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| Kelsey Plum | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kelsey Plum |
| Position | Guard |
| Weight lb | 145 |
| League | WNBA |
| Team | Las Vegas Aces |
| Number | 10 |
| Birth date | March 24, 1994 |
| Birth place | Poway, California, U.S. |
| College | University of Washington |
| Draft year | 2017 |
| Draft team | San Antonio Stars |
| Career start | 2017 |
| Teams | San Antonio Stars / Las Vegas Aces |
Kelsey Plum Kelsey Plum is an American professional basketball player noted for scoring prowess, playmaking, and impact in the Women's National Basketball Association. She rose to prominence through standout performances at the University of Washington, became the WNBA first overall draft pick, and has contributed to professional and international competitions. Plum's career intersects with premier teams, tournaments, and figures across collegiate, professional, and international basketball.
Plum was born in Poway, California, and grew up in the San Diego area where she attended Poway High School. During her high school tenure she competed in California Interscholastic Federation tournaments and national showcases alongside athletes who later joined programs at UCLA Bruins men's basketball, Stanford Cardinal women's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball, Connecticut Huskies women's basketball, and South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball. She earned attention from recruiting services and participated in Amateur Athletic Union circuits that included future teammates and opponents from University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball, Louisville Cardinals women's basketball, Baylor Bears women's basketball, and Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball camps. Plum's prep accolades placed her among other high school standouts who matriculated to institutions such as Duke Blue Devils women's basketball, Arizona Wildcats women's basketball, Texas Longhorns women's basketball, and Maryland Terrapins women's basketball.
Plum played collegiately at the University of Washington for the Huskies under head coach Mike Neighbors. She set NCAA Division I single-season scoring marks, led the Huskies to NCAA Tournament berths, and confronted conference rivals from the Pac-12 Conference such as UCLA Bruins women's basketball, Stanford Cardinal women's basketball, Arizona Wildcats women's basketball, and Oregon Ducks women's basketball. During her tenure she appeared in games broadcast on networks alongside coverage of athletes from Baylor Bears women's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball, and Connecticut Huskies women's basketball. Plum's achievements included national statistical leadership that engaged comparison with players from South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball, Louisville Cardinals women's basketball, Maryland Terrapins women's basketball, and Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball. Her collegiate career featured matchups at venues associated with NCAA Division I men's basketball Tournament sites and coaching trees traced to programs like Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Villanova Wildcats men's basketball, and Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball.
Plum was selected first overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Stars, a franchise that soon relocated and became the Las Vegas Aces. In the WNBA she has competed against and alongside players from Los Angeles Sparks, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury, Connecticut Sun, and Chicago Sky. Her professional career includes playoff series versus teams linked to stars from Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream, New York Liberty, and Dallas Wings. Plum has worked with coaching staffs connected to figures who coached in NCAA Division I men's basketball Tournament programs and WNBA veterans who represented USA Basketball in FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup play. Her WNBA tenure included sharpshooting contests in arenas used by franchises like Madison Square Garden, Crypto.com Arena, Target Center, and Mohegan Sun Arena.
Plum has been involved with USA Basketball programs and international competition, participating in training camps and events that bring together players from USA Women's National Basketball Team pools. She competed in exhibitions and tournaments alongside athletes who represented the United States at the Olympic Games and FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Plum's international experience includes club seasons and off-season play in leagues that have historically featured American pros in EuroLeague Women, Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, Women's Chinese Basketball Association, and other overseas circuits where players from Australia Opals, Spain women's national basketball team, France women's national basketball team, and Russia women's national basketball team compete.
Plum is a scoring guard known for three-point shooting, free-throw accuracy, and on-ball decision-making. Her statistical profile includes high points-per-game outputs, effective field-goal percentages, and assist totals that reflect perimeter creation similar to guards from WNBA All-Star Game rosters and leaders compared to players from Basketball Hall of Fame-adjacent careers. Analysts compare her shot distribution and usage rate with contemporaries who starred at University of Connecticut and Baylor University. Advanced metrics track Plum's player efficiency ratings, win shares, and plus-minus figures in contexts that include matchups against players from WNBA Rookie of the Year classes and veteran award winners such as WNBA Most Valuable Player Award recipients.
Plum has been involved in community initiatives and advocacy work tied to organizations and events in the Las Vegas region, Seattle area, and San Diego County. She has interacted with charitable foundations that collaborate with teams and leagues, and has spoken at appearances alongside athletes from NCAA Final Four alumni and WNBA ambassadors. Off the court she has participated in media appearances and basketball clinics with former professionals from NBA All-Star Game backgrounds and collegiate programs such as Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Indiana University Bloomington.
Plum's honors include NCAA scoring awards, conference player of the year recognitions, and WNBA distinctions that align her with recipients of Naismith College Player of the Year, Wade Trophy, and conference honors similar to those awarded by the Pac-12 Conference. She set NCAA Division I single-season scoring records and has registered franchise records with the Stars/Aces organization comparable to leaders listed in WNBA record books and NCAA Division I women's basketball records. Her accolades place her in historical context with inductees to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and other commemorative institutions honoring collegiate and professional excellence.