Kelsey Plum began the new phase of her career this season with the LA Sparks after spending eight years with the Las Vegas Aces. Plum credits a new revolutionary coaching method for improving her game. The method called Constraints-Led Approach or CLA has been used by successful teams across different sports.
Speaking to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, Plum was thankful to learn the CLA method to incorporate into her routine before the season. She finally has her own team to lead after years of being a second or third option in Las Vegas.
“It changed my career,” Plum said. “Before, I was very skilled. But I don’t think I was ever very purposeful.”
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Constraints-Led Approach is starting to replace traditional block training in practice. There are no longer single movement patterns or step-by-step processes. The new method applies game-like situations with special rules that will force a player to make adjustments and adapt.
CLA is all about being imperfect in an imperfect situation, which helps create different approaches to overcome the unpredictability of what’s happening in real games. Kelsey Plum isn’t the only player to use CLA, since it has been used by Paul George previously.
Other players, such as Victor Wembanyama, began implementing it this offseason due to veteran teammate Harrison Barnes. The Boston Celtics and OKC Thunder are proponents of CLA, and it has given them results. The Celtics and Thunder are the last two NBA champions.
The Cleveland Cavaliers began using it under coach Kenny Atkinson, and it led to a 64-18 record in the regular season. Evan Mobley turned into an All-Star and the Defensive Player of the Year. They might have fallen short in the playoffs, but CLA gets results.
Kelsey Plum’s message to Sparks fans after their season ended
After the LA Sparks failed to make the playoffs this season, Kelsey Plum addressed the Crypto.com crowd in their final home game. Plum thanked the fans for the support and wanted them to know that the playoffs will always be the team’s target moving forward.
“On behalf of my teammates and I, we just want to say thank you (all) so much,” Plum said, according to Sports Illustrated. “We’re here to win and playoffs are a standard, and moving forward, just want to let you guys know that things are changing here.”
The Sparks have a good core in Plum, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.
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About the author
Juan Paolo is a journalist for Sportskeeda who covers the NBA and WNBA. He’s been writing about basketball since 2015 and has been with Sportskeeda since 2021.
Juan’s allegiance lies with the Golden State Warriors and his journey with the Warriors began with their memorable victory over the Lakers in 2000, and he experienced the successes of the ‘We Believe’ era and the rise of Steph Curry.
What Juan loves most about basketball is its ability to evoke a range of emotions, from adrenaline-fueled excitement to the highs of victory and the lows of defeat. To ensure complete accuracy in articles, he conducts thorough research before writing his articles.
The Warriors’ victories in the 2022 and 2017 championships hold a special place in Juan’s memories, as well as iconic moments like Baron Davis’ dunk over Andrei Kirilenko and Goran Dragic’s performance in the 2010 Western Conference semifinals.
Off the court, Juan enjoys watching football, TV and movies, caring for his numerous cats, and cooking whenever time permits.
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