Kelsey Plum Sparks Mercury Debut With 20-Point Win Over Sky
Kelsey Plum wasted no time making an impact in Phoenix, scoring 20 points in her Mercury debut and helping them beat the Chicago Sky 106-101. The performance came just days after the Mercury acquired the five-time All-Star from the Los Angeles Sparks in a blockbuster trade.
Plum’s Phoenix debut instantly changed the WNBA conversation
Kelsey Plum’s first game with the Phoenix Mercury gave the team an immediate jolt and turned last week’s trade into one of the league’s most consequential moves. Plum scored 20 points in a 106-101 win over the Chicago Sky, and the victory came less than 48 hours after the Mercury acquired her from the Los Angeles Sparks.
The trade itself was a blockbuster: Phoenix sent Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to Los Angeles for the five-time All-Star. Plum joined a Mercury team that had already been active in major roster moves in recent seasons, and her arrival has been framed as a swing for both the present and the future because she is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
The debut also carried extra weight because it came against Chicago, with the Mercury using Plum as an immediate offensive boost in a game they needed to win. Coverage around the move has centered on how quickly she was expected to matter, and her first outing delivered exactly that.