Kelsey Plum Admits Winning WNBA Championship Hasn't 'Fully Set In Yet': 'Sometimes I Forget'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty

Kelsey Plumbecame a WNBA champion in September, but theLas Vegas Acesstar admits that the feat still feels surreal.

“Sometimes I forget we won. I don’t know if it’s fully set in,” 28-year-old Plum tells PEOPLE. “That’s kind of how I feel some days.”

Plum thinks that might change when she and the team “go back and get our rings,” but for now, she’s still riding the high from the epic parade Las Vegas threw for the team that brought the city its first-ever professional sports championship.

“The Vegas vibe has been unbelievable,” Plum says. “I didn’t realize the impact that we would have on this community. They just appreciate winning. We’re the first professional franchise to bring a championship to Las Vegas and the people really are just hyped and proud.”

Las Vegas Aces Victory Parade.Ethan Miller/Getty

In fact, Plum has been enjoying all the perks of being a Vegas champ since the big win. “I mean, I get stopped every day just like I’ve never been given so many free valets and free parking and meals and just people thanking me,” she shares.

The Aces guard says bringing a ring to the Nevada city has been particularly special given the struggles the city’s residents have endured in recent years. “I feel like Vegas has taken some hits over the years,” she says, referencingthe 2017 festival shootingand the impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns on the city’s tourism industry.

“The pandemic was really hard on Vegas,” says Plum. “And then obviously the shooting that happened a few years ago, so I just think that these people were ready for something and it was really cool to be able to give it to them.”

The Aces' championship parade brought out “over 20,000 people” to celebrate the team’s win. “It was like pandemonium, it was epic,” says Plum. “The parade was out of this world. I mean, they were supposed to shut down half the strip. They ended up shutting down the entire strip.”

But for Plum, the championship mentality doesn’t mean the Aces will slack off going into next season.

“It’s been wonderful, but we’re going to continue to grow,” the reigning WNBA All-Star MVP says. “One of the reasons we were successful this year is because everyone came in really hungry and there was definitely a competitive fire within our team.”

“We really think that we have an opportunity here to build something bigger than basketball, you could say, in terms of just being able to bring in people that maybe weren’t aware of the Aces or the WNBA before,” Plum tells PEOPLE.

“Trust that we’re ready to go.”

David Dow/NBAE via Getty

Until then, the WNBA champ is channeling her competitive spirit into a different kind of basketball game. On Dec. 9, she andNew York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescuwill battle it out in an NBA2K competition as part of herpartnership with American Express.

The matchup between the two WNBA superstars will be aired live on Twitch. Plum, a regular gamer herself, says, “I’m competing against Sabrina, so there’s probably going to be a lot of trash talk. It’s something that I’m excited about because I might not be the best player, but I’m definitely practicing right now.”

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Plum promises she’ll “be ready when the time comes,” but she’s definitely aware that her opponent will bring the heat. “First of all, number one, she has devilish tendencies in her,” Plum says of her good friend Ionescu.

“Number two, don’t just go along with it and allow her to feel like she’s innocent or whatever! A lot of people think she’s a good child, but there’s something in there,” Plum laughs. “She went to Oregon.”

For those looking to catch the matchup in-person, or brush up on their 2K skills, The American Express x NBA 2K23 Lab will be a four-day immersive pop-up experience in SoHo from December 8-11, and will give fans the opportunity to sharpen their 2K skills with 1:1 lessons from game experts.

source: people.com