2018 Los Angeles Sparks season

2018 Los Angeles Sparks season
2018 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach	Brian Agler
Arena	Staples Center
Attendance	10,642 per game
Results
Record	19–15 (.559)
Place	3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	6th seed, Lost in Second Round to Washington 64–96
Team Leaders
Points	Candace Parker – 17.9 ppg
Rebounds	Candace Parker – 8.2 rpg
Assists	Chelsea Gray – 5.1 apg
Media
Television	Spectrum SportsNet; ESPN2, NBATV
	← 2017 season 2019 season →

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 20.^[1]

The Sparks started out strong with a 4–1 record in May. They won their season opener in a re-match of the 2017 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx. They continued their strong run into June where the team posted an 8–4 record. The Sparks won 6 of 7 to start the month. Two of their June losses game to the eventual WNBA Champion Seattle Storm. However, things started to get shaky in July. The Sparks went 4–6. However, all but one loss came to eventual playoff teams. The other loss was to Indiana, who ended the season with the worst record. The Sparks finished with a 4–4 record in August, including 3–0 at home. However, the Sparks lost 4 of their last 5 (again all against playoff teams).

Their final record of 19–15 was good enough to secure the 6th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs. They met the Lynx in the first round, in a re-match of the last three WNBA Finals. The Sparks prevailed 75–68 at the Staples Center. In the second round, they faced the Washington Mystics in Washington, but were defeated 64–96 to end their season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	11	Maria Vadeeva	Russia	Dynamo Kursk (Russia)
2	23	Shakayla Thomas	United States	Florida State
3	35	Julia Reisingerová	Czech Republic	Femeni Sant Adrià (Spain)

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 1, 2018	Re-sign G Odyssey Sims^[2]
February 1, 2018	Sign G Ana Dabovic and G Karlie Samuelson^[3]
February 6, 2018	Re-sign G Alana Beard^[4]
February 14, 2018	Sign G Cappie Pondexter^[5]
February 21, 2018	Re-sign F Tiffany Jackson^[6]

Roster

2018 Los Angeles Sparks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
G/F	0	Beard, Alana	5' 11" (1.8m)	160 lb (73kg)	05-14-1982	Duke	12
G/F	17	Carson, Essence	6' 0" (1.83m)	163 lb (74kg)	07-28-1986	Rutgers	10
G	12	Gray, Chelsea	5' 11" (1.8m)	170 lb (77kg)	10-08-1992	Duke	3
C	42	Lavender, Jantel	6' 4" (1.93m)	185 lb (84kg)	11-12-1988	Ohio State	7
F	30	Ogwumike, Nneka	6' 2" (1.88m)	174 lb (79kg)	07-02-1990	Stanford	6
F/C	3	Parker, Candace	6' 4" (1.93m)	175 lb (79kg)	04-19-1986	Tennessee	10
G	44	Samuelson, Karlie	6' 0" (1.83m)	–	05-10-1995	Stanford	R
G	1	Sims, Odyssey	5' 8" (1.73m)	160 lb (73kg)	07-13-1992	Baylor	4
C	10	Vadeeva, Maria	6' 4" (1.93m)	190 lb (86kg)	06-16-1988	Russia	R
G	24	Wiese, Sydney	6' 0" (1.83m)	–	06-16-1995	Oregon State	1
G	2	Williams, Riquna	5' 7" (1.7m)	165 lb (75kg)	05-28-1990	Miami (FL)	5

Head coach: Brian Agler (Wittenberg)
Assistant coaches: Tonya Edwards (Tennessee)
Bobbie Kelsey (Stanford)

Athletic trainer: Courtney Watson (California)

Strength and conditioning coach: Kelly Dormandy (Springfield)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured

Game log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log

May: 1–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	May 7	@ Connecticut	L 65–68	Thomas (17)	Thomas (8)	Pondexter (3)	Mohegan Sun Arena	0–1
2	May 8	vs. New York	L 75–81	Pondexter (17)	Wiese (9)	Pondexter (5)	Mohegan Sun Arena 1,106	0–2
3	May 12	China	W 82–61	Gray (17)	Carson (5)	Gray (10)	Hutto-Patterson Gym 1,650	1–2

2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 19–15 (Home: 11–6; Road: 8–9)

May: 3–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	May 20	@ Minnesota	W 77–76	Sims (21)	Ogwumike (9)	Gray (8)	Target Center 13,032	1–0
2	May 22	@ Indiana	W 87–70	Ogwumike (25)	Ogwumike (10)	Gray (8)	Bankers Life Fieldhouse 4,742	2–0
3	May 24	@ Connecticut	L 94–102	Gray (21)	Tied (4)	Sims (7)	Mohegan Sun Arena 5,571	2–1
4	May 27	Phoenix	W 80–72	Gray (23)	Ogwumike (8)	Gray (8)	Staples Center 11,201	3–1

