WNBA

خلاصہ: Waiting for the Los Angeles LeapJust like the sun during a Los Angeles summer, the future of the city’s WNBA team is bright and quite difficult to ignore. The potential and upside of the Los Angeles Sparks is exciting, and this past season, WNBA fans caught a glimpse of what the team was capable of. The Sparks finished with a 21-23 record last season and barely missed out on clinching a postseason spot, which was yet another disappointing result in recent memory for the organization, missing the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. Yet, even though the Sparks started the season 6-14, they proceeded to win 15 of their final 24 games of the season and performed as one of the best teams in the league during this stretch. In the regular season, Los Angeles averaged 85.7 points per game (PPG) and shot 45.7 percent from the field, finishing second in both, and 33.7 percent from the three-point line. However, on the defensive end, the team allowed 88.2 PPG, the most in the league, and allowed 45.3 percent from the field, the third-highest. Because of inconsistencies and injuries, the season was a mixed bag for Lynne Roberts in her first year as Los Angeles’ head coach. Sparks before the All-Star break: 8-14 record, 83.2 PPG (sixth in the league), 45.0 percent from the field (fourth), 34.7 percent from three-point range (third), allowed 86.9 PPG (second-most) Sparks after the All-Star break: 13-9 record, 88.1 PPG (most in the league), 46.4 percent from the field (second), 32.8 percent from three-point range (tenth), allowed 89.6 PPG (most) The team’s success from this past season was mainly driven by four players: Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Rickea Jackson and Azurá Stevens. They each averaged double-digit points, and were the only players on the Sparks to play in at least 36 games for the team. These four players were at the core of the team’s success in 2025. Plum: 19.5 PPG, 5.7 assists per game (APG), 3.1 rebounds per game (RPG) in 43 games Hamby: 18.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 3.3 APG in 44 games Jackson: 14.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 APG in 38 games Stevens: 12.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.1 APG in 44 games In addition to the consistent play from those four players, Los Angeles also received quality contributions from other players in the rotation. Cameron Brink played in just 19 games after returning from a torn ACL that ended her rookie season in 2024, but she averaged 5.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.4 blocks per game (BPG) in 12.9 minutes per game (MPG). Julie Allemand also averaged 5.4 PPG, 5.0 APG and 3.7 RPG as part of the starting lineup. Allemand’s presence, in addition to the strong play off the bench from Julie Vanloo, helped the Sparks have quality production from the backcourt outside of Plum. Also, Rae Burrell, who has shown significant signs of improvement each year, averaged 7.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 1.2 APG. While their roster showed flashes of brilliance and displayed positive progress from their 2024 campaign, the Sparks, just like any other team, still have their own issues and concerns that they will seek to address during the offseason. After a season of allowing the most points on average, the Sparks’ offseason should place an emphasis on improving defensively while maintaining their offensive prowess. If the team can string together more stops, it alleviates some pressure from the offense to consistently score points. Also, the Sparks currently do not have a first-round pick for the 2026 draft. So, as it stands, they are not in position to select a prospect early on in the draft, and will focus primarily on acquiring players through free agency. Now, what will the roster look like next season, especially since the vast majority of players are free agents going into this offseason? Well, there are only four players on the Sparks who are under contract for 2026: Jackson, Brink, Sarah Ashlee Barker and Sania Feagin. There are many questions the team will also have to address come next May. Will Brink continue to come off the bench like she did this season, or will she return to the starting lineup role that she held before her injury? Stevens performed admirably in Brink’s place and had her best season in 2025. Will the Sparks also be able to bring back both Plum and Hamby, their two All-Stars, for another season? Will Barker and Feagin, the team’s two rookies from this past season, be utilized more as key rotation players after gaining some WNBA experience? Barker averaged 3.1 PPG and 1.9 RPG as her playing time decreased as the season progressed, while Feagin only appeared in 16 games and averaged 4.8 MPG. Los Angeles has failed to make the playoffs since the departures of both Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray after the 2020 season. Since the Sparks’ last playoff appearance, Gray has won three championships in the last four seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, while Parker won the 2021 title with the Chicago Sky and 2023 title with the Aces before her retirement. Los Angeles’ last WNBA title came in 2016, but with multiple young and veteran stars, the team is primed to make the leap toward becoming a perennial contender and re-creating the feel-good vibes of past championship Sparks teams. The Sparks made a splash with how well they performed to end last season. Now, the next step is to finally bring WNBA playoff basketball back to Los Angeles and cement the new iteration of the Sparks as one that can compete for many titles going forward. Stats as of December 4. Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of WNBA.com. The post Waiting for the Los Angeles Leap appeared first on Winsidr .Source InformationPublisher: WINSIDROriginal Source: Read more