Almost two decades ago, Kelsey Plum faced a decision.
Now, at 29, the Aces Guardian wants young girls to know about it, so she had it engraved on her collector’s bobblehead.
When fans enter Michelob Ultra Arena on Sunday to watch Plum and the Aces take on the Los Angeles Sparks, they will be treated to a seemingly normal figure – its plastic head will be disproportionate to its body and will move in a comical manner.
Things get interesting in the “Did You Know” section on the back of the box. It lists her birthday (August 24, 1994), her favorite color (blue), her favorite candy (licorice), her favorite drink (water), and her hobbies (taking naps and playing cards).
Oh, and another random fact: Kelsey Plum, a former All-American at the University of Washington, repeated fourth grade.
It wasn’t an easy experience for her. In fact, when asked, she can’t think of a single positive memory from that year. But she managed it and hopes that everyone in her situation knows that they can manage it too.
Bullied by classmates
Plum is the second youngest of four siblings. She has two older sisters, Kaitlyn and Lauren, and a younger brother, Dan. Growing up in Poway, California, near San Diego, Plum struggled in school.
After initially attending fourth grade at a local Montessori school, Plum did not feel ready for the next level.
“I was too young for my class and just felt like I couldn’t get along with the other kids and stuff,” Plum said.
Plum suffers from dyslexia, which sometimes made school difficult for her. Even outside the classroom, she was “bullied and excluded” by her classmates.
This led to her transferring to a public school, Midland Elementary. While Plum’s mother, Katie, made this decision, she thought it would be beneficial for her education and self-confidence to repeat fourth grade.
But Katie gave her daughter the freedom to choose and Plum agreed.
“In life, and often as a child, you feel like you’re the only one going through this,” Plum said. “A lot of kids struggle in school. They feel like they don’t belong. That’s how I felt all through middle school, even into high school.”
Plum said she now feels like she has found a “rhythm of life” and basketball has been a big part of that journey.
But in middle school, she had no opportunity to pursue the sport, and even her favorite sport made her stand out from the crowd in her family. Plum’s sisters played volleyball like their mother. Her brother followed in their father Jim’s footsteps and played football.
Now a three-time WNBA All-Star and two-time champion, Plum’s success knows no bounds. Fans can see it all on her Instagram: photos from the orange carpet of WNBA All-Star weekend, countless photos from the Paris Olympics where she won a gold medal, and a paid partnership with Google where she seamlessly reads an AI-generated answer on camera.
When she hears young girls say they are “not smart enough or pretty enough or thin enough,” she realizes they don’t understand where she comes from.
“I was that girl,” she said. “And I’m not saying I have it under control now, but I want to encourage you to just be yourself, find your way, and everything will be OK.”
“It’s personal”
Even when Plum decided to repeat fourth grade, things didn’t go smoothly. She was given a teacher she “didn’t get along with,” and her few friends were in a different class. Her parents told her that if she wanted a new teacher, she would have to ask the principal herself.
When asked why, her parents advised her to answer, “It’s personal,” and that’s exactly what she did when her request was successful.
The phrase, which parents recommended to 10-year-old Plum, could still be useful today. She went through a public divorce in the offseason, which she spoke about on social media. Her goal for this season is to “choose joy.”
“I’m very open about things like my life and my career path. And I feel like that helps me grow as well, and that in turn helps other people,” Plum said.
She learned that lesson when she spoke openly about her struggles with anxiety and depression as she went from the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer to the WNBA’s No. 1 player in 2017, and people shared their own stories in response.
“You just don’t want to feel alone,” Plum said. “At the end of the day, we’re human. We want connection.”
Perhaps fans will be reminded of this when they look at their plastic bobblehead.
Contact Callie Lawson-Freeman at [email protected]. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
