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Kelsey Plum Scores 20 in Mercury Debut, Hits Go-Ahead 3 Against Chicago

Grant Afseth 376 August 4, 2026Fact checked by: Sara Jane Gamelli Be First

Kelsey Plum scored 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench in her Phoenix Mercury debut on Monday night, and her corner 3-pointer with 53 seconds left put Phoenix ahead for good in a 106-101 win over the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena.

Kelsey Plum, WNBA, Phoenix Mercury.
(Photo by Michael Hirschuber/Getty Images)

Plum shot 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. She added 1 rebound, 4 assists, and 3 turnovers in just over 20 minutes, helping Phoenix outscore Chicago by a 12-point margin in her time on the court.

Monday was her first game since June 21, when she sustained a left lower leg injury against the New York Liberty. Through 13 games this season, she has averaged 23.6 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.1 rebounds. Los Angeles traded her Saturday for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick. She flew in from Portland, Oregon, where the Sparks had been playing, and landed in Chicago late Sunday night.

One Shootaround

Plum landed at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, went through one shootaround Monday morning, and had not played a competitive game in six weeks. Her performance was inspirational for Phoenix's group.

"Yeah, I mean, I was just telling our group, I don't think she's played in six weeks either, right? She's been out — I don't know if it's been five weeks or seven weeks, but it's been a while. And so to get in last night at 10:30, and to have one shootaround and come out and play the way she did — yeah, a hell of a first performance by her," Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said.

Phoenix capped Plum near 20 minutes in her first game back, and she knew the number when she met with reporters at Wintrust Arena that afternoon. Before being traded by the Sparks, she was planning to play with the same restriction in place.

"I think first and foremost, you have to be present. This is the best league in the world. Chicago's a tough team. So my focus tonight is go out and compete. Obviously minutes-wise, I think I'm allowed to play 20, so I'm going to give the 20 best minutes I possibly can," Plum said pregame.

Her only work with the team before tip-off was Monday's shootaround, and the trade had come through Saturday while the Sparks were in Portland. However, she already studied film and the Mercury's playbook before joining the team.

"I'm not really too concerned about practice, things like that. I've watched film on them. I've studied the playbook. I had a lot of plane flights to do that. So I think that for me, I'm as prepared as I can be. Also minus the fact that I haven't played basketball for five weeks in terms of competitive. So it's a cocktail for success as far as I'm concerned," Plum said.

Fifteen Half-Court Possessions

Play-type tracking credited Plum with 15 possessions, all of them in the half-court. She produced 19 points on those possessions at 1.267 points per possession, with a 75.0% effective field goal mark and 80.8% true shooting. None of her possessions came in transition.

Pick-and-roll ball-handler accounted for 4 of them, 26.7% of her tracked time, and produced 6 points on 2-of-2 shooting from three. Handoffs came next at 3 possessions and 6 points. Isolations produced 3 points on 3 possessions, including 1-of-1 from three. Spot-ups returned 2 points on 3 possessions. Two cuts produced 2 points. Fourteen of the 15 possessions came against man coverage, generating 17 points. Three came in the last four seconds of the shot clock.

Phoenix scored 29 points in the second quarter and led 55-47 at halftime, and Plum had committed 3 turnovers by the end of the game.

"I think my teammates are just doing a great job of having great spacing," Plum said at halftime. "Coach is making it super easy for me. I've got to take care of the ball better, but I mean, it's a good second-half team, so we've got to figure out how to get the boards and get stops."

Chicago outscored Phoenix 30-23 in the third quarter.

What Phoenix Ran

Phoenix kept the offense to basic WNBA actions in Plum's first game, which is what Plum had described at Wintrust Arena hours before tip-off. Having a passer like Alyssa Thomas as a teammate only helped.

"A lot of the framework is similar to what, you know... No one's reinventing basketball in terms of actions and things like that. I think AT makes it really easy to play off of, and so I think just really being aware of her, moving without the ball," Plum said.

Thomas screened for Plum on a large share of those possessions. Phoenix also brought a third player into the action, including Zoom. Early shot clock was a staple. Thomas either handed the ball to Plum or came to set the screen, and several of those possessions started with Thomas grabbing the defensive rebound and looking ahead.

Thomas pulled down 13 defensive rebounds and finished with 12 assists, and Plum was capped near 20 minutes. Thomas made it a point to feed the ball to Plum as much as she could, knowing her time would be limited.

"It's a huge lift. You know, I think it takes load off of me, off of Kah, off of DB," Thomas said. "It just gives us a different look, a different style of play. I mean, she was second in the league in scoring. So whenever you can find an easy opportunity to get her the ball, especially knowing our minute restriction, that's what I was trying to do. And it opens it up for me too, so just whenever I can get it up to her and get her an easy screen, I mean, she makes the right play."

