Kelsey Plum, the WNBA’s leader in points per game, left practice Tuesday with an injury to her right leg. Rick Scuteri / Imagn Images
May 26, 2026 Updated 9:40 pm EDT
Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum left Tuesday’s practice with a left ankle sprain, the team announced. She will be evaluated again in a week.
Plum had to be helped off the floor after sustaining the injury, per multiple people in attendance, and she did not return to practice. Los Angeles plays three times during her expected absence: at Washington, at Connecticut and at home against Las Vegas.
Kelsey Plum appeared to suffer a right lower leg injury during practice today and was helped off the floor by several players. Lynne Roberts said after practice that it “looks like an ankle” injury but that they do not know how bad.
— Justin Russo (@flybyknite.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 2:45 PM
The veteran guard has had a tremendous start to her ninth WNBA season — her second with Los Angeles after being acquired in a trade from the Las Vegas Aces during the 2025 offseason. She is leading the league in points per game (26.8) while making 58.9 percent of her field goals and 48.8 percent of her 3-pointers. Plum is also tied for fifth in the WNBA with 6.3 assists per game; the points and assists marks would both be the highest figures of her career.
Los Angeles already has been dealing with injuries to begin the season. Ariel Atkins missed two games with a concussion, Sania Feagin is out with a leg injury, and Nneka Ogwumike missed one game with a hand injury before returning to practice Tuesday.
The Sparks entered the season with hopes of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Plum is central to that effort, highlighted by her 38-point, nine-assist effort in Los Angeles’ 101- 95 upset over Las Vegas last week without Ogwumike.
Plum was sidelined because of a torn Achilles in 2020, but she has been mostly an iron woman since, missing only four games from 2022 to 2026. She ranks second in the league in minutes per game (35.2) behind Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard.
A long-term injury for Plum could affect her availability for the FIBA World Cup in September. She has been a stalwart for USA Basketball during her professional career. She won gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics and also helped the USA to gold in the inaugural 3×3 event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
May 27, 2026
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