The Sparks’ season was mere seconds away from ending on a high note. Then, the Golden State Valkyries scored 13 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to dissolve a double-digits Sparks lead.
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike concluded her WNBA career with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the 76-75 loss to the Valkyries. Her double-double was her 19th this season, which set a Sparks single-season record.
Immediately after the game, the Sparks announced that they would name their new practice facility in El Segundo after Ogwumike, who retires as the Sparks’ all-time leading scorer.
The loss itself mattered little. The Sparks were eliminated from postseason contention nearly a month ago after beginning with championship aspirations. In one of their most disappointing seasons to date because of the expectations attached, the Sparks go into the offseason trying to put the pieces together again.
It marked their sixth consecutive season missing the playoffs and 10 years since they last won a WNBA title.
What went wrong began before the team set foot on the court in May.
The Sparks (16-28) essentially tried to skip the rebuilding part of a rebuild, and then almost everything that could go wrong with that plan did.
The Sparks have spent several years rebuilding since missing the playoffs in 2021. Rather than continuing to accumulate young talent around their lone lottery picks, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, they decided they were ready to accelerate.
But the acceleration didn’t work, and the Sparks finished with the second-worst defense in the WNBA.
They brought back Ogwumike, signed veteran point guard Erica Wheeler, extended Dearica Hamby and traded for Ariel Atkins to support Kelsey Plum, entering her second year with the franchise after they traded for her from Las Vegas. The idea was to surround the young core with veterans and immediately become competitive.
Plum was supposed to be the offensive engine. Early in the season, the plan actually looked plausible: the Sparks were 7-5 with Plum and 1-3 without her before her second major injury. She had already missed three games with an ankle injury before suffering the lower-leg injury. They then traded her to Phoenix.
There wasn’t a true second star alongside Plum, nor was there wasn’t enough high-level perimeter creation, and they sacrificed some of their young assets to assemble a veteran-heavy team that still wasn’t good enough to contend.
The Sparks also desperately needed Brink to become the defensive backbone of the team.
Instead, she missed a significant portion of the season while the team was simultaneously trying to fix the league’s worst defense from 2025.
Roberts noted that injuries prevented the Sparks from picking up any momentum during the season.
“We’ve had two tough years of injuries, and I’m not trying to blame anything on that,” she said. “It’s just the reality. You know, there has been a lot of change.”
When asked if she believes she should return as the Sparks head coach next season, coach Lynne Roberts said yes.
“I think what this org needs is some stability, and a vision and a direction, like a plan,” she said. “Not that we haven’t had one, but I think now that we’ve got people in place, just give us a goalpost, and we’ll march down the field in that way.”
The Sparks have two lottery picks thanks to the Plum trade and their dismal place in the standings, but they have a lot to do to make the playoffs next season. They have Atkins, Wheeler and Hamby still under contract. Rae Burrell is a restricted free agent.
With a new general manager in Ariana Andonian, the Sparks are facing an offseason of resetting — again, without Ogwumike — but at least with some assets.
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