Happy to call you my teammate

Kelsey Plum was honored by the University of Washington on Saturday by retiring her No. 10 jersey on the rafters of the Alaska Airlines Arena. Several Las Vegas Aces teammates delivered a message to her, including reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Aces shared a video featuring Wilson, Kiah Stokes, Megan Gustafson, Tiffany Hayes, Chelsea Gray, Alysha Clark and Queen Egbo. They congratulated Plum for becoming the first female player to get her jersey retired by the Huskies.

Wilson gave a brief message to Plum, who has an uncertain future in Las Vegas after getting cored by the franchise.

“What’s up KP? Just want to say congratulations on the jersey retirement. You deserve it. You are truly one blessed girl and I’m so happy to be able to call you my teammate. Number 10 up in the rafters forever as it should be.”

Kelsey Plum joined other great basketball players in the Washington Huskies’ history, like Isaiah Thomas, Brandon Roy and Bob Houbregs. They are the only individuals who had their jerseys retired by the university.

Plum played for seasons at Washington, leading the Huskies to their first Final Four appearance in 2016. She holds the school record for points, field goals made, 3-pointers made, free throws made and free throw percentage. She also owns the single-season record for all categories, as well as the single-game record for points with 57 against Utah on Feb. 25, 2017.

“I’m forever proud to be a Husky and UW is a special place that fundamentally shaped me both as a basketball player and as a person,” Plum told reporters on Saturday, according to Huskies Wire on USA Today.

“It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends and alumni. It will be a great feeling to look up at the rafters and see my jersey alongside those that I’ve admired for so long.”

Plum was joined in the ceremony by his family, parents, friends, former UW teammates and fans inside the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

Kelsey Plum predicted to get acquired by Golden State Valkyries

The Las Vegas Aces decided to core Kelsey Plum ahead of the 2025 WNBA free agency. Plum will be unable to sign with a different team but could work out a potential sign-and-trade with the Aces. The franchise ensured that if she doesn’t want to stay, they wouldn’t lose her for nothing.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, the Golden State Valkyries could make a move for Plum and reunite her with former Aces assistant Natalie Nakase, who’s now in charge of the expansion team. Valkyrie’s one asset in hand is the fifth overall pick in the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft.

Edited by Bhargav