Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters on Friday that veteran guard Kelsey Plum will miss the team’s next game on Sunday against the Portland Fire.
Plum is expected to be re-evaluated after that game to see if she will be able to return for Phoenix’s next game, which isn’t until Saturday, August 22.
The veteran guard missed Phoenix’s last game against the Los Angeles Sparks in what would have been a game against her former team. Plum was acquired at the 2026 WNBA trade deadline in an infamous move that saw Los Angeles pick up a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and guard Monique Akoa Makani.
Without Plum, the Mercury picked up the 94-87 win over the Sparks, ending a three-game losing streak.
The veteran guard didn’t play in the second half of Phoenix’s game against the Washington Mystics on August 9th due to “left calf tightness.”
Plum has reportedly been with the team but has not been able to run 5-on-5s with them. She has been able to get in some conditioning, per The Athletic’s Annie Costabile.
The 31-year-old has only been able to play four games with her new team. When she was acquired, she was coming back from a lower-left leg injury that had caused her to miss more than a month of action with Los Angeles.
The main reason why her getting traded to Phoenix was controversial was that Plum is only under contract through this season. The Mercury only have nine regular season games left, and Plum has already been ruled out for one of them.
Phoenix is currently six games back of a playoff berth. If the Mercury don’t qualify for the postseason and Plum signs elsewhere in free agency, the franchise could have traded a first-round pick for a handful of games.
When Plum has been healthy with Phoenix, she has played well. In her first three games with the team, she averaged 25 minutes and 21.3 points per game.
One other aspect of Plum’s status is the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup. Plum was added to the Team USA roster, and the tournament is scheduled to run from September 4 to 13.
Phoenix likely isn’t being extra cautious just for that, but it could be a factor. Even if Plum participating isn’t the factor, the veteran guard will not get the near-month break that non-participants get in early September.