2023 Los Angeles Sparks season
WNBA team season
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The 2023 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 27th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the first season under head coach Curt Miller. The season tipped off on May 19, 2023, versus the Phoenix Mercury.
| 2023 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Curt Miller |
| Arena | Crypto.com Arena (Capacity: 19,068) |
| Results | |
| Record | 17–23 (.425) |
| Place | 4th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Media | |
| Television | Spectrum SportsNet ABC ESPN ESPN2 ESPN+ CBS Paramount+ CBSSN NBA TV ION |
The Sparks hired Miller on October 21, 2022. He previously served as the head for the Connecticut Sun, and led the Sun to the 2022 WNBA Finals. He also previously served as an assistant coach for the Sparks in 2015.[1]
The Sparks won their opening game of the season before dropping the next two games to Las Vegas to finish the opening month 1–2. June was an up and down month that saw the Sparks win their first two games, but then alternate wins and losses for the next five games. They won two games in a row over Dallas but then they lost their final two games of the month to Chicago. They would ultimately finish the month 6–7. July was not as good of a month for the Sparks as they lost six games in a row to start the month. They won two games against Indiana but lost their final game of the month to finish July 2–7. August began with two losses, but then the Sparks went on a six-game winning streak. August finished with three straight losses, and the Sparks finished August 6–5. The Sparks were fighting for the eighth and final playoff seed entering September and they won their opening game. They then lost their next two games, and were eliminated from playoff contention on September 8 when they did not play, but Chicago defeated Minnesota. They won their final game of the season to finish September 2–2 and one game out of the eighth playoff spot. This marked the third straight year of the Sparks not qualifying for the playoffs.
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Zia Cooke |  United States |
South Carolina |
| 2 | 14 | Shaneice Swain |  Australia |
Cairns Dolphins |
| 3 | 26 | Monika Czinano | United States |
Iowa |
Transactions
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| October 21, 2022 | Hired Curt Miller as head coach[2] | |
| December 31, 2022 | Renounced the rights to Ivana Raca[3] | |
| January 3, 2023 | Hired Karen Bryant as Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager[4] | |
| Promoted Eli Horowitz to Assistant General Manager[5] | ||
| January 4, 2023 | Hired Steve Smith and Chris Koclanes as assistant coaches[6] | |
| January 13, 2023 | Extended Qualifying Offer to Kianna Smith[7] | |
| January 16, 2023 | Traded Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Jasmine Walker, and Kianna Smith to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Jasmine Thomas and the 10th Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft[8] | |
| January 21, 2023 | Traded Amanda Zahui B and a 2024 Second-Round Pick to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for Dearica Hamby and a 2024 First-Round Pick [9] | |
| February 1, 2023 | Signed Lexie Brown to a 2-Year Deal[10] | |
| Signed Stephanie Talbot to a Multi-Year Deal[11] | ||
| February 3, 2023 | Signed Azurá Stevens[12] | |
| February 7, 2023 | Signed Layshia Clarendon to a training-camp contract[13] | |
| February 8, 2023 | Signed Jordin Canada to a training-camp contract[14] | |
| February 19, 2023 | Signed Yang Liwei to a rookie-scale contract[15] | |
| February 21, 2023 | Signed Karlie Samuelson and Reshanda Gray to training-camp contracts[16][17] | |
| February 22, 2023 | Signed Chiney Ogwumike to a 1-Year Deal[18] | |
| February 24, 2023 | Signed Nneka Ogwumike to a 1-Year Deal[19] | |
| February 28, 2023 | Full-Season Suspension of Stephanie Talbot due to Overseas Injury | |
| March 9, 2023 | Hired Danielle Viglione as assistant coach[20] | |
| March 17, 2023 | Waived Chennedy Carter[21] | |
| April 13, 2023 | Signed Zia Cooke and Monika Czinano to rookie-scale contracts | |
| Signed Joyner Holmes and Crystal Bradford to training-camp contracts[22] | ||
| May 13, 2023 | Waived Crystal Bradford and Reshanda Gray[23] | |
| May 15, 2023 | Waived Monika Czinano[24] | |
| May 16, 2023 | Waived Karlie Samuelson and Rae Burrell[25] | |
| May 17, 2023 | Waived Yang Liwei[26] | |
| May 18, 2023 | Claimed Nia Clouden off Waivers[27] | |
| Placed Katie Lou Samuelson on the Inactive List due to Pregnancy/Child-Birth | ||
| Signed Karlie Samuelson to a Hardship Contract[28] | ||
