TORONTO — The Los Angeles Sparks suffered a significant blow Wednesday when the team announced that star guard Kelsey Plum will be sidelined with a lower left leg injury and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The injury sidelines one of the WNBA's premier guards and comes at a difficult time for a Sparks team that has battled injuries throughout the season. The team is already short of Cameron Brink, who is expected to be out for the next few weeks. Plum had already missed three games earlier this year after suffering an ankle injury in practice and then another game due to that same lower leg injury.
“I think it’s been an accumulation over time of heavy, heavy usage,” Plum had told Sparks media member Justin Russo recently.
It was also noticeable that Plum was wearing tape on her leg during last Sunday's 30th Season Anniversary Game. She wore even more tape in the second half and she was limping by the end of the game.
The Sparks (8-8) are 1-3 without Plum this season. The team will likely move Rae Burrell to the starting line-up while she's out. They also signed guard Kiana Williams away from the Mercury to reduce the minutes for Plum and Erica Wheeler. Now they'll need Williams more than ever. And since that's a lot of points to replace, Nneka Ogwumike, Dearica Hamby, Ariel Atkins, and Burrell will be carrying more of the scoring load for the team.
Plum had been exceptional in the 2026 campaign, averaging a career-best 23.9 points and handing out 6.4 assists per game. The Sparks are 7-1 in games when she dishes out seven or more assists. Plum has also been incredible at the rim, shooting an outstanding 86 percent this season.
But for the next month or so, the Sparks will have to go on without their dynamic scoring lead guard. They will playing the Tempo in Toronto on Thursday.