The Golden State Valkyries’ 89-81 overtime victory on Monday night didn’t just drop the Los Angeles Sparks’ record to 3-7, but it also likely provided a hit to Kelsey Plum’s bank account.
Taking the podium following her team’s fourth defeat in its last five games, the 3-time WNBA All-Star took aim at the league’s officiating in an expletive-filled rant. And Plum was clearly aware of the inevitable consequences of her actions, noting multiple times that she knew she’d likely be fined.
“I’m going to get fined for saying this, but I drive more than anyone in the league. So to shoot six free throws is f*cking absurd,” the 30-year-old began. “I got scratches on my face, I got scratches on my body and these guards on the other team get these ticky-tack fouls and I’m sick of it. I get fouled like that every possession. [Sparks forward] Rickea [Jackson] gets fouled like that in the post all the time and they don’t call it. I don’t know what else to do. But it’s really frustrating though.”
Plum proceeded to call attention to specific instances in the game in which she felt officials missed calls, with her frustration only becoming more apparent
“There are multiple shots at the end of the game, either going into the third, into the fourth, where they’re just coming and f*cking swinging and they just don’t call anything. I don’t understand how that’s — six free throws. I’m playing 40 minutes, touching the paint on almost every play. It’s absurd. It’s absurd. So I’m saying I’ll get fined for that and that’s fine, but I mean — and I needed to make more shots like late-game — but they’re fouling the s*it out of me every single play. I’m very frustrated with that. And I’m sick of it. I’m sick of it. I don’t know what I need to do. I’ve talked to the refs nice, I pray before the game. Like, f*ck. I’m over it.”
For what it’s worth, Plum’s 5.6 free throw attempts per game through her first 10 contests as a member of the Sparks are currently the most she has averaged in a single season during her eight-year career. And the six free throws she took on Monday were also the most Kelsey Plum taken since her team’s third game of the season when she took 10 attempts from the charity stripe during a loss to the Phoenix Mercury.
That’s not to say that her criticism is invalid; in fact, if anything, her frustration seemingly stems from more than just one game. And with the Sparks set to face her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, on Wednesday, we won’t have to wait long to see whether her words will result in more free throw attempts or an even tougher whistle than the one she’s already faced.
In the meantime, however, Kelsey Plum can likely anticipate returning to Sin City with a wallet that’s lighter than the one she carried on Monday.