something of an introduction into the league.

“I’m guarding Diana, it’s like a dead ball. She’s looking at me, she’s like ‘Hey Plummy, how you doing?’” she says. “And I’m like, a little phased. Ball comes in, she looks at me, elbows me in the stomach, hits a three and then winks at me.

“I was like, what just happened?”

Since then, however, Plum has come into her own in the WNBA. The 2022 season was her best, with the guard averaging 20.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. It was also the first season in which she started all of the games in which she played.

She’s also grown into an advocate for the league’s players, speaking with Hart about pay disparity and the narrative surrounding women’s sports that male professionals are just there to “support.”

“The top players in the league, they’re taken care of. Not only by their salaries but endorsements, opportunities, off the court things,” she says. “It’s that middle section that really suffers, because the league is trying to say after this year, you can’t go overseas.”

But as the league’s profile increases, she wants to see narratives change.

“I want to have you come to an Aces game because you want to watch me play,” she says. “You’re not there to support me. And I think that’s the narrative that needs to change in the media.”

And as for her WNBA All-Star MVP trophy, Plum says initially she “didn’t really notice” its size until she saw how the size differed from Steph Curry’s.

“That thing was huge,” she said. “So then I was like, that didn’t set women forward at all.”

You can watch the entire episode below:

A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum aren’t thrilled with the 2023 WNBA schedule.

The Las Vegas Aces stars are excited about the expanded 40-game schedule and the broadcast schedule that comes with it, but both expressed frustration that their Aces are on the road for their first two games.

“We open up on the road the first two games,” Plum told Yahoo Sports. “I don’t know if champs usually do that.”

The Aces won the WNBA title in 2022, but their schedule doesn’t seem to reflect that. The Minnesota Lynx were the last reigning champion (2014) to open on the road, while the other winners all started their seasons at home.

“How the hell the champs play on the road the first couple of games of the season…” Wilson tweeted.

Las Vegas will play its first two games on the road, and then follow those contests with a back-to-back at home. The latter three games in that stretch take place over four days in two cities.

“Someone looked at this schedule — not saying any names — but someone looked at this schedule and said, ‘How can we screw over the Aces?’” she told Yahoo Sports. “Well, they tried. We’ll see if it works.

“Yeah, I think that for me I looked at it, I just smiled, I looked at it as a great challenge, a great opportunity.”