Fans criticized Kelsey Plum for her seemingly dismissive attitude during a halftime interview in the Las Vegas Aces’ 78-74 win against the Indiana Fever on Friday. Plum’s brief, nonchalant responses caught the attention of fans.
When asked about the Aces’ strong defensive effort, holding the Fever to just 13 points in the first quarter, Plum hesitated before giving a delayed response. After a few seconds and a laugh, she said:
“I don’t know. Come back to me later.”
In response to a follow-up question about the Aces’ ability to counter the Fever’s runs, Plum provided another short answer:
“We have good players.”
One fan on X (formerly Twitter), though, said that Plum’s interview was weird and disrespectful.
“It caught me as very odd and rude.”
Another fan acknowledged Plum’s professionalism but noted a hint of rudeness, explaining:
“She was a little rude for sure, but it’s a very physical game. I’d attribute her attitude here to the flow of the game. It’s been pretty physical & chippy! Plum is a consummate professional.”
Another user suggested it might have been an off day for Plum, saying:
“She definitely came off rude, but if this is a one-off for her. She might just been having a bad day. Most of us don’t have a mic in our face on ours ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just a thought.”
Some fans speculated if Plum’s behavior was intentional.
“Distracted. Thinking. Frustrated. Tired. Unsure of what to say. Withholding. Depends on the lense you look through, but I didn’t take it as rude,” one said.
“Or maybe she’s trying to catch her breath and tired,” another added.
One fan, who admitted they weren’t a fan of Kelsey Plum, wrote:
“I don’t like Plum. … like at all. But I just took it as her being distracted.”
Others believed Plum’s frustration stemmed from her struggle to defend Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 18 points in the first half.
“Ummm no, I think she was frustrated. Because she wasn’t able to guard Kelsey that good,” one said.
Kelsey Plum explains her ‘come back to me’ comment
Kelsey Plum revealed the reason behind her vague response regarding the Aces’ defense, acknowledging Kelsey Mitchell’s strong performance in the first half.
“I mean, I thought we did a great job as a team, but Kelsey Mitchell was cooking. She had a couple on me as well, so I didn’t want to say anything stupid. So I just said come back to me,” Kelsey Plum said (per Callie Lawson-Freeman).
The Aces contained Mitchell in the second half, holding her to just two points, maintaining their undefeated record against the Fever this season. The win marked the first time since the Olympic break that the Fever lost back-to-back games.
