LOS ANGELES — The WNBA Playoffs are underway.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Sparks are not part of it.
A lot of critics tend to think that in terms of winning the championship, things are black and white. The team either gets the title or it’s a failure.
But after a 2025 campaign that saw the Sparks win 13 more games than their previous season, can this season really be called an exercise in futility?
“I’m proud of what we did,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said during the team’s exit interviews last week. “It’s not the ultimate goal that we had, but, you know, the improvement, I’m proud of that. The way these guys battled all season, we went through adversity, we stuck together, and I’m proud of that. So I’m disappointed but like I said before, I don’t feel like this season was a failure at all.”
The 2024 season saw the Sparks win only eight games out of 40.
“Maybe like two weeks ago, I was calling (Dearica Hamby) and I was having a moment. I was just frustrated,” Sparks guard Kelsey Plum said. “You know, I’m like, I want to win. She was like, hey, ‘I won eight games last year, so this looks different to me.’ So I think perspective is key.”
The injuries once again ravaged the team, just like the previous two seasons. Not only that but the team still had to build chemistry. The Sparks had to sign back Liatu King to a hardship deal as well as veteran point guard Shey Peddy. Allemand came back from her injury, only to leave again due to Eurobasket commitments. Odyssey Sims would also leave the team for a bit (she eventually would leave altogether) due to personal reasons. It was difficult to get anything going with players coming in and out.
“I’m gonna get fined for saying this but I drive more than anyone in the league. So to shoot six free throws is (expletive) absurd,” Plum opined after the game. “I got scratches on my face. I got scratches on my body. And these guards are getting these ticky-tack fouls. And I’m sick of it. I get fouled like that every possession. Rickea is fouled like that on the post every time and they don’t call it. I don’t know what else to do. It’s really frustrating, though.”
They hit even lower on June 17th against the Seattle Storm. Plum was deemed out for the game and it left the Sparks with only two legitimate guards on the roster in Peddy and rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker. They signed Grace Berger to a hardship deal. Predictably, the Storm embarrassed the Sparks at home by 31.
“We miss (Kelsey). We miss Odyssey. We miss Julie. Those are our three lead guards. And none of them are here,” Coach Roberts said after that blowout loss.
“I thought Shey (Peddy) and Grace (Berger)… they did what they could. But it’s hard to execute stuff that they’ve had so little time to digest. It’s not anyone’s fault; it’s just the reality. I thought they competed but… that point guard spot is obviously very important. I’m more concerned about our defense right now.”
More changes were happening. Mercedes Russell was waived as Cameron Brink’s return started to gain momentum. With Allemand playing point guard and the team finding their identity, the offense started to take shape. The Sparks won two huge games against the Sun and the Mystics as they went into the all-star break.
“I think we’re starting to figure it out and also getting players healthy helps. Getting who we designed everything for,” Coach Roberts said after the Mystics win. “But yeah, I do think so. A player like Rickea is taking off right now. It’s really cool to see. And Dearica is getting hers.”
After the all-star break, the Sparks’ momentum continued. They would win rematches against the Mystics and the Sun. Then they would upset the Liberty via a Jackson buzzer beater in one of their biggest wins of the season.
Still, the Sparks went on undeterred. They went into Seattle and won an instant classic double overtime game. Then they defeated the Fever and Sun in consecutive home games. In what was the best stretch of Sparks basketball in years, Los Angeles won eight of nine games and scored 100 points in five of six games, which was the first time it ever happened in the WNBA.
“I would say since the beginning of the season, I’ve been just optimistic about what this team can look like and why I want to be here and why I’m going to continue to be here,” Hamby said after the Sun win. “And I’ve compared this team to the 22 Aces team, just having so much firepower and just being one of the fastest teams we’ve seen. We’ve scored 100 points in the last five out of six games. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot more to accomplish, obviously, but I think Sparks basketball is back.”
Another example was when the Sparks were going back and forth with the Wings. In actuality, they were going back and forth with Paige Bueckers, who scored 44 points, the most points by a player in the 2025 season. Bueckers hit the go-ahead free throw to give the Wings the lead but Plum masterfully got free for a floater that went in and beat the buzzer for the W.
They could blame all the early home losses for missing the postseason. They could also point at crucial late losses against the Mystics and the Fever. But the bottom line is that it was hard to come back from a 6-14 slate. But a 15-9 finish is impressive. They were the fourth best team starting from July 13th.
“Total alignment with Lynne and what she, I think, has echoed all season, but definitely even today,” Sparks GM Raegan Pebley answered after asked to evaluate the season. “This, you know, I just shared this with the team. You know, there’s times when you plant and there’s times when you harvest. And for sure, planting has occurred. And even I think there was, you know, sprouting that occurred with this group. You know, it’s really easy to get caught up in a win-loss or playoffs or not playoffs and decide that success is binary. And that’s not the case. There’s so much success and growth and many, many things to be proud of that’s happened this season.
