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The2008 Los Angeles Sparks season was the franchise's 12th season in theWomen's National Basketball Association, and the second season under head coachMichael Cooper. The Sparks returned to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

The following player was selected in the Expansion Draft:

• LaToya ThomasLos Angeles Sparks

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• On October 23, 2007. The WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick for the upcoming 2008 WNBA Draft.

Pick	Player	Nationality	School
1	Candace Parker	United States	Tennessee
15	Shannon Bobbitt	United States	Tennessee
29	Sharnee Zoll	United States	Virginia

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• April 24, The Sparks waived DeTrina White.
• April 23 The Sparks waived Layla Schwarz due to injury.
• April 22, The Sparks tradedTaj McWilliams-Franklin and a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to theWashington Mystics forDeLisha Milton-Jones.
• April 21 The Sparks signed Tiina Sten to a training camp contract.
• April 17 The Sparks signedVaida Sipaviciute to a training camp contract.
• April 15 The Sparks signed Lady Comfort to a training camp contract.
• April 2 The Sparks signedOlympia Scott to a training camp contract.
• March 6, The Sparks signed Layla Schwarz, Liron Cohen and Brisa Silva to training camp contracts.
• February 22 The Sparks signed free agentMarie Ferdinand-Harris.
• February 21 The Sparks signedJessica Moore and Raffaella Masciadri to training camp contracts.

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• Candace Parker scored 34 points, and set a league record for the most points in a WNBA debut. Parker added 12 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the defending champion Phoenix Mercury 99–94 on Saturday 17. Parker, narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 rebounds and eight assists. The previous high in a WNBA debut was 25 points by Cynthia Cooper in 1997.^[5]
• On May 29 against the Indiana Fever, Parker tallied the first-ever "5x5" performance in WNBA history, posting 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists and five steals.^[6] Parker had a career-best 40-point performance on July 9 against the Houston Comets.
• On June 22, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks finished a breakaway late in a game against the Indiana Fever with a one handed slam. This marked just the second time that a player in the history of the WNBA had a slam dunk.

• TheSparks–Shock brawl (also known asThe Malice at the Palace II) was an altercation that occurred in a game between theDetroit Shock andLos Angeles Sparks on July 22, 2008, atThe Palace of Auburn Hills. With 4.2 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on thecourt afterPlenette Pierson made a hard block out after afree throw onCandace Parker. This was the second brawl to occur at the Palace, the other being thePacers–Pistons brawl.

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Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

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2008Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From PG 6 Bobbitt, Shannon 5' 2" (1.57m) 130 lb (59kg) Tennessee PG 4 Brown, Kiesha 5' 10" (1.78m) 134 lb (61kg) Georgia C 12 Dydek, Margo 7' 2" (2.18m) 223 lb (101kg) Poland SG 24 Ferdinand-Harris, Marie 5' 9" (1.75m) 153 lb (69kg) LSU PG 2 Johnson, Temeka 5' 3" (1.6m) 132 lb (60kg) LSU C 9 Leslie, Lisa (C) 6' 5" (1.96m) 170 lb (77kg) USC G/F 33 Masciadri, Raffaella 6' 0" (1.83m) 169 lb (77kg) Italy SF 8 Milton-Jones, DeLisha 6' 1" (1.85m) 185 lb (84kg) Florida PF 31 Moore, Jessica 6' 3" (1.91m) 175 lb (79kg) Connecticut PF 00 Page, Murriel 6' 2" (1.88m) 160 lb (73kg) Florida F/C 3 Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) Tennessee G/F 1 Spencer, Sidney 6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) Tennessee C 32 Thomas, Christi 6' 3" (1.91m) 185 lb (84kg) Georgia	Head coach Michael Cooper (New Mexico) Assistant coaches Laura Beeman (California State University) Marianne Stanley (Immaculata) Athletic trainer Rachel Schlachet (Arizona State) Strength and conditioning coach Bruce Deziel Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured  WNBA roster page

• Lisa Leslie, All WNBA First Team
• Lisa Leslie, Led WNBA, Blocks (2.9 per game)
• Lisa Leslie, All-WNBA Defensive First Team
• Candace Parker, WNBA Rookie of the Year^[6]
• Candace Parker, WNBA MVP^[13]
• Candace Parker, Forward, All-WNBA Rookie Team
• Candace Parker, Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month award in May(For the month of May, she averaged 19.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in four games)
• Candace Parker, Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month award in July(In the 12 games played in July she averaged 20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds per game and collected eight double-doubles)^[6]
• Candace Parker, Led WNBA in double-doubles (17)
• Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Points per game (18.5)^[14]
• Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Blocks per game (2.3)^[14]
• Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Minutes per game (33.6)^[14]
• Candace Parker, Led WNBA, Rebounds per game (9.5)^[14]

• Los Angeles Sparks seasons
• 2008 WNBA season
• 2008 in sports in Los Angeles

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