June : 8–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 2–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
5	June 3	Minnesota	W 77–69	Parker (19)	Parker (10)	Gray (6)	Staples Center 13,500	4–1
6	June 7	Seattle	L 63–88	Ogwumike (19)	Ogwumike (6)	Sims (5)	Staples Center 9,204	4–2
7	June 10	Chicago	W 77–59	Parker (24)	Ogwumike (8)	Sims (5)	Staples Center 8,239	5–2
8	June 12	Atlanta	W 72–64	Parker (18)	Ogwumike (10)	Gray (7)	Staples Center 9,215	6–2
9	June 15	@ Washington	W 97–86	Parker (23)	Parker (7)	Parker (11)	Capital One Arena 5,289	7–2
10	June 17	@ Chicago	W 81–72	Gray (21)	Tied (11)	Gray (6)	Wintrust Arena 5,584	8–2
11	June 19	Indiana	W 74–55	Parker (15)	Ogwumike (7)	Gray (7)	Staples Center 8,857	9–2
12	June 22	@ Dallas	L 72–101	Ogwumike (17)	Parker (6)	Parker (6)	College Park Center 5,672	9–3
13	June 24	New York	80–54	Williams (25)	Ogwumike (10)	Gray (11)	Staples Center 9,203	10–3
14	June 26	Dallas	W 87–83	Parker (29)	Vadeeva (6)	Parker (7)	Staples Center 10,002	11–3
15	June 28	@ Seattle	L 72–81	Parker (27)	Parker (11)	Parker (3)	KeyArena 8,447	11–4
16	June 29	@ Las Vegas	L 78–94	Gray (22)	Vadeeva (7)	Beard (6)	Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,124	11–5

July : 4–6 (Home: 1–5; Road: 3–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
17	July 1	Las Vegas	W 87–71	Lavender (17)	Ogwumike (7)	3 Tied (6)	Staples Center 12,003	12–5
18	July 3	Connecticut	L 72–73	Ogwumike (20)	Parker (8)	Parker (4)	Staples Center 6,280	12–6
19	July 5	@ Minnesota	L 72–83	Parker (22)	Ogwumike (8)	Gray (8)	Target Center 9,303	12–7
20	July 7	Washington	L 74–83	Gray (23)	Ogwumike (13)	Ogwumike (5)	Staples Center 10,163	12–8
21	July 10	@ Seattle	W 77–75 (OT)	Parker (21)	Tied (9)	Parker (10)	KeyArena 9,686	13–8
22	July 12	Dallas	L 77–92	Parker (21)	Parker (7)	Gray (5)	Staples Center 13,502	13–9
23	July 15	@ Las Vegas	W 99–78	Parker (34)	Parker (11)	Parker (9)	Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,810	14–9
24	July 20	Indiana	L 76–78	Parker (24)	Parker (12)	Parker (7)	Staples Center 10,532	14–10
25	July 22	@ Chicago	W 93–76	Parker (23)	Parker (12)	Gray (9)	Wintrust Arena 6,477	15–10
26	July 24	Atlanta	L 71–81	Gray (18)	Parker (9)	Parker (5)	Staples Center 9,324	15–11

August : 4–4 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
27	August 2	Minnesota	W 79–57	Parker (23)	Parker (10)	Gray (9)	Staples Center 9,542	16-11
28	August 5	Phoenix	W 78–75	Gray (24)	Parker (14)	Parker (8)	Staples Center 19,076	17-11
29	August 8	@ New York	W 82–81	Gray (19)	Parker (8)	Parker (6)	Westchester County Center 2,481	18-11
30	August 9	@ Atlanta	L 73–79	Parker (20)	Parker (12)	Tied (4)	McCamish Pavilion 4,235	18-12
31	August 12	@ Phoenix	L 78–86	Parker (23)	Parker (8)	Sims (6)	Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,618	18-13
32	August 14	New York	W 74–66	Gray (26)	Parker (10)	Gray (5)	Staples Center 11,067	19-13
33	August 17	@ Washington	L 67–69	Williams (14)	Tied (8)	Parker (7)	Capital One Arena 7,400	19-14
34	August 19	@ Connecticut	L 86–89	Parker (20)	Parker (10)	Gray (7)	Mohegan Sun Arena 8,040	19-15

2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)

WNBA First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	August 21	Minnesota	W 75–68	Gray (26)	Parker (6)	Gray (6)	Staples Center 8,598	1–0

WNBA Second Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	August 23	@ Washington	L 64–96^{[permanent dead link]}	Parker (16)	Parker (8)	3 Tied (3)	Capital One Arena 3,548	1–1

2018 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Western Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Seattle Storm (1)	26	8	.765	–	13–4	13–4	11–5
2	Phoenix Mercury (5)	20	14	.588	6	9–8	11–6	8–8
3	Los Angeles Sparks (6)	19	15	.559	7	11–6	8–9	9–7
4	Minnesota Lynx (7)	18	16	.529	8	9–8	9–8	9–7
5	Dallas Wings (8)	15	19	.441	11	10–7	5–12	7–9
6	e –Las Vegas Aces	14	20	.412	12	8–9	6–11	4–12

