Kelsey Plum recently stopped by Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls series to talk about her introduction to the league, as well as the fight for pay equity.
Plum says that while she entered the league as a college standout, it took some time to earn people’s respect.
“They were trying to kill me, I was humbled very quickly,” Plum says. “Growing up, I loved Diana [Taurasi]. That was kind of why I started playing basketball.”
During a game against the Phoenix Mercury, Plum says that Taurasi gave her something of an introduction into the league.
“I’m guarding Diana, it’s like a dead ball. She’s looking at me, she’s like ‘Hey Plummy, how you doing?’” she says. “And I’m like, a little phased. Ball comes in, she looks at me, elbows me in the stomach, hits a three and then winks at me.
“I was like, what just happened?”
Since then, however, Plum has come into her own in the WNBA. The 2022 season was her best, with the guard averaging 20.2 points and 5.1 assists per game. It was also the first season in which she started all of the games in which she played.
She’s also grown into an advocate for the league’s players, speaking with Hart about pay disparity and the narrative surrounding women’s sports that…
