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Kelsey Plum is headed to the Sparks as part of a three-way trade that will send Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The Sparks traded the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and Li Yueru to Seattle. The Sparks also received the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft and a 2026 second-round pick from Seattle. The Aces receive the 13th pick in the draft from the Sparks and will send their 2026 first-round pick to Seattle. The person spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday night because no official deal has been announced.
The deal, which can’t become official until Feb. 1 because it involves a sign-and-trade for Plum, is the first trade in league history involving multiple No. 1 overall picks.
Plum, alongside three-time league MVP A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, helped the Aces win consecutive WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. She was designated as the team’s franchise player on Jan. 11. She averaged 17.8 points and 4.2 assists last season.
Plum will join the Sparks on a one-year deal and hopes to stay with the Sparks beyond 2025, according to ESPN.
Loyd requested a trade last month out of Seattle, where she had spent her entire career since getting drafted by the Storm in 2015. The 31-year-old averaged 19.7 points and 4.5 rebounds last season and is a six-time All-Star.
Acquiring Plum gives a veteran guard to the Sparks young core of Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink and reunites her with her former Aces teammate Dearica Hamby. It also brings Plum closer to home as she grew up in Poway.
Loyd and Plum were both No. 1 overall picks – Loyd in 2015 to Seattle; Plum in 2017 to San Antonio, which relocated to Las Vegas the following year. Both shooting guards became All-WNBA players and perennial All-Stars, each winning a pair of championships with their respective franchises. They were teammates at the Paris Olympics last summer, where they helped Team USA win an eighth consecutive gold medal.
ESPN first reported the trade.
Originally Published: January 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM PST