Playoffs


First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21)			Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23)			Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)							WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)



						1	Seattle Storm	91	91	66	84	94

			4	Connecticut Sun	86	5	Phoenix Mercury	87	87	86	86	84

5	Phoenix Mercury	101	5	Phoenix Mercury	96								1	Seattle Storm	89	75	98

8	Dallas Wings	83											3	Washington Mystics	76	73	82

						2	Atlanta Dream	84	78	81	76	81

			3	Washington Mystics	96	3	Washington Mystics	87	75	76	97	86

6	Los Angeles Sparks	75	6	Los Angeles Sparks	64

7	Minnesota Lynx	68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

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%	PPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG
Candace Parker	31	30	30.6	.471	.345	.808	17.9	8.2	4.7	1.2	1.1
Nneka Ogwumike	27	27	30.8	.525	.346	.816	15.5	6.8	2.0	1.6	0.4
Chelsea Gray	34	34	32.7	.484	.392	.835	14.9	3.4	5.1	1.4	0.2
Odyssey Sims	34	24	25.5	.388	.273	.722	8.2	2.5	2.8	0.6	0.0
Essence Carson	34	15	23.1	.435	.361	.938	7.5	2.6	0.9	0.9	0.4
Riquna Williams	33	3	16.5	.407	.375	.800	7.1	1.4	0.7	0.7	0.1
Jantel Lavender	30	7	17.0	.428	.188	.900	5.2	3.7	0.7	0.4	0.2
Alana Beard	30	30	25.5	.392	.400	.810	4.0	3.3	1.7	1.5	0.2
Maria Vadeeva	25	0	8.2	.527	.333	.750	3.6	2.2	0.4	0.4	0.4
Karlie Samuelson	20	0	4.2	.389	.313	.000	1.0	0.5	0.3	0.1	0.3
Sydney Wiese	11	0	3.3	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Chelsea Gray	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	May 29, 2018	^[7]
Candace Parker	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	July 15, 2018	^[8]
Nneka Ogwumike	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 17, 2018	^[9]
Chelsea Gray	WNBA All-Star Selection
Candace Parker	WNBA All-Star Captain
Candace Parker	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	August 6, 2018	^[10]
Alana Beard	WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	August 31, 2018	^[11]

References

^ "2018 Los Angeles Sparks Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Odyssey Sims re-signs with Los Angeles Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Ana Dabovic and Karlie Samuelson". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Sparks re-sign 2017 WNBA Defensive Player of the year, Alana Beard". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 6, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Sparks sign top WNBA free agent Cappie Pondexter". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Tiffany Jackson re-signs with Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ "Alyssa Thomas, Chelsea Gray Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
^ "Atlanta's Breland, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
^ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ "Atlanta's Hayes, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
^ "Sparks' Alana Beard Named 2018 Defensive Player Of The Year - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved August 31, 2018.

External links

Official website

[1] "2018 Los Angeles Sparks Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[2] "Odyssey Sims re-signs with Los Angeles Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[3] "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Ana Dabovic and Karlie Samuelson". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[4] "Sparks re-sign 2017 WNBA Defensive Player of the year, Alana Beard". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 6, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[5] "Sparks sign top WNBA free agent Cappie Pondexter". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[6] "Tiffany Jackson re-signs with Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.

[7] "Alyssa Thomas, Chelsea Gray Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.

[8] "Atlanta's Breland, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.

[9] "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

[10] "Atlanta's Hayes, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.

[11] "Sparks' Alana Beard Named 2018 Defensive Player Of The Year - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved August 31, 2018.

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v t e Los Angeles Sparks
Founded in 1997 Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise	Franchise Current season
Arenas	Kia Forum Crypto.com Arena
Head coaches	Linda Sharp Julie Rousseau Orlando Woolridge Michael Cooper Karleen Thompson Ryan Weisenberg Henry Bibby Joe Bryant Michael Cooper Jennifer Gillom Joe Bryant Carol Ross Penny Toler Brian Agler Derek Fisher Fred Williams Curt Miller
Administration	Owner: Guggenheim Partners General Manager: Vacant
All-Stars	Alana Beard Tamecka Dixon Chelsea Gray Dearica Hamby Chamique Holdsclaw Jantel Lavender Lisa Leslie Mwadi Mabika Taj McWilliams-Franklin DeLisha Milton-Jones Nneka Ogwumike Candace Parker Nikki Teasley Tina Thompson Kristi Toliver
Seasons	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Playoff appearances	1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Conference Championships	2001 2002 2003 2016 2017
WNBA Championships	2001 2002 2016
Rivals	Detroit Shock Houston Comets New York Liberty Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Sacramento Monarchs Las Vegas Aces Seattle Storm
Media	TV: Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles) Announcers: Jim Watson, Mary Murphy

v t e 2018 WNBA season by team
Draft Transactions All-Star Game Playoffs Finals
Eastern	Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics
Western	Dallas Wings Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Seattle Storm
← 2017 WNBA season 2019 →