NBA Insider Defends Sparks’ Kelsey Plum Over Caitlin Clark Comments

"It was a very powerful moment. As players, we didn't know that that was going to happen. It was a genuine surprise," Plum said. "The t-shirt ... was determined this morning that we had a meeting for.

"Not to tattletale, but zero members of Team Clark were very present for that," she added, laughing. "I'm trying to make the situation lighter ... we wanted to do something that was collective."

Despite the overall statement made in Plum's message, the attempted joke against Team Clark caused a plethora of social media reactions.

ESPN senior writer and NBA insider Ramona Shelburne defended Plum in a recent X post on Monday, following the weekend's events.

"WNBA players —including Kelsey Plum— had been discussing the “Pay Us What You Owe Us” t-shirts for over a week, according to multiple sources," Shelburne said. "They settled on the idea at a breakfast Saturday morning that very few players on Team Clark attended because of the early start.

"But just to make sure, sources said Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier went by the Team Clark locker room before the game to make sure others were on board with the idea & plan. They were," she added.

"I thought it was fairly obvious Kelsey Plum tried to make a joke that didn’t land," Shelburne continued. "The meeting where players decided to wear the shirts was at 8:30 am on Saturday. Understandable that not many from Team Clark made it."