“It’s one thing to start off the front half of the season being one of the best teams in the league but to garner the support and the buy-in amongst this storm at the beginning of the year that Lynn and her staff did is tremendous,” Pebley continued. “And the players deserve a lot of credit for trusting her, trusting the system, giving up of themselves when it wasn’t going their way early. And the fact that that happened, that we finished the season that way is really, really special. And that included a final stretch where we played eight games in 14 days. And only two of those games were against non-playoff teams. To continue to be in the fight with that kind of adversity and then be in a locker room where they’re loving each other and hugging on each other and working through conflict, I think, again, is a total testament to the humans they are, the professionals they are, and the leadership that Lynn and her staff have provided.”
So how do they follow up on this season?
“Obviously, our offense has gone really well,” Pebley mused. “You’ve got analytics to prove that all over the place. And you’ve got analytics to show that we’ve got to get better defensively and really spend some time addressing those. We’ll take in all of that data. And with appropriate time and reflection and strategy and partnership, we’ll address those issues and we’ll come back stronger.”
“Yes, I can coach defense, believe it or not,” Coach Roberts cracked. “But we had to kind of prioritize all the things. I think part of being a great defensive team is… how do I say this? Part of it is roster, who you have. But if you don’t have a super athletic, aggressive team, that doesn’t mean you can’t play good defense. You’ve got to have an identity of what it is.
“Coming in, my priority was the culture and winning as much as we could but do it in the way we want to play. So it’s hard. What’s the saying? They don’t care what you know until they know you care. So getting that buy-in before you can… defense is accountability-driven. If you’re not going to get up and do this then you’re coming out. It’s hard to win a locker room over and be an asshole. So I wanted to kind of get them on board and get them bought in so that next year, there can be more accountability.”
The Sparks finished as the second worst defense in the league. They’re not going to have to trouble scoring points, as witnessed this season. Now it’s all about getting tougher defensively. The team has shown they could do it in stretches but can they do it in a consistent manner next season? That’s the next level for them.
The team established a “Core Four” in Plum, Hamby, Jackson, and Stevens. Plum was every bit the player they traded for as she finished in the Top 5 in scoring and assists and the lone Spark to be chosen for the All-Star Game. Hamby was reliable all season long. Jackson had a slow start but became unstoppable in long stretches of games and a player they went to in the clutch. And Stevens became a consistent long range threat, which baffled opposing bigs. She finished second in the Most Improved Player voting.
Julie Allemand was an unsung hero as she stabilized the offense. But even she had loud highlights such as getting a triple-double and breaking up the final play of their contest against the Storm to win the game. Julie Vanloo came in and became a ray of sunshine for the locker room while providing good back-up minutes for her fellow Belgian Julie.
After she came back, Rae Burrell became a disruptor on both ends. As the season went on, she scored a lot better, punctuating it with a 20-point game against the Mercury. Maybe the Sparks would’ve made the playoffs if Burrell stayed healthy; the team was 4-12 without Rae in the line-up. Brink will get grace after coming back from a torn ACL but she was a monster on both ends for some stretches of the season.
Emma Cannon played minutes early before getting DNPs halfway through the season. But she was a complete professional and excellent mentor to the younger players. Alissa Pili came in late in the season; she played under Coach Roberts in college. She was a fan favorite in Los Angeles and it would be great if she can stay in the league next season.
Rookies Sarah Ashlee Barker and Sania Feagin had different journeys. Barker was ushered into the starting line-up because of injuries, went out of the rotation as the team got healthier, and was back playing minutes at the end of the year. Feagin played mostly garbage minutes but also came in and provided important ones in some games.
And the Sparks had contributions from Odyssey Sims, Mercedes Russell, Liatu King, Shey Peddy, and Grace Berger. They were all able to keep the team afloat when they were banged up with injuries.
Just like every other offseason, not everyone’s going to come back. Plum and Hamby have made it clear they want to stay. Jackson and Brink are the cornerstones now and in the future. But still, a lot can happen from now until the next training camp. Don’t forget that there are two new teams coming into the league. The Sparks will likely lose two players to the upcoming expansion draft that they will leave unprotected.
That’s if they can get a Collective Bargaining Agreement ratified soon. That will decide if they can start all of these events on time.
For the first time in a long time, the Los Angeles Sparks have a direction. But will they continue on that direction next season? Or are they going to take a wrong turn somewhere that’ll get them lost again?
There’s no denying, though, that the Sparks will have bigger expectations for 2026.
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