When she was traded to a non-contender this offseason, Kelsey Plum disappeared from some WNBA consciousness. That is a mistake. She is good enough to make the Los Angeles Sparks interesting, and she has very much made that the case in five of seven games this season.
The two exceptions came against two of the best defenses in the W, which the Phoenix Mercury cannot claim to be.
Plum has already torched Phoenix once this season. My Mercury vs. Sparks predictions expect her to do it again, especially with Phoenix missing its best defender.
Read on for my WNBA picks for Sunday, June 1.
Mercury vs Sparks predictions
My Mercury vs Sparks best bet:
Kelsey Plum Over 3.5 3-Pointers (+140 at bet365)
Kelsey Plum struggled in Friday’s return to Las Vegas, going just 1-of-7 from deep and scoring only 17 points against her former team. A knee-jerk reaction may be to chalk that up to emotion, but the greater reality is that the Aces have a defense of such quality that it knew how to defend its former leader.
Set that off as an anomaly. Las Vegas may be past its dynasty days, but the Aces are still among the WNBA’s best teams. For that matter, the Lynx are unbeaten for a reason. No one should be surprised they forced Plum to go 5-of-14 from the field and just 3-of-9 from deep in the second game of the year.
Then again, looking at a 3-of-9 showing from beyond the arc as bad underscores how well Plum is playing this year.
She has hit 40% of her 3-pointers while attempting 8.6 per game. Remove Friday in Las Vegas and those numbers jump to 43.4% on 8.8 attempts per game.
No one else in a Los Angeles Sparks uniform is taking more than four 3-pointers per game. Only Azura Stevens is taking as many as three while hitting 40% from deep.
Plum is Los Angeles’s offense from long range. Leading LA in assists, points, steals and 3-point percentage only emphasizes how good she is.
That kind of focus will not balk against Phoenix. The Phoenix Mercury are without Alyssa Thomas, and that should free up Plum for a few more open looks, particularly off screens.
Capitalize on Plum early in the season. Oddsmakers will remember how good she is before long.
Mercury vs Sparks same-game parlay (SGP)
Plum o3.5 made threes
Sabally o22.5 points
Sparks -5
Without Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix drops off both offensively and defensively. The Mercury were five-point favorites hosting the Sparks on May 21. Since then, Phoenix has gone 2-2 against the spread, while Los Angeles has gone 1-3 ATS. Neither of those is convincing enough to drastically alter power rankings.
So that -5 becoming +5 now is a result of homecourt flipping and Thomas’s absence. Is Thomas worth five points? Given her two-way impact, quite possibly.
But without her, someone has to score for the Mercury. In Friday’s loss to the Lynx, that was Satou Sabally, going for 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Only two other Mercury players took even 10 shots, Monique Akoa Makani and Sami Whitcomb combining to go 7-of-21.
Phoenix’s offense may be Sabally or bust right now.
Mercury vs Sparks odds
Mercury vs Sparks live odds
Mercury vs Sparks opening odds
- Spread: Phoenix +4.5 | Los Angeles -4.5
- Moneyline: Phoenix +115 | Los Angeles -167
- Over/Under: Over 162 | Under 162
Mercury vs Sparks trend
Phoenix has played only one road game so far this season, losing both outright and against the spread. Find more WNBA betting trends for Mercury vs. Sparks.
How to watch Mercury vs Sparks
| Location | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date | Sunday, 6-1-2025 |
| Tip-off | 6:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Spectrum SportsNet, Arizona's Family 3TV, Arizona's Family Sports |
Mercury vs Sparks latest injuries
Mercury: Rickea Jackson (Out), Rae Brurell (Out), Cameron Brinks (Out)
Sparks: Lexi Held (Questionable), Kahleah Copper (Out), Natasha Mack (Out), Alyssa Thomas (Out)
Find our latest WNBA injury reports.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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