Sparks’ Kelsey Plum returns to Las Vegas, greeted with cheers and hugs

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Some fans held signs around Michelob Ultra Arena that read, "Once an Ace, always an Ace” to welcome back Kelsey Plum.

They cheered when minutes before Friday night’s game Plum was shown on the video board. She smiled as the roars began and then hugged former teammate A’ja Wilson.

Plum made her first appearance in Las Vegas since being sent to Los Angeles in a three-team trade in which the Aces landed Jewell Loyd from Seattle.

"It’s going to be great to compete against them," Plum said before the game. "I’ve been on their team for so long. I feel like we know each other so well. It’s really going to be a battle of the minds."

Plum was an instrumental part of the 2022 and 2023 Aces teams that won WNBA championships, the first team to repeat since the Sparks went back-to-back in 2001 and 2002.

She was an All-Star the past three seasons, but the Aces are Wilson’s team. As great as Plum was in Las Vegas, she was never going to get out of that shadow as long as three-time league MVP remained on the roster.

In Los Angeles, Plum is, as Sparks coach Lynne Roberts called her, "the head of the snake." She entered this game averaging 25.2 points, behind only Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier’s 26.8.

Plum, however, took exception that she’s the face of the franchise.

"People get caught up in the 'face of,'" Plum said. “That was not my intention. I think for me in LA, it was more going for a fresh start and an opportunity to be able to do it in a different way and have the ball in my hands a little bit more. I’m a dynamic player. I make plays. I can pass. I can score. So I just wanted a little bit more opportunity to do that.

"I’m trying to win games and affect winning. We’ve still got to do that at a high level, so that’s really where my focus is on more than anything."

The Sparks are counting on her championship experience to help them back to that level. They entered this game 2-4 and haven’t finished with a winning record since going 15-7 in 2020 in the COVID-shortened season.

"She’s won everywhere she’s been," Roberts said. "She was a key part of Vegas, their success. … She's ready for that point in her career, and she's earned it."

The more immediate priority for Plum was beating her old club, saying the teams that are separated by just a four-hour drive was not a rivalry - yet.

"They’ve kicked our (butt)," Plum said. "We’d need to win at least six or seven more matchups, respectfully, for it to be a rivalry. It’s like the Giants and the Jets."