Aug 25, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum (0) shoots a free throw towards the Washington Mystics within the second half at Mortgage Matchup Middle. Necessary Credit score: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Pictures Kelsey Plum’s season with the Phoenix Mercury has come to an finish — and her participation with the U.S. ladies’s basketball group within the 2026 FIBA Girls’s World Cup is over earlier than it started.
Plum, who’s coping with an harm to her decrease left leg, posted the information Monday on social media.
“I did all the things I may to be again on the courtroom, however simply ran out of time,” she wrote on Instagram. “After cautious consideration and conversations with my household, group medical doctors, teaching employees, and entrance workplace, the choice has been made to close it down via (the) the rest of the season and give attention to getting my physique again to 100%.”
Plum joined Las Vegas Aces star and fellow two-time World Cup gold medalist A’ja Wilson in pulling out of the occasion Monday, USA Basketball introduced.
A particular harm was not introduced for Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP for the Las Vegas Aces.
Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron and ahead Kiki Iriafen had been added to the U.S. group, which is able to compete on the World Cup which begins Friday in Berlin.
Plum, 32, missed six weeks earlier this season as a consequence of harm and made her Mercury debut on Aug. 3, someday after Phoenix acquired the five-time All-Star from the Los Angeles Sparks in alternate for guard Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round draft decide and a 2028 second-round choice.
Over 17 video games (15 begins) this season, Plum averaged 21.5 factors, 5.4 assists and a pair of.1 rebounds. In 5 appearances (three begins) for Phoenix, she averaged 15.8 factors and a pair of.8 assists.
“Kelsey is a competitor, and he or she needs nothing greater than to be on the courtroom together with her teammates and competing for the Mercury,” basic supervisor Nick U’Ren stated in an announcement. “We all know how a lot it means to her to play, and the way a lot she means to our followers. In the end, this was about doing what’s finest for Kelsey’s long-term well being and ensuring she has the time and help she must return to the courtroom at full energy.”
–Subject Stage Media
