Kelsey Plum Out After 5 Mercury Games
Mercury shut her down for the rest of 2026. USA Basketball pulled A'ja Wilson too. Citron and Iriafen fill the 12. Berlin tips Sept. 4.
Photo: WNBA.com / Phoenix Mercury. Official league headshot.
You clocked the Aug. 7 night already. Twenty-five in Phoenix colors. That was one of five.
Kelsey Plum is out for the rest of the 2026 WNBA season after five Mercury games (15.8 points, 2.8 assists), and USA Basketball pulled her and A'ja Wilson from the World Cup before the Sept. 4 tip in Berlin.
Phoenix announced it Monday morning. Calf. She came over from the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 2, scored 20-plus twice in Mercury colors, and had played once since Aug. 9. On Instagram she said she ran out of time getting back to 100 percent and is shutting it down for the rest of the season. GM Nick U'Ren put the same call in writing: long-term health over another run through the break. Same day, USA Basketball said Wilson and Plum miss the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup for health reasons. Washington Mystics teammates Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen move into the 12. Berlin opens Sept. 4 vs China, then Italy on the 6th and Czechia on the 7th, through Sept. 13.
Action: Getty Images via Bleacher Report. Wilson and Plum, both ruled out of Berlin on Monday.
Wilson's skip is rest for the Aces' playoff push after a heavy first half, not a fresh injury diagnosis on the USA Basketball line. Plum's is different. She already missed the 2020 Olympics with a torn Achilles. When she was on the floor this year she was still putting up nights like that 25 against Connecticut. Fifth All-Star selection came in Sparks colors. One of six players with a 40-point game this season. The Mercury just stopped the clock on the rest of 2026.
Team USA still carries Clark, Bueckers, Stewart, Collier, Reese, Howard, Gray, Young, Boston, Copper, plus the two Mystics. Citron and Iriafen make their first major tournament run. The Americans remain the favorite in Group D. The number that sticks here is five: five Mercury games, then the season ends for Plum before Sept. 4.
Sources
- Phoenix Mercury via AZFamily: Kelsey Plum out for remainder of season with Mercury just weeks after trade — five games, 15.8 PPG, 2.8 APG, Aug. 2 Sparks trade, lower leg, World Cup miss, U'Ren statement, 25 vs Connecticut Aug. 7
- USA Basketball: Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen added to 2026 USA Basketball Women's National Team roster — Wilson and Plum out for health reasons; Citron and Iriafen into the 12
- Associated Press: Wilson, Plum out of U.S. FIBA World Cup team — Wilson rest for playoffs; Plum calf; Instagram statement; Citron/Iriafen; opens vs China Friday
- CBS Sports: A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to miss FIBA World Cup due to health reasons — Sept. 4-13 Berlin, Group D vs China/Italy/Czechia, updated 12
- Bleacher Report: A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum Out of FIBA World Cup
- WNBA.com: Kelsey Plum — official 1040×760 headshot
- Getty Images via Bleacher Report — Wilson and Plum court still
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