The Los Angeles Sparks were on a five-game skid before the All-Star week. With a 10-16 record, they are 11th in the league, and chances of making the playoffs are getting thin with every mounting loss. Many factors have played their part in the Sparks’ decline in form, but none impacted more than Kelsey Plum’s absence. The update Coach Lynne Roberts shared about Plum’s recovery during a practice session on Monday wasn’t hopeful.

“We don’t know. She’s working her tail off; she’s going to do a workout here, and she’s getting close. Well, that comes from the medical team. And I just deal with what they tell me,” she told John W. Davis and other reporters during the post-practice media availability.

Roberts also pretty much confirmed that Plum won’t feature against the New York Liberty, as she did not practice with the team in the first training session after the All-Star break.

“It’s a process for an injury like that to come back. And what you don’t want to do is just throw her out there without having to build up, right? You don’t want to re-injure anything, so we’re in that build up phase.”

It’s no secret that the Sparks are struggling without Kelsey Plum. They have a 3-11 record without Plum on the roster, compared to 7-5 when she does feature. Plum was averaging 23.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game this season, and was trailing only A’ja Wilson for most points per game before being sidelined with injury.

Plum initially suffered a right ankle sprain during a Los Angeles Sparks team practice that was open to fans on May 26. Afterwards, she was put on a minimum one-week recovery period, forcing her to sit out three consecutive regular-season games.

However, the brutal blow came on June 24 when the Sparks’ public relations staff officially diagnosed her with a soft-tissue lower left leg injury and ruled her out for a minimum of four weeks.

Although voted as a WNBA All-Star reserve, Plum officially withdrew from the July 25 All-Star Game in Chicago to focus on her recovery. She was replaced on the active roster by Kahleah Copper.

However, the Sparks were showing cracks even when Plum was fully healthy.

The Sparks Have Struggled Defensively All Season

The Sparks defense has come under scrutiny all season. They have the second-worst defensive rating in the league, at 112.3. Earlier in June, it even plummeted to a 115.6 rating, the lowest mark in WNBA history.

Cameron Brink is arguably the roster’s only elite, true rim protector. And due to an ankle injury, she has been limited to just 18 games this season, starting in just one game. Without her athletic shot-blocking presence, the Sparks’ interior defense has virtually collapsed.

This has also left veterans like Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby physically exhausted on the defensive end. Also, the crackdown on physical play and emphasis on offensive freedom of movement have heavily penalized the Sparks’ aggressive defensive style this season.

So while Roberts insists that the team is in a “build up” phase, the fans remain unconvinced by what they have seen so far this season. They face a tough schedule ahead, starting with the New York Liberty on Tuesday.

However, their toughest matchup for August, at least on paper, will be against league leaders Minnesota Lynx on August 6, followed by the Golden State Valkyries on August 9.

Whether the Sparks can turn things around as the second half of the 2026 season kicks off following the the All-Star break remains to be seen.