Sparks' Kelsey Plum Looks to Make Statement Against Paige Bueckers

The rookie sensation, selected first overall in this year's WNBA Draft, is currently averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and two steals per game for the Wings.

Only veteran guard Arike Ogunbowale, Buecker's backcourt running mate, is averaging more points per game (17.3).

Bueckers has played over 30 minutes in all but one game — with recent comfortability reflected in back-to-back 15-plus point, five-plus rebound, seven-plus assist and two-plus steal performances against the Sun and Chicago Sky, respectively.

Dallas currently runs an offensive rating of 102.6 when Bueckers is on the court — which nearly sits atop the league's best — but a net rating of -28.7 when she’s off the court, per a X post.

Furthermore, Bueckers was the fastest starter in WNBA history to reach 40-plus points and 20-plus assists.

Bueckers' recent success will collide Friday with that of Kelsey Plum's.

The Sparks' star guard has led Los Angeles offensively throughout nearly the entirety of 2025 thus far — and sits within numerous MVP ladder rankings.

Plum has combined for 32 points across the Sparks' last two contests, and poured in 27 points, four steals and five assists on 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc three games prior against the Atlanta Dream on May 27.

She tied Allie Quigley for 18th in WNBA history in made triples and reached 3,500-plus career points in the career night against the Dream. A quartet of steals marked her seventh career four-plus steal performance — and her third since May 16.

Plum and Bueckers, both looking to get their respective teams back on track and into the win column, headline Friday night's sure-fire instant classic

Dallas' Ogunbowale and Los Angeles' Odyssey Sims — who scored 32 points in Sunday's loss, nearly matching a career high — look to compliment the two in the starting backcourt.