With their 2024 season on the line against the New York Liberty, the Aces desperately needed their big four to deliver in order to keep the series alive. Could this be the night they sparked a comeback? The 10,374 fans inside Michelob ULTRA Arena certainly believed so. But instead, only A’ja Wilson answered the call. The rest went missing. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all was Kelsey Plum. How does a player of her caliber go 5-of-16 in a do-or-die game? In many ways, it was the perfect snapshot of what was truly a disastrous year for her and why we don’t see her wearing the Aces uniform anymore.

For Plum, things weren’t just tough on the court – her personal life had taken a heartbreaking turn, too. Just a year after tying the knot in 2023, she went through a divorce with the man she once called the love of her life, Darren Waller. How do you recover from that kind of blow while trying to perform at the highest level? In an emotional post, Plum shared, “I’m devastated. I walked through fire for that man, but now I see it’s time to go. God has given me such an incredible life, and I’m truly so grateful for the profound love from my family and friends. One day I’ll share my story, today is not that day.” Well, that day has finally come.

On the Bird’s Eye View podcast with Sue Bird, Plum opened up about why she decided to join the Sparks this season. She pointed to two main reasons. One of them was the tough divorce she went through, which she admitted was an “awful” experience to deal with.

“Well, I think there’s a couple components. Obviously, there’s personal and professional. Personal — all my personal stuff off the court happened. Being divorced and then that hitting me out of left field. So, I had to deal with that in the season, which even to this day, I would say I look back now and one of my proudest things is that I just played. Like, I showed up and played, and I had the best attitude I could because that was awful. Just straight-up awful to go through, and then you’re dealing with it in real time and you’re dealing with it publicly,” she said.

Although Waller and Plum never publicly confirmed their relationship until they tied the knot, the two were often spotted together in 2022. Beyond basketball games, they even attended an All Elite Wrestling match in May of that year, which might have been their first official public outing as a couple. Waller was also present at the Aces’ 2022 championship parade, showing his support. The pair then got married on March 4, 2023, but their marriage quickly turned into a long-distance one. “It’s not ideal to have the person that you love the most not with you on a daily basis, but we make it work,” Waller had said at the time.

No one really knows why the couple split in April 2024. Waller once admitted that he felt he was losing out on the things he loved by making Plum a priority. Of course, we can’t confirm that as the full story since Plum hasn’t shared her side yet. That said, it’s remarkable that Plum kept showing up every single day despite everything she was going through off the court. She was logging a career-high 34 minutes per game that season, and the effects started to show. Her scoring dipped from 18.7 to 17.8 points per game, while her assists slipped from 4.5 to 4.2. Not a major drop by any means, but they are telling of the circumstances.

Let’s not forget, this is the same Plum who averaged 20.2 points per game in 2022, finishing as the Aces’ top scorer that season. Since then, though, her role steadily declined. She even admitted to taking less money just to stay with the team and compete for championships. But really, how long can a player of her caliber settle for being a second option? She explained the second reason for leaving the Aces on the same podcast: “I felt like my growth was capped in Vegas … You start to feel like, okay, ‘Am I becoming the fourth option?’ … There’s a point where you start to feel underappreciated.”

Kelsey went on to turn down a supermax deal worth $249,244, instead choosing to prioritize herself. She took the offseason to fully recover and even pulled out of Unrivaled. After everything she endured off the court, it’s no wonder Plum felt the need for a fresh start. And what better place to hit the reset button than Hollywood? A city built on comebacks and new beginnings? And safe to say she isn’t regretting the decision one bit!

Kelsey Plum is enjoying life in Los Angeles

“They have not just met but exceeding my expectations. I’ve been treated better than I ever been as a WNBA player. It’s been first class. This league is going to continue to grow…I know that this franchise is extremely valuing how to support players in anyway that they can..I’m excited to be apart of the new wave and we’ll be able to show players LA is the place you want to play,” she said after joining the franchise. And she backed it up immediately, dropping 37 points in her debut.

Plum looks like she’s rediscovered her love for the game. She’s putting up career-high numbers with 20.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. The Sparks are right in the hunt, sitting just one game behind the Storm for that playoff spot. They’ve been playing some of the best basketball in the league lately, dropping only 3 of their last 13 games.

It’s tough that things had to end this way for Plum. Leaving the team where you’ve spent your entire career is never easy. But without that decision, she perhaps wouldn’t have truly unlocked her full potential, given just how stacked the Aces’ starting 5 really was. In many ways, this move to LA has turned out to be the best thing for her. What do you think about Plum opening up on the real reason behind her exit? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.