The Los Angeles Sparks have traded five-time WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round draft pick and a 2028 second-round selection, ESPN reported on Saturday, hours before the league’s trade deadline.
Plum, who turns 32 on Aug. 24, has not played since June 21 because of a left leg injury. Despite appearing in only 12 games this season, she is averaging career highs of 23.9 points and 6.4 assists per game.
The veteran guard also missed three games in late May and early June with an ankle injury before returning for six appearances ahead of the leg issue.
Across eight-plus WNBA seasons, Plum has averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 290 regular-season games, including 248 starts.
She missed the entire 2020 campaign after suffering an Achilles injury but returned to win the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year award in 2021.
Plum was a key member of the Las Vegas Aces teams that captured back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. She has averaged 17.4 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 35 playoff games.
The former first overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft out of the University of Washington has been selected to the All-Star Game in each of the last five seasons, although injury prevented her from participating this year.
Phoenix receive one of the league’s premier offensive guards, while Los Angeles add 25-year-old Akoa Makani along with future draft assets.
Akoa Makani is averaging 9.7 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 18 games this season. In two years with the Mercury, she has averaged 8.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds across 59 appearances.
The Sparks are 10-17 and sit 5.5 games behind the eighth-placed New York Liberty in the race for the final playoff spot, while the Mercury are 11-19.
