WNBA: Kelsey Plum’s All-Star selection proves LA bet on the right guard

When the Sparks traded for Kelsey Plum in a move that sent the guard from the Las Vegas Aces to Los Angeles, some thought it was a high price for the star guard.

It cost the Sparks their promising center Li Yueru and the No. 2 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. However, Los Angeles was starved for a guard they could trust, and Plum has proven to be all that and more.

She is averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game with the Sparks this season. Her ability to run the offense, handle an intense workload and reach a level of play that exceeds that of most players in the league is why coaches selected her as a WNBA All-Star.

Her selection confirms that the Sparks made the right choice by trading their top pick to bring Plum to Southern California. She is exactly the leader and producer they need to help accelerate this return to form for this legacy franchise.

She is the team leader in scoring, assists and minutes played. While Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby were also deserving of an All-Star selection, if LA could only get one player in the game, it had to be Plum.

She has consistently been the best player on the Sparks night in and night out. Not only is Plum an elite player for Los Angeles, but she’s also the best guard they’ve had in the 2020s. No other backcourt player in Los Angeles has made the All-Star Game in the 2020s. The last Sparks guard to be named an All-Star was Chelsea Gray back in 2019.

While she made the team, who she would be playing with in the 2025 All-Star Game wasn’t known until Tuesday, when captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier selected their squads. Plum was taken late with the No. 17 pick, joining Team Collier.

While Plum is the sole representative for the Sparks during the WNBA All-Star Game, expect her to to make all of Los Angeles proud in Indy, just the way she has all season.

The Sparks went all-in with Plum, and while LA, regardless of the sport, can be criticized for always being too eager to snag a star at all costs, it worked to perfection on this occasion. There are plenty of things the Sparks need to improve on moving forward, but thanks to the acquisition of Plum, they have one spot secured.