| May 27, 2023 | Signed Rae Burrell to a Hardship Contract[29] | |
| May 29, 2023 | Released Rae Burrell from the Hardship Contract | |
| June 5, 2023 | Waived Joyner Holmes[30] | |
| Released Karlie Samuelson from the Hardship Contract[30] | ||
| June 6, 2023 | Signed Karlie Samuelson[31] | |
| June 16, 2023 | Signed Destanni Henderson to a Hardship Contract[32] | |
| June 17, 2023 | Signed Rae Burrell to a Hardship Contract[33] | |
| July 16, 2023 | Released Destanni Henderson from the Hardship Contract[34] | |
| July 31, 2023 | Signed Evina Westbrook to a 7-Day Contract[35] | |
| August 7, 2023 | Signed Evina Westbrook to a 2nd 7-Day Contract[36] | |
| August 14, 2023 | Signed Evina Westbrook to a 3rd 7-Day Contract[37] | |
| August 21, 2023 | Signed Evina Westbrook to a Hardship Contract[38] | |
Roster Changes
Additions
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Subtractions
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Roster
| 2023 Los Angeles Sparks roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Depth chart
Schedule
Preseason
| 2023 pre-season game log Total: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
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| 2023 pre-season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| # | Team |
W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 34 | 6 | .850 | – | 18–2 | 19–1 | 15–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | 2 | 16–4 | 15–5 | 17–3 | 7–3 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 27 | 13 | .675 | 7 | 14–6 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 7–3 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Wings | 22 | 18 | .550 | 12 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Atlanta Dream | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 8–12 | 6–4 |
| 6 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 12–8 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – Washington Mystics | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 9–11 | 12–8 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 8 | x – Chicago Sky | 18 | 22 | .450 | 16 | 5–15 | 7–13 | 11–9 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 17 | 23 | .425 | 17 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
| 10 | e – Indiana Fever | 13 | 27 | .325 | 21 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–8 |
| 11 | e – Seattle Storm | 11 | 29 | .275 | 23 | 8–12 | 4–16 | 7–13 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – Phoenix Mercury | 9 | 31 | .225 | 25 | 2–18 | 8–12 | 1–19 | 1–9 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from postseason contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nneka Ogwumike | 36 | 36 | 31.1 | .512 | .339 | .870 | 8.8 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 19.1 |
| Jordin Canada | 38 | 38 | 32.6 | .404 | .333 | .873 | 3.1 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 13.3 |
| Lexie Brown | 12 | 11 | 30.3 | .486 | .415 | .875 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 12.4 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 24 | 24 | 28.6 | .497 | .457 | .915 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 11.1 |
| Azurá Stevens | 35 | 29 | 26.0 | .404 | .321 | .754 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 10.8 |
| Dearica Hamby | 40 | 19 | 24.8 | .431 | .220 | .648 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 8.9 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 10 | 4 | 21.2 | .430 | .077 | .714 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 8.4 |
| Karlie Samuelson | 34 | 23 | 26.1 | .463 | .426 | .941 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 7.7 |
| Destanni Henderson‡ | 10 | 1 | 16.9 | .362 | .105 | .737 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| Zia Cooke | 39 | 4 | 14.1 | .289 | .261 | .813 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Joyner Holmes‡ | 5 | 0 | 12.0 | .348 | .286 | .750 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 4.2 |
| Rae Burrell≠ | 29 | 3 | 11.1 | .387 | .390 | .810 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.6 |
| Jasmine Thomas | 32 | 7 | 12.8 | .273 | .242 | .909 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Nia Clouden | 5 | 1 | 10.8 | .300 | .333 | .500 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Evina Westbrook≠ | 9 | 0 | 6.2 | .300 | .400 | 1.000 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nneka Ogwumike | Western Conference Player of the Week | June 6 | [39] |
| WNBA All-Star Starter | June 25 | [40] | |
| All-Defensive Second Team | September 22 | [41] | |
| All-WNBA Second Team | October 15 | [42] | |
| Jordin Canada | All-Defensive First Team | September 22 | [43] |