| 2022Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Derek Fisher (Until June 7) Fred Williams (Interim, from July 7th-present) |
| Arena | Crypto.com Arena |
| Attendance | 5,653 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–23 (.361) |
| Place | 6th(Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Team Leaders | |
| Points | Nneka Ogwumike – 18.1 ppg |
| Rebounds | Nneka Ogwumike – 6.6 rpg |
| Assists | Jordin Canada – 5.5 apg |
| Media | |
| Television | Spectrum SportsNet ESPN CBS/CBS Sports Network NBA TV |
The2022 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 26th season for theLos Angeles Sparks of theWomen's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 6, 2022, versus theChicago Sky.[1]
The Sparks started the season well with road wins overChicago andIndiana, but could not hold onto that momentum as they lost the next five games in a row. They broke the streak by winning three of their next four games to finish May 5–6. They would open June with a loss and on June 7, 2022, the Sparks and head coachDerek Fisher parted ways after starting the season 5–7, andFred Williams was named the interim head coach.[2] Williams' tenure started with back to back losses, but the Sparks won two of their last four games in June to finish the month 2–5. The team won its first three games in July before losing their next three. Two wins were followed by three losses to finish July 5–6. The team began August in the playoff hunt, but three straight losses extended their losing streak to six total and dashed their playoff hopes. A win atWashington would be the Sparks' only win in August as they finished the season with three straight home losses. They finished the month 1–6 and the season 13–23.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Rae Burrell |  United States | Tennessee |
| 2 | 16 | Kianna Smith | United States | Louisville |
| 2 | 19 | Olivia Nelson-Ododa | United States | UConn |
| 3 | 27 | Amy Atwell | United States | Hawaii |
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2021 | Renounced the rights toMarianna Tolo and Aina Ayuso[3] | |
| January 1, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers toTe'a Cooper andLauren Cox[4] | |
| January 4, 2022 | SignedLauren Cox to a Qualifying Offer[5] | |
| January 20, 2022 | SignedTe'a Cooper to a Qualifying Offer[6] | |
| February 3, 2022 | TradedGabby Williams to Seattle in exchange forKatie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the2022 WNBA draft.[7] | |
| February 5, 2022 | TradedErica Wheeler, a 2023 First-Round Pick, and 2022 Second-Round Pick to theAtlanta Dream in exchange forChennedy Carter and the rights toLi Yueru[8] | |
| February 8, 2022 | SignedJordin Canada to a One-Year Deal[9] | |
| February 18, 2022 | SignedLiz Cambage[10] | |
| March 30, 2022 | Trade the rights toLi Yueru to theChicago Sky in exchange forLexie Brown[11] | |
| April 15, 2022 | Signed Chantel Horvat and Lexi Gordan to training-camp contracts[12] | |
| April 16, 2022 | Signed Rae Burrell,Kianna Smith, and Amy Atwell to rookie-scale contracts | |
| April 17, 2022 | SignedOlivia Nelson-Ododa to a rookie-scale contract | |
| April 29, 2022 | WaivedLauren Cox, Chantel Horvat, and Lexi Gordan[13] | |
| May 4, 2022 | WaivedTe'a Cooper,Arella Guirantes, andKianna Smith[14] | |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily SuspendKristi Toliver andKatie Lou Samuelson due to NBA and Overseas Commitments | |
| Full Season suspension of the contract ofAmanda Zahui B | ||
| May 11, 2022 | Exercised the 4th Year Team Option onChennedy Carter | |
| May 16, 2022 | SignedKatie Lou Samuelson to a One Year Extension[15] | |
| May 17, 2022 | ActivatedKatie Lou Samuelson from her Temporary Suspension[16] | |
| June 7, 2022 | Fired Head coach/GMDerek Fisher and namedFred Williams as Interim Head coach[17] | |
| WaivedAmy Atwell[18] | ||
| June 9, 2022 | ActivatedKristi Toliver from her Temporary Suspension | |
| July 4, 2022 | SignedKianna Smith to a 7-Day Hardship Contract[19] | |
| July 26, 2022 | WaivedLiz Cambage[20] | |
| SignedKianna Smith to a 2nd 7-day contract[21] | ||
| August 2, 2022 | SignedKianna Smith[22] | |
| 2022Los Angeles Sparks roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
|---|---|---|
| C | Chiney Ogwumike | Olivia Nelson-Ododa |
| PF | Nneka Ogwumike | Jasmine Walker |
| SF | Katie Lou Samuelson | Rae Burrell |
| SG | Brittney Sykes | Lexie Brown Kianna Smith |
| PG | Kristi Toliver | Jordin Canada Chennedy Carter |
| 2022 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
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| 2022 pre-season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| # | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x –Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x –Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x –Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x –Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x –Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x –Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x –New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x –Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e –Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e –Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e –Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e –Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
| 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 | ||||
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nneka Ogwumike | 34 | 34 | 31.4 | .544 | .368 | .826 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 18.1 |
| Liz Cambage‡ | 25 | 24 | 23.4 | .509 | .286 | .784 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 13.0 |
| Brittney Sykes | 32 | 24 | 28.8 | .433 | .269 | .770 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 12.7 |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | 32 | 29 | 29.5 | .373 | .352 | .837 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 9.7 |
| Jordin Canada | 32 | 25 | 27.0 | .384 | .140 | .806 | 2.3 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 9.2 |
| Chennedy Carter | 24 | 2 | 16.4 | .450 | .200 | .745 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.9 |
| Lexie Brown | 34 | 16 | 25.0 | .441 | .398 | .667 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 7.1 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 26 | 7 | 18.4 | .466 | .444 | .706 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 7.0 |
| Kristi Toliver | 11 | 10 | 19.8 | .373 | .361 | .875 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Olivia Nelson-Ododa | 30 | 6 | 14.5 | .566 | .000 | .703 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.0 |
| Kianna Smith≠ | 11 | 0 | 10.3 | .314 | .278 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Rae Burrell | 3 | 1 | 14.7 | .111 | .167 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Jasmine Walker | 32 | 1 | 8.8 | .250 | .200 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Amy Atwell‡ | 4 | 1 | 8.0 | .111 | .167 | .000 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 | [23] |
| Western Conference Player of the Week | June 27 | [24] | |
| All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 | [25] | |
| Brittney Sykes | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 | [26] |
