Fantasy women's basketball: Kelsey Plum, Jewell Loyd set to shine on new teams

The Seattle Storm traded six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces in a multi-team move that sent three-time All-Star Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday.

It is the first time in league history a trade has involved multiple No. 1 overall picks and a bittersweet moment for both Loyd and Plum. The move sets the stage for what's expected to be a busy offseason in the WNBA. But from a fantasy basketball perspective, Plum and Loyd both have a positive outlook for 2025.

Plum set to shine for Sparks

Moody: Plum was a cornerstone of the Aces' championship runs in 2022 and 2023 and made the All-Star team in each of the past three seasons. She averaged 17.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 4.2 APG in 34.0 MPG in 2024, even after battling a shooting slump to start the season.

Now, Plum is heading to Los Angeles, where she'll reunite with former Aces teammate Dearica Hamby. She joins a rebuilding Sparks squad with rising second-year forwards Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. While the Sparks finished last season at the bottom of the standings and near the league worst in both offensive rating and defensive rating, Plum's arrival signals a clear shift to a win-now mentality.

Plum projects as a top-15 player in fantasy. She will likely be the No. 1 playmaker for the Sparks and a quality selection in the second round of drafts. Plum's fantasy value remains steady and she will continue to be a high-usage player in Los Angeles, especially as the Sparks lean on her veteran leadership and scoring ability. Plum's outside shooting is a game-changer for the Sparks, creating spacing for her teammates, giving them more room to operate and unlocking another level for Los Angeles' offense.

Snellings: Plum's fantasy value goes through the roof with this trade. The Sparks are a team that has exciting young talent in the frontcourt, but that had huge holes in the backcourt. They were last in the WNBA in team offensive rating last season, 10th in team assists (19.7 APG), 11th in turnovers (15.0 TO) and 10th in 3-point percentage (32.0 3P%). Plum brings them one of the best backcourt offense-generators in the WNBA, and on top of that comes from a team overcrowded with creators to one where she should get all of the touches and opportunities she can handle.

With the Aces, Plum was tenth in the WNBA in scoring (17.8 PPG) while playing next to the leading scorer in the league in A'ja Wilson (26.9 PPG). She was 13th in the league in assists (4.2 APG) while playing with two other teammates in the top 10 in (Jackie Young 5.3 APG, Chelsea Gray 4.9 APG). Plum's usage should be much higher this season, with the likelihood of new career-highs in scoring (current career-high 20.2 PPG), assists (5.1 APG) and 3-pointers (3.1 3PG) all on deck.

I had Plum ranked 21st in my Way Too Early rankings last fall, but with this trade she moves up to the back of the top-10.

Loyd adds to Aces firepower

Moody: Loyd's résumé speaks for itself. She has been an All-Star in four straight seasons and six of the past seven. She averaged 19.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 3.6 APG, and was fourth in the league in field goal attempts per game (16.8). But here's the catch: Loyd shot just 36% from the field, the lowest mark for any player averaging at least 10 points per game.

Her role will look different in Las Vegas. With stars like A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray around her, she won't be the first option offensively. That might help her efficiency. According to Second Spectrum, Loyd had the lowest quantified shot quality last season among players with 100-plus field goal attempts. As part of the Aces' elite offense, she should get better looks.

Let's not forget, Loyd has already thrived alongside other stars, shining next to Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird during her time with the Storm. She's a two-way player who can adapt, and playing in Las Vegas gives her a great chance to do just that as the Aces look to position themselves for another championship. Loyd projects as a top-25 player in fantasy.

Snellings: Loyd takes Plum's place in that stacked Aces lineup but has experience playing with a lot of talent. Last season, Loyd shared a backcourt with another elite offense-creator in Skylar Diggins-Smith and double-digit scorers Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor in the frontcourt. She still averaged the second-most points of her career of her career after leading the league with 24.7 PPG the previous season and was just decimal-points off her career best in assists. Loyd did all this despite never quite seeming to find her ideal mesh with Diggins-Smith and shooting the worst percentage of her career and the second-worst from behind the arc (27.4 3P%).

With the Aces, Loyd will join a unit where she likely won't get quite as much volume, nor as much defensive attention as she received in Seattle. Opposing defenses will key on Wilson, and with Gray and Young as floor generals, Loyd will be even more of an off-ball scorer than she was in Seattle. Last season, Loyd had 16.8 FGA and 5.8 3PA per game. Plum had 14.4 FGA and 7.9 3PA last season in the role that Loyd will now be playing for the Aces. Loyd will be asked to be more of a shooter, particularly from deep, and she proved in 2023 that she could do so at a high level (3.0 3PG, 8.5 3PA, 35.6 3P%). Look for her to bounce back to that type of volume and efficiency from deep this season to help bolster some of the overall scoring volume she may give up.

I had Loyd 10th in my Way Too Early rankings, and with this deal I think she slides more into the mid-to-late teens, making her a solid third or fourth-round pick in fantasy drafts.