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Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum is a noted absentee when the newly formed 3-on-3 Unrivaled Basketball League tips off its inaugural season on Jan. 17 in Miami, Florida.
Initially penciled in as one of the 36 WNBA stars featured in the league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, Plum decided to withdraw from participating shortly after the draft results were made known back in November.
She elected not to join in the inaugural season of Unrivaled to take some time for herself following a busy WNBA campaign last time around, where she also made a tour of duty with Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games along the way.
Kelsey Plum took to Instagram story to share her reason for withdrawing while thanking the league for its understanding. The two-time WNBA champion wrote:
“I’ve decided to not take part in the inaugural season of Unrivaled in order to take some more time for myself in this offseason. I appreciate the league understanding and being so accommodating. I wish the league and all the players nothing but the best and I’m excited to watch.”
Where was Kelsey Plum supposed to play in Unrivaled?
Kelsey Plum was supposed to play with the Laces Ball Club in Unrivaled. Following her withdrawal, the team is now composed of Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), Jackie Young and Tiffany Hayes (Lynx), Kate Martin (formerly Aces and now Golden State Valkyries) and Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics). Coaching Laces BC is Mystics assistant coach Andrew Wade.
Apart from Laces BC, also competing in the inaugural season of Unrivaled are Mist Basketball Club, Lunar Owls, Phantom Basketball Club, Rose Basketball Club, and Vinyl Basketball Club.
Kelsey Plum has another All-Star season with Las Vegas Aces
Plum had another All-Star season for the Aces in the last WNBA campaign. She averaged 17.8 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 34 minutes in the regular season to help her team to the fourth-best record in the league at 27-13.
In the playoffs, she played in six games, going for 16.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists, with the Aces reaching the semifinals before losing to eventual WNBA champions New York Liberty.
By missing the Unrivaled campaign, Laces BC will miss the services of a player in Plum who is no longer a stranger to 3-on-3 play, having represented Team USA in the sport in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and winning the gold medal.
Where to watch Unrivaled Basketball League?
Unrivaled signed a multiyear media rights deal with Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports. Forty-five live regular season games will be broadcast three nights a week across TNT (Monday and Friday games) and on WBD’s affiliate TruTV on Saturdays. All the games will be streamed live over WBD’s Max.
The inaugural season of Unrivaled will run until March 17, including the playoffs.
Edited by Mike Murillo
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