‘Psychological Flexibility’ has Aces guard aplomb
Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (r.) drives by Washington Mystics forward Emily Engstler during a WNBA game on July 4, 2024. The Aces won, 98-77.
PHOTO: Candice Ward/Getty Images, via Las Vegas Aces
By W.G. RAMIREZ
LAS VEGAS -- Aces star Kelsey Plum is easily one of the world's greatest guards in women's basketball.
She's spoken numerous times about the evolution of her game since coach Becky Hammon arrived in 2022.
Whether it's been learning to have the green light from anywhere on the court two seasons back, or an improved stringency on defense last year during the team's second straight championship run, Plum has become as dangerous as any other guard in the WNBA.
Considering what she's overcome with injuries, mental health, and most recently her private life, it's no surprise Plum's most recent prideful attribute has been employing a term she recently learned: "Psychological Flexibility."
Defined by Plum, it’s the ability to adapt in every game and do whatever it takes to help the Aces win.
"Some games it's me running a little more point, sometimes it's me defensively just getting up in people trying to create havoc, sometimes it's me shooting a lot of 3s, sometimes it's me getting into the paint," said Plum, after leading the Aces with 28 points in Thursday's 98-77 win over the Washington Mystics. "And so I just think I pride myself on game to game, figuring out what I got to do to help my team win.
"And I've learned, at the end of the day in this league, you can care about stats and you can care about big numbers, but legacy is about who can win games."
Her second-straight team-leading scoring performance Thursday came on the heels of a season-high 34-point showing in Las Vegas' 88-69 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in front of the fifth-largest crowd (20,366) in WNBA history, in a game moved to T-Mobile Arena.
And while Plum is averaging 18.8 points per game, her will to help the Aces to victory is evident when you consider she's scored less than her average in six of the team's 12 victories. Instead, in those wins, she's shooting 42.5% from the floor, including a 36.8% clip from 3-point range, while she's also averaging 2.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game - all higher analytics than her season numbers.
The Aces have now won six straight, no coincidence since Chelsea Gray made her season debut. Gray's arrival has allowed Las Vegas' star backcourt of Plum and Jackie Young to meld back into the roles they're comfortable playing.
"Chelsea's definitely a part of it," Plum said. "I think that I'm just taking a little bit more of an offensive load off of me, just so I can be more efficient. I've always prided myself in being a very efficient player. I think also throughout the season, you catch a rhythm and a flow. And so I think that I'm just giving myself grace. At the beginning of the season there's just a lot going on - personally, professionally, you know, life is life. And so just giving myself some grace, trying to figure it out. And I know me, I just need time. I just need time to get into a rhythm."
KP GROOVE
Aces guard Kelsey Plum (r.) dips by Washington guard Ariel Atkins during a WNBA game on July 4, 2024. The Aces won, 98-77.
PHOTO: Candice Ward/Getty Images, via Las Vegas Aces
Plum has most certainly found her groove.
Prior to Gray's return, Plum was averaging 18.8 points per game on 37.1% shooting, including 33.3% from 3-point range, hitting an average of 3.1 treys on 9.3 attempts per contest.
During the six-game win streak, with Gray back serving dimes and Plum being able to focus more on rim reads, her stunning drive-and-kick game, and her quick-trigger catch-and-shoot 3s, the 5-foot-8 spark plug is scoring 19.0 per game on 51.3% shooting, including a blistering 44.4% from long-range. She's still making around the same from 3-point range, 3.3 per game, but she's only averaging 7.5 attempts.
That's because with Gray on the floor, she can wait for defenders to close and slip by with a vicious crossover led by a quick first step, and dash toward the rim.
"When her shot selection, the way she distributes, the way she's seeing, she brings a lot of different factors, her screening - that really helps us," Hammon said after Thursday's win. "I think a lot of teams anymore, they want to keep her in front because once she gets into the paint she's just deadly, with either paint screen or the ability to finish.
"I thought she's done a great job these last few games in just picking her spots. She hasn't forced anything, everything's kind of come in the flow and she's making the right reads. She's getting her teammates a lot of open looks. She's just playing the game."
It's also helped that the Aces are back to displaying the kind of chemistry that's produced a much more fun atmosphere when they're all playing to their potential.
"That's always been the identity and spirit of this team, is very joyful, very selfless, very loving," Plum said. "And so I think that that's something that's going to continue throughout the year.
"If there's one thing I've learned in life is, can't get too high can't get too. And, this team is built (through) adversity. We've done it time and time again, even since 2018. I had all the faith in the world, and each individual, our coaching staff, and also that we were just going to figure it out. I think a lot of times when you win consistently, at a very high level, people take it for granted. It's not easy winning, especially when you got a target on your back and everyone's coming in and they want a piece of you. I think that early on, we just weren't good."
But now, thanks to psychological flexibility, the team is winning and one of the most beloved professional athletes in Southern Nevada has fans in awe while she’s found yet another reason to take pride in her game.
"That's what I'd like to be remembered (for)," she said, "just 'Plum figured out a way to help her team win all the time.' And that's what I'm most proud of."
