“She Got 2 Kids”: Kelsey Plum Honors Dearica Hamby for Saving LA Sparks, Sends Warning to Seattle

“I cannot believe that you’re playing basketball,” Vanessa Nygaard said to Dearica Hamby as the latter appeared on the court for the Los Angeles Sparks back in 2023. A new mother, she played for just 15 minutes but had an impressive 9 points and 3 rebounds in this brief period. It was her spark that kept her playing even after two children. And it was the same spark, thanks to Hamby and Kelsey Plum, that kept Los Angeles’ playoff hopes alive!

For Hamby, basketball and motherhood are the two sides of the same coin. Both need the ability to adapt and adjust. This ability was put on show when she led her team to secure their latest win over the Washington Mystics. The Sparks forward delivered her 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Also, their marquee player, Kelsey Plum, exploded for 18 points, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter alone. But when the final buzzer sounded, her attention immediately turned to the teammate she credited as the game-changer.

After the Washington game, Plum sang praises for her teammates, especially Hamby, stating, “I was just proud the way we battled. Everyone’s tired, you know it’s that point of the season. But Dearica was huge tonight. She hit some big shots… She’s incredible; she plays so hard. She’s got 2 kids, it’s unbelievable what she does.” The performance moved her into the league’s top 10 for double-doubles this year. For Hamby, though, it was hardly unfamiliar territory, as she had already tallied 16 double-doubles in the previous season. But also, what’s not familiar to Hamby is the responsibilities of motherhood.

Hamby is the mother of two: Amaya, born in 2017, and Legend, born in 2023. However, her responsibilities towards her family haven’t stopped the Sparks forward from giving it her all on the court. According to her, “No possession in basketball is the same, and no day in life is the same for me. I never know what to expect throughout my day, having two young kids, and I have to adapt to the curveballs life throws at me while prioritizing my kids!”

Since 2024, Hamby has been producing career-best numbers, averaging 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. She has carried that same fire into the current campaign, where she’s putting up 17.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. The consistency has made her a cornerstone for the Sparks. Furthermore, she juggles her responsibilities at home, too, thanks to the support of her own mother. “I’m able to enjoy every moment of it because my mom has been such a huge help. She’s made everything so much easier for me, and it really speaks to the village of support moms need to be successful in their feeding journeys and returns to work,” she said after joining Sparks in 2023.

The teammate praising her, Kelsey Plum, isn’t doing badly herself. Plum turns on her game in the most crucial moments, leading the league in fourth-quarter points with 6.4. Her  14-point stint against Washington and the 11-foot floating jump shot at the buzzer against Dallas to secure the win are just a few examples of her fourth-quarter shenanigans.

After the Mystics’ game, Plum capped it off with a message for their next opponents, the Seattle Storm. “We’re going at it one game at a time. Seattle’s a great team, and everyone at this point in this season is looking for a win. I’m just proud of how we finished tonight [against Washington], and we gotta go to Seattle and be ready for a good one,” said Plum. And this game becomes a crucial one with Fever stumbling from sixth spot to eighth.

Fever lost to Valkyries and fell down the leaderboard, giving Sparks a better shot at making the playoffs. They hold six games remaining compared to the Fever’s four, giving them more opportunities to climb the standings. However, the road won’t be easy. Four of those games come against playoff-bound powerhouses like the Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces. But if Hamby and Plum can engineer wins in those matchups, the Sparks could leapfrog Indiana and secure a playoff berth. On the court, their impact is undeniable. But the two long-time teammates share a lot of moments on the court, too.

Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby share a bond beyond the court

When Kelsey Plum joined the San Antonio Stars in 2017, she would have never imagined she would get a lifelong friend in Dearica Hamby. The two have been together through their Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks journeys. The two have fought an infamous prank battle in 2022. It started with Plum and Angela wielding water balloons against Hamby. Returning the favor, Hamby splashed Plum’s shiny black Volkswagen sedan with neon paint with a $20 bill and a note, “Go get your car cleaned”.

The two have been together not just through the good times but the bad ones as well. Back in September 2023, Hamby filed a federal discrimination complaint against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, claiming the Aces traded her because she was pregnant and that the league did not adequately investigate. Through the brunt of it, WNBPA openly supported Hamby, a charge led by Plum as the Vice President. In her official capacity, Plum criticized the WNBA’s investigative process into Hamby’s claims, calling it a “poor process” and emphasizing her role: “My job is to represent the players.” These instances show how a bond was forged, both on and off the court, between Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby.