Will Kelsey Plum have the highest assists per game in the WNBA 2026 regular season?

What a cool name. Plum is having the kind of season that redefines how people think about her game, and she's still not the favorite to lead the league in assists. That gap between "career-best playmaking year" and "assist leader" tells you everything about how deep this particular statistical race runs in 2026. Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark are both ahead of her at the top of the leaderboard, and both are operating as primary facilitators in systems built around their passing. Plum is operating as a score-first guard who also happens to be distributing at an elite level — a different role that naturally caps her assist ceiling relative to pure table-setters logging similar minutes. The system context matters. Los Angeles sits in the middle of the league in team assists, which reflects a less pass-dependent offensive structure than Phoenix or Minnesota. Plum can only accumulate assists that her teammates convert, and her team's overall distribution patterns create a structural headwind that Thomas and Clark don't face to the same degree. Her path to the assist title runs through one of two scenarios: the leaders ahead of her experience significant role changes or injuries, or Plum's own role shifts further toward primary facilitation as the season develops. The second scenario seems unlikely given how effectively her scoring creates advantages for Los Angeles — coaches don't typically ask 26-point scorers to become pure playmakers mid-season. The 1.5-plus assist gap to close against multiple players running facilitator-first roles is the mathematical reality underneath the narrative. Bottom line: Plum deserves recognition as one of the league's elite two-way offensive players in 2026. Assist leader is a different achievement that requires the leaderboard ahead of her to change. Watch Thomas and Clark's health and usage as the primary variables.