Playing Small Ball

Phoenix went small at times in the second half with Thomas at the five, which put Kamilla Cardoso on the floor as the defending big with Plum spaced out and Thomas handling the pick-and-roll. Chicago played a possession of zone in which Thomas caught the ball in the middle, and Plum cut to the basket for a finish. Tracking credited Plum with 1 possession against zone for 2 points.

Plum's re-drive gives Phoenix another counter. When the finish or the spray-out is not there, she can get to a turnaround in short range when all else fails, as she did.

Phoenix shot 42.3% from three on 26 attempts and scored 106 points, its highest total since Thomas returned to the lineup. Thomas was already comfortable with Plum. The level of attention she commanded opened up the rest of the offense.

"I mean, KP, she knows how to score the ball," Thomas said. "We knew it would make a big difference for our team. It just gave us a lot more space to operate, and yeah, it makes it really hard to key on one player. So I'm super happy to have her. I mean, 20 points in 20 minutes is — that's crazy."

Phoenix has the World Cup break to install sets, plus shootarounds and practices before it. The variations available with Plum and Thomas at either end of a pick-and-roll depend on how coverages come, and defenses will have a hard time staying in rotation against them. Keeping one of the two on the floor at all times is also available to Tibbetts.

Tibbetts on Plum's Fit

The trade closed Saturday, and Tibbetts pulled up Plum's Los Angeles clips a day later. Plum has won two championships with the Las Vegas Aces and has played on USA Basketball teams with Thomas and Kahleah Copper.

"So yesterday, I got an opportunity to just kind of watch some of her clips from LA, and just watching them play, it just felt like she was going to fit into some of the things that we did, naturally," Tibbetts said. "And the great thing about KP is she's played around great players, you know, just her being in Vegas and the USA team, and obviously in LA. It's just a natural fit. She's super smart. She loves the game. And yeah, I think it's going to open up a lot."

Phoenix plays at Atlanta on Wednesday, the second stop on a road trip that started in Chicago. A lot of what Phoenix will do to integrate Plum during the ongoing road trip will be done using film.

"I don't think we're going to have to — you know, we'll change and evolve a little bit as the season goes here," Tibbetts said. "We're not going to have a lot of time the next eight or nine days, because games are going to come quick. So we're going to have to learn over video, but it was a great first game by her."

Will Plum Return to Phoenix?

Plum reaches unrestricted free agency this offseason on an expiring one-year contract, and Phoenix pursued her in each of the last two offseasons before landing her at the deadline.

"I mean, there's a reason why we've tried to go get KP the last couple off-seasons. This is something that we thought that she would be a good fit next to these two," Tibbetts said.

Plum spent years defending Thomas' inverted screens, most recently with the Los Angeles Sparks. Thomas finished Monday with 12 assists. Plum sees a lot of opportunity to complement Thomas by playing with pace and space.

"I think it's one of the most difficult actions to guard in the league," Plum said pregame. "She's a freight train coming down the lane, and yeah, I've been at the receiving end of a lot of those shoulder hits. So I'm grateful to not be on that other side anymore. But I think at the end of the day, one of the things about her, she's just one of the best passers in the world. So I think you just got to be able to read that ball screen coverage and let her do her thing and give her space and just play with pace. And she's going to make the play for me. All I have to do is convert."

Plum played just over 20 minutes, more than every Phoenix player except Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Copper, and Valeriane Ayayi. During the game, Plum felt good about where she's at physically.

"I feel good. I swear my cardio is good. But no, I feel good out there, and yeah, I'm just grateful to be back," Plum said at halftime.

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Alyssa Thomas' Triple-Double

Thomas finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists on 5-of-9 shooting and 9-of-9 from the line. The 15 rebounds were a season high. She competed at a high level with clear urgency to get a win and keep Phoenix's postseason hopes alive.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of fun for me. At times you feel like a fan. Yeah, it was a heck of a performance," Tibbetts said. "I think she's got maybe two triple-doubles in the last four games, something like that. She was nine for nine from the free throw line, made some big-time plays against Cardoso down the stretch defensively. Just battled. You know, she's all about winning, and that's what makes her so special. It just burns her up when we lose. And so yeah, she's just driven in a special way to compete at a high level, to do whatever it takes."

Monday was the first time Thomas and Plum shared a floor outside of USA Basketball, and Thomas played 37 minutes to Plum's 20. Thomas already shares a sense of familiarity with Plum's game. There is significant excitement about what Plum brings to Phoenix, including her ability to get downhill and score.

"I mean, I already know how to play with KP, but it's great to have her out there," Thomas said. "She just brings a whole other dynamic to the team — her IQ and just how she's able to get downhill and score. So we're super happy to have her, and she had a great game today."

