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Kelsey Plum Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Aces All-Star guard addresses controversial words after Liberty forward calls comments 'classless'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 10/20/23

Las Vegas Aces All-Star guard Kelsey Plum cleared the air Friday morning after she says her recent comments about the New York Liberty were taken out of context.

The Liberty conducted exit interviews on Friday, two days after falling in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to Plum's Aces. With the victory, Las Vegas clinched their second straight championship.

Following the win, per Cassandra Negley of Yahoo Sports, Plum said of her opponents: "We also knew that, as much as they’re a team, they’re not a team, if that makes sense. They’re really good individual players, but they don’t care about each other. And you can tell in those moments. They revert back to individual basketball."

New York star forward Jonquel Jones responded to Plum's words during the exit interview, calling it "classless."

Since the media wants to do click bait, imma cut this drama out right now so we can move on and be in peace. What I said was taken extremely out of context. I was trying to articulate my teammates and I have been through a lot and we used our bond to get over the hump. https://t.co/FgD7STZTEN
— Kelsey Plum (@Kelseyplum10) October 20, 2023

"And getting through it doesn’t happen over night. Never been the type to throw shade, quite the opposite actually," Plum continued in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I see how it came off, never was my intention and I apologize. Our game grew immensely from this series, don’t let this (bull s***) detract from the biggest win here."

Liberty All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu addressed Plum's critical words as well, prior to the two-time champion's apology on social media.

Sabrina Ionescu on KP's comments: "That couldn't be further from the truth. I've never been on a team that's been more committed to one another than what it's been like this year. We had players that came together in a short amount of time... to try to win." (Q: @ClassicJpow)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) October 20, 2023

Sabrina Ionescu on team's closeness: "Nothing short of amazing. There was no drama within this group. We bent, but we didn't break. It was a testament to our culture, what Sandy built here... and it started with our commitment off the court, on the court." (Q: @OwenPence)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) October 20, 2023

It's hard to tell exactly how much of Plum's comments were a purposeful direct shot at the star-studded New York squad and how much was misinterpreted. Either way, it made sense for Jones to react the way she did, and it was good to see the University Washington product address her previous words in the end.

With a core of Plum, 2022 MVP A'ja Wilson and All-Star guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, the Aces don't appear to be going anywhere. Led by two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, plus Ionescu and Jones, the Liberty could be right back in contention for a title in 2024 as well.

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