Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum announced on Wednesday evening that she is bowing out of the Unrivaled 3v3 league slated to start in January. She posted the news of her decision on her Instagram story.

“I’ve decided to not take part in the inaugrual season of Unrivled in order to take some more time for myself this offseason,” she posted. “I appreciate the league understanding and being so accommodating. I wish the league and all of the players nothing but the best and I’m excited to watch!”

Plum was selected to play for the Laces basketball club alongside Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, her Vegas teammate Kate Martin, and Stephanie Dolson. The Laces will be coached by Andrew Wade.

The league remains packed with other WNBA talent across its six teams. Co-founder Napheesa Collier’s Lunar Owls side features Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray.

Fellow co-founder Breanna Stewart’s Team Mist includes Jewell Loyd, Rickea Jackson, and Courtney Vandersloot. The league also can boast the likes of Angel Reese, Arike Ogunbowale, Ryhne Howard, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, and Jackie Young.

Unrivaled had left two “wild card” spots open for new talent to join. Now, the league will scramble to find three additional players.

Kelsey Plum Las Vegas Aces

Kelsey Plum has made three WNBA All-Star games with the Las Vegas Aces ( 

Image:

Getty Images)

Plum’s decision is in line with the comments made by Unrivaled EVP Clare Duwelius on The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show last Friday, citing the league’s player-first emphasis.

“I mean, number one, it is another reason why this league and the opportunity appeals to me because as long as I have been involved in professional sports, something that’s been of paramount importance to me is the player experience, and like also being player-centric,” she said.

“So the fact that it is run by the players, it is for the players, and all of those things are really important to me…just kind of having that mindset and that you know they’re first. We put them first in every decision we make, every single conversation we have, every call we are on, it’s like how will this impact the players.”

Unrivaled players are in line for salaries north of $1 million, a massive step up for most women’s basketball stars. Reese, one of the faces of the WNBA, made just $73,439 her rookie year.

The upstart league couldn’t quite coax the biggest face in women’s basketball, Caitlin Clark, to join. She revealed last week to ESPN that she will not take part as a wild card.

However, Unrivaled can look forward to current NCAA star Paige Bueckers in 2026. The UConn guard announced she’s eager to join once she’s finished school.