Kelsey Plum decided to head into a new chapter for the ninth season of her WNBA career, joining forces with former Las Vegas Aces teammate Dearica Hamby and rising stars Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink on the Los Angeles Sparks, a team looking to bounce back from a horrid 2024 campaign in which they won just eight games.

Plum, the three-time All-Star, was looking forward to the fresh start she was going to have with the Sparks. And clearly, a change in scenery has done the 30-year-old guard wonders. During her regular-season debut for the Sparks, an 84-67 win over the Golden State Valkyries, Plum scorched the nets, scoring 37 points on 11-19 shooting from the field (4-6 from beyond the arc, 11-11 from the charity stripe) to lead the team to victory lane.

In so doing, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time WNBA All-Star made history. According to the official ClutchPoints account on X, Plum, in scoring 37 points in her Sparks debut, is now the record-holder for most points scored in any season-opening game, besting the record Napheesa Collier recorded earlier in the night when she dropped 34 points in the Minnesota Lynx's 99-84 win over the Dallas Wings. (Collier tied the record Maya Moore, Candace Parker, and Katie Smith had but Plum bested them all.)

Plum endured a bit of an up-and-down season in 2024 as she and the Aces couldn't win their third consecutive WNBA championship. In particular, her shooting became very inconsistent, with her first game shooting above 50 percent from the field last season coming in her 12th game of the season. She didn't even cross the 30-point mark more than once for all of 2024 and had her fair share of stinkers in the playoffs.

But it looks like Plum, much like the Sparks organization, is turning over a new leaf.

Kelsey Plum is back to being at her best with the Sparks

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Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum gestures after a basket by forward Rickea Jackson (not shown) during the second quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.
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Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) talks with media members after the game against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.
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Los Angeles Sparks guard Rae Burrell (12) during the first quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.
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Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum gestures after a basket by forward Rickea Jackson (not shown) during the second quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center.
Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Kelsey Plum has achieved everything there is to achieve in her career, as she is a decorated Olympian and a WNBA champion. Winning is in her DNA, and she was clearly ecstatic to grab a victory in her first game with the Sparks as she and team look to turn things around for the organization.

“I envisioned to win. It was an incredible atmosphere. A lot to work on, but yeah, it was really fun. I really love playing basketball,” Plum said in a postgame interview, via the official WNBA account on X (formerly Twitter). “It was super fun.”