Kelsey Plum on WNBA Viewership, That 'Tiny' All-Star MVP Trophy, and Her New Brand Partnership

GSTQ Kelsey Plum

Just days after her 2022 WNBA All-Star MVP win, Las Vegas Aces star Kelsey Plum says she is partnering with female-owned fashion brand GSTQ.

"I'm really excited," Plum tells PEOPLE over the phone. "I think this is groundbreaking in the fashion space. I don't think any WNBA players ever signed a fashion deal brand like this," she says of the partnership between the two women.

Owner and designer Dany Garcia, who Plum calls "just a total badass world-renowned businesswoman," launched the brand last year.

"The clothes are made for women, by women, and I can go from a boardroom to a date night to an airplane. They're comfortable, they're sexy, but they're also really classy," Plum says.

"I think that's why the pictures turned out so well because I really love the clothes," she adds.

For Plum, her partnership with Garcia's brand represents what's most important to her as an athlete and a role model.

"With our league, a lot of times, I think as a woman, people feel like they're doing you a favor if they're supporting you or watching you…and I don't think it's intentional," Plum explains.

"I don't want people's pity," she continues. "I want you to come watch me play because I'm damn good at what I do, man or woman."

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It's no secret that the WNBA has long struggled with viewership, especially in comparison to the NBA. In recent years, however, the women's basketball league has seen real momentum, evident in this year's All-Star Game viewership, which saw the most viewers since 2015. According to The Athletic, the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game peaked at 768,000 viewers.

Plum notes the difference in narratives between the two leagues. "It's so interesting, when you go watch LeBron James play, you don't say, 'I'm supporting LeBron.' You say, 'I'm going to go watch LeBron play basketball.' Right?"

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"For me, when I take the court or when I take the press conference, or I take interviews, I try to make sure I'm speaking about that," the 27-year-old athlete says.

"This isn't charity," Plum tells PEOPLE, just two days after photos of her holding her WNBA All-Star MVP trophy sparked a conversation around how the league can do better.

Plum's performance in her first All-Star Game was spectacular, but the trophy presented to her afterward was heavily criticized for being underwhelming, at best.

However, the All-Star MVP says she "didn't really" think the trophy was small until she saw it later on social media.

"There was a lot going on in my mind, and I didn't really fully decompress, what was happening with the trophy until I saw social media and I saw the videos," she recalls.

"It was light and feathery, and I was like, 'I hope I don't break this,'" Plum says before letting out a laugh. "And then, of course, I saw the comparison of Steph [Curry's] trophy that he won this year in the All-Star Game, and then even in prior years, and yeah, it's not a great look."

The trophy was a trending topic on Twitter for most of Sunday evening, getting the meme treatment from snarky Twitter users and being compared to a teacup.

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Even Plum posted a video of her teammates mocking the award's size. She jokes that she was holding the trophy "like a dainty little teacup."

The trophy was small, and whether Plum thought so or not, it sparked a larger conversation, similar to Plum's previous sentiment about the WNBA's narrative, around how the WNBA can improve.

"I think it was one of those things where I didn't have to say anything — everyone else said it," she explains. "People all around sports were like, 'I don't even watch the WNBA, and this is not a good look.' It's just like, 'Well, he said it, so I don't have to.'"

Stacy Revere/Getty 2022 WNBA All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum in Chicago

Currently, the trophy is with Plum's mother.

"It's so funny, I gave it to my mom, and I'm on the road right now in New York, so I probably won't see it until I get back to Vegas," she says.

And even then, the trophy may never secure a permanent spot on the WNBA star's mantel.

"[My mom] probably just put it in her suitcase and left it there," Plum says while laughing.