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Alexa Philippou
The first domino in WNBA free agency fell Sunday — and it was a massive one.
In a blockbuster three-team trade, the Las Vegas Aces acquired Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd while sending Aces guard Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
The Storm are acquiring the No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and forward Li Yueru from the Sparks, as well as Las Vegas’ 2026 first-round pick, sources told ESPN. Los Angeles receives the 2025 No. 9 pick and a 2026 second-round pick from Seattle. The Aces receive the 2025 No. 13 pick from the Sparks.
The deal will be made official Feb. 1, sources told ESPN.
It is the first instance in league history with a trade involving multiple No. 1 overall picks.
Plum entered the offseason as a free agent, an indication that her time in Las Vegas — as part of the championship-winning core alongside A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray — may be coming to an end.
By being cored by the organization, Plum’s only way of changing teams was to get traded, but she had to sign off on her final destination.
Loyd, meanwhile, was not set to become a free agent until 2026. News of her trade request came out after her allegations of harassment and bullying against the Storm coaching staff. That prompted an external investigation that concluded without finding any violations.
The two shooting guards share similar trajectories as pros. They were both No. 1 overall draft picks — Loyd in 2015 to Seattle; Plum in 2017 to San Antonio, which relocated to Las Vegas one year later. They both emerged as all-WNBA talent and perennial All-Stars, each winning a pair of championships with their respective franchises. They established their value on the international stage as Olympic gold medalists in Tokyo, where Loyd played 5-on-5 and Plum 3×3, and in Paris, where they were teammates as Team USA won an eighth-consecutive gold medal.
And they’d both spent their entire WNBA careers playing for the franchises that selected them — until now.
Plum, who until last year held the NCAA Division I women’s basketball all-time scoring record, joins a Los Angeles organization that hired a new coach this offseason in Lynne Roberts and is building around 2024 lottery picks Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. With a star of Plum’s caliber in tow, the Sparks, historically one of the league’s most iconic franchises, look well-positioned to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Loyd’s arrival in Las Vegas will automatically help the Aces, who fell short of their three-peat bid last season, aim for their third championship in four years. A six-time All-Star and the WNBA scoring leader in 2023, Loyd will bring an additional perimeter scoring threat to a team already featuring three-time MVP Wilson, three-time All-Star Young and 2022 Finals MVP Gray.
ESPN’s Shams Charania, Ramona Shelburne and Kendra Andrews contributed to this report.
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