Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the WNBA daily as we try to heal from this pandemic.
Kelsey Plum scored a career-high in a blowout against the Liberty.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal.)
So we know Kelsey Plum. She was drafted first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017. Kelsey’s scoring prowess was well-known; she is, after all, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s hoops history.
Kelsey isn’t scoring as much in the WNBA but she still has a deadeye shot. Coming into this season, her career shooting percentage from three was .387 while her free throw percentage was at .872. But the 5’8″ guard from Washington had a different role with the Stars/Aces and that was to help set the table. She had a promising 2019 postseason before she sat out the Wubble due to a tear on her Achilles.
Fast forward to this year. On her first game back from the 3-on-3 Olympic qualifiers, she didn’t do so well. She scored four points in limited time against the New York Liberty on June 3rd. She would reveal in her postgame interview on Tuesday that there was a bit more motivation (paraphrasing) on doing better against the same Liberty team.
A bit more motivation could be an understatement. Kelsey scored a career-high 32 points against the Liberty in a blowout win. She hadn’t scored more than 23 points in a WNBA game. We saw a lot of moves that made her such a deadly scorer. She shot well from the perimeter. She did a lot of hesitation dribbles to the basket. There was a lot of probing before making the drives. Kelsey went 11 for 16 from the floor in an Aces field day. She also fell one point short on tying the record for most points by a bench player in a game; funny enough, her current teammate, Angel McCoughtry (who is sadly out for this season due to a knee injury), holds the record with 33 points.
Kelsey Plum comes off the bench now (as opposed to her previous three years when she started most of those games) so she has a bit more freedom to score since she’s leading the second unit. With Kayla McBride in Minnesota now and McCoughtry out for the season, Plum may have a few more shots this season than previously. Her presence could also be the difference between an Aces Finals berth and a championship.
Bullet Passes
Look at the Chicago Sky go on a roll! That’s three straight wins after that really bad 7-game skid.
6 players scored in double figures. And we saw Allie Quigley go for 23 points off the bench. Courtney Vandersloot also had a double-double with 10 points and 13 dimes.
Napheesa Collier scored 27 against the Sky but she didn’t attempt another shot after halfway through the third quarter. Woof.
Predictably, the Seattle Storm, who were 10-2 coming into Tuesday’s games, smashed the Indiana Fever, who were 1-11 then. Yikes.
Sue Bird is now 2nd in career three-pointers.
.@S10Bird is now 2nd all-time in 3PM 👏#CountIt pic.twitter.com/CazNcauqT9
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 15, 2021
But I doubt she’s going to catch Diana Taurasi.
WNBA Scoreboard
June 15, 2021
Watch This Play
Kelsey did score a bunch but it’s this pass that got my attention that day. Great cut and finish by Jackie Young.
OH, WHAT A FIND 😱
💻 https://t.co/DmZgIy4o21 pic.twitter.com/3PLV4fiC7C
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 16, 2021
What a night Kelsey Plum had.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the WNBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.