Kahleah Copper's 31

Copper often looked like an afterthought in Chicago's coverage as possessions developed. She took open shots and clean drives and scored 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 4-of-8 from three, and 7-of-12 at the line. Twenty of those points came after halftime.

Copper spent the first six years of her career in Chicago and won a title with the Sky in 2021. She went 7-of-12 at the free-throw line Monday.

"Yeah, I mean, Kah's a scorer. She was comfortable tonight. Obviously, she spent a good chunk of her career here. She's got great respect for the city of Chicago and the Sky, and always looks forward to coming back and playing here," Tibbetts said. "But yeah, she kept trying to press me in the first half for her, and KP, and AT to be together out on the floor. But I had told her and the team that with the minutes restrictions, at times it was going to be a little bit crazy with our lineups. But yeah, I thought she had it going early. She did a really good job of making some reads, and then yeah, now we just got to get her in the gym to work on our free throws a little bit. We'll be good after that."

Copper reached the podium after Tibbetts had described her reaction to the trade as that of a kid in a candy store. There is a clear excitement to have Plum in Phoenix.

"The competitive spirit. She a hooper. Just to have another dog out there alongside of us, I mean, it's just — she's an incredible player. To be able to have her at this point in the season, yes, it makes me very happy."

The Last Three Minutes

Chicago led 99-92 with 3:22 left, a score and a clock Tibbetts gave from memory at the podium before a staffer handed him a box score.

"Earlier in the year, we probably would've given in, right? Because that was a tough one, coming back from that," Tibbetts said. "But this time of year, especially for us, it's just figuring out a way to win, and we did that tonight."

Phoenix took a timeout during that stretch, and Chicago scored 2 points the rest of the way. Phoenix locked in defensively after embracing a goal of stringing together three consecutive stops.

"We knew we had to guard. We got to a point where we were just — we were hooping," Copper said. "We were exchanging buckets, but they were up. So it was just important for us to string together some stops. We came to that timeout and was like, 'Let's get three stops in a row.' And then we just started getting stops. We knew we were scoring, but we needed to string together some stops. So I'm just proud of how we were able to put it together down the stretch."

Plum Was Clutch Down the Stretch

Plum's corner three made it 103-101. Following a timeout with 11 seconds remaining, Bonner blocked a Courtney Vandersloot layup attempt and made two free throws at the other end. Copper ended it with a steal on the ensuing inbound.

"That's just having a high IQ. You know where the ball had been going the last few possessions. I'm looking at the inbounder. Their action was a little bit delayed. I would've had to lag anyway, so I just read it," Copper said.

Bonner finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Ayayi added 11 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting. Chicago scored 20 points in the second quarter, its lowest total of the game, and 30 in the third, its highest.

"Huge. I thought offensively we did some good things," Tibbetts said. "Defensively, the second quarter was the standard that we want to play at. I didn't think defensively we were as good as we needed to be."

What Phoenix Gave Up

Mercury general manager Nick U'Ren met with reporters Sunday, a day after the trade and a day before Plum's debut. Phoenix sent Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2028 second-round pick to Los Angeles. U'Ren praised the player the Mercury are getting and emphasized that Phoenix has been interested in adding her for a long time.

"Kelsey's one of the most impactful players in our league," U'Ren said. "We've coveted her for a long time because of her skill, because of her toughness, because of her character, because of her work ethic. So for those reasons, I'm so excited to add her to our current group, and we hope we're building something that she'll be a part of for a long time."

Plum is on a one-year contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, which would have given Phoenix a path to her without a trade. Phoenix sees the trade as worth the investment by giving Plum a chance to evaluate them as a long-term option before committing to a new contract in free agency.

"The chance to get Kelsey into our four walls and have her feel what we're all about, have her feel our staff, our players, our organizational dynamic, was really important to us," U'Ren said. "So we wanted to be aggressive in getting her here as early as possible."

Phoenix reached the WNBA Finals last season and was swept by the Aces.

Courtney Vandersloot, Kamilla Cardoso Lead Chicago

Vandersloot scored 16 points and handed out 10 assists. Cardoso added 16 points and 13 rebounds. DiJonai Carrington also scored 16, and Natasha Cloud finished with 13 points and 7 assists. Sydney Taylor scored 14 points in 17 minutes before leaving with a left groin injury. Skylar Diggins did not dress because of a right knee issue.

Chicago outscored Phoenix 48-40 in the paint and 15-8 on fast breaks. The Sky shot 48.7% and turned the ball over 8 times. Phoenix committed 12 turnovers and shot 50.8%.

Phoenix is 12-19. Chicago is 11-19. The Mercury play at the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday. The Sky host the Los Angeles Sparks the same night.

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