Sparks' Kelsey Plum Sounds Alarm on State of WNBA

Jul 18, 2025 4:23 PM EDT

Fans and players alike are gearing up for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, which kicks off Friday in Indianapolis with the Kia WNBA skills challenge and Starry 3-point contest.

Sharpshooters such as Sabrina Ionescu, Sonia Citron and Allisha Gray will vie for supremacy in the latter contest alongside Los Angeles Sparks veteran guard Kelsey Plum.

Just ahead of the All-Star festivities, Plum sat down with NBA Today’s Malika Andrews to address league officiating.

“I mean, the officials are put in a really tough spot,” she said. “The league is faster and more dynamic than it’s ever been … Players and coaches are really just asking for a level of consistency from the first to the fourth. So if a foul is a foul on the first, it’s got to be a foul on the fourth.”

Plum added that the pendulum has swung between “ticky-tack fouls” and letting physicality go unchecked, eroding the game’s integrity.

“Everyone’s just looking for consistency, but I don’t envy their job … as we continue to grow, we want to pay officials what they need so they feel like their final destination is the WNBA,” she added.

Selected first overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Stars (now Las Vegas Aces), Plum spent her first seven seasons with the Stars/Aces, winning back-to-back championships with Vegas in 2022 and 2023.

She has earned four WNBA All-Star nods, captured Sixth Player of the Year honors in 2021 and was named All-WNBA first team and All-Star game MVP in 2022.

Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10). — Source: Darren Yamashita

Plum joined the Los Angeles Sparks in February and is currently enjoying one of her best seasons yet, averaging 20.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Plum’s comments underscore a growing consensus: the WNBA’s growth in athleticism, talent and intensity demands matching standards in officiating, especially with the league experiencing record-high numbers in viewership and fan engagement.