Kelsey Plum makes shocking Unrivaled Basketball announcement

Following a long season with the Las Vegas Aces, Kelsey Plum has decided to not participate in Unrivaled Basketball despite previously being added to the league. Plum made the announcement on her Instagram story, via Callie Fin of The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Unrivaled Basketball will begin in January. With three spots remaining, it will be interesting to see which players decide to join. As Fin reported, the Aces now have four players participating in the league with Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Tiffany Hayes and Kate Martin. Plum, who is set to be a free agent, will focus on the offseason as opposed to playing in the league.

The Aces will likely core Plum. It appears likely that she will return to Las Vegas for the 2025 season as a result, but anything is possible.

Losing Plum is a big loss for the league. The Aces guard is one of the better players in the WNBA. The 30-year-old has made three All-Star teams in her career. In 2024, Plum averaged 17.8 points per outing on 42.3 percent field goal and 36.8 percent three-point shooting. She also recorded 4.2 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per contest.

It was a down year by Kelsey Plum's standards, but she was still selected to the All-Star team. Additionally, Plum is one of the most popular players in the WNBA. Playing in Las Vegas has helped, of course, since the Aces have been extremely competitive in recent seasons. A'ja Wilson, the Aces best player, is the face of the entire WNBA.

With all of that being said, there is no question that Plum will be missed in Unrivaled Basketball.

Unrivaled Basketball looking for Kelsey Plum replacement

Plum's announcement was not exactly last-minute. The league, as mentioned, does not start until January so there is time to find her replacement.

There were already two remaining spots, though. The league still needs three more players and December is right around the corner.

Unrivaled Basketball will surely add enough players before the league begins, but Plum's departure does leave the league with some uncertainty at the moment.

Nevertheless, Unrivaled should still receive a respectable amount of attention. Plenty of stars are still playing and fans will want to watch. Kelsey Plum will also be tuning in, as she wrote that she is "excited to watch" the league.