Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks
Conference Western
Founded 1997
History Los Angeles Sparks
1997–present
Arena Staples Center
City Los Angeles, California
Sponsor EquiTrust Life Insurance
Team colors Yellow, purple, teal, black, white[1]
                        
Owner(s) Sparks LA Sports, LLC (represented by Mark Walter, Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, Todd Boehly and Bobby Patton)
General manager Penny Toler
Head coach Brian Agler
Assistant coaches Amber Stocks
Tony Edwards
Championships 3 (2001, 2002, 2016)
Conference titles 3 (2001, 2002, 2003)
Official website sparks.wnba.com

The Los Angeles Sparks are a professional Basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). They are the current WNBA champions after defeating the Minnesota Lynx, 3-2, in the 2016 WNBA Finals. The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. As of 2015, the Sparks are the last franchise to win back-to-back titles.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss owned the Sparks from 1997 to 2006 when Williams Group Holdings purchased the team. It was previously the sister team of the Los Angeles Lakers. As of 2014, the Sparks are owned by Sparks LA Sports, LLC.

The Sparks have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in sixteen of their twenty years in Los Angeles, more than any other team in the league. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as 6 foot 5 inch center Tennessee standout Candace Parker, flashy point guard Nikki Teasley, and nearby USC products Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson. In 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2016, the Sparks went to the WNBA Finals. They won the title in 2001, 2002, and 2016, beating Charlotte, New York, and Minnesota respectively, but fell short to Detroit in 2003.

Being in a major national market, the Sparks have always been a focal point of the league; they faced New York in the league's inaugural game on June 21, 1997.

Franchise history

1997–2000: Beginnings and bright future

The 1997 WNBA season, the league's first, opened with a game between the Sparks and the New York Liberty at the Sparks home (The Forum) in Inglewood. The Sparks lost the game 57–67. Sparks player Penny Toler scored the league's first two points with a lay-up 59 seconds into the game. The Sparks finished with a record of 14–14. The team did compete for a playoff spot, but because of a loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the final game of the season, the Sparks missed the playoffs. In the 1998 WNBA season, the Sparks finished 12–18, missing the playoffs once more.

The 1999 season featured the development of Lisa Leslie and the Sparks' first playoff berth, as the Sparks posted a 20–12 record. The Sparks won their first playoff game and series with a win over the Sacramento Monarchs. They played in the Western Conference Finals but fell to the defending champion Houston Comets, 2 games to 1, in the three-game series.

Lisa Leslie

The 2000 season was a record one, as the Sparks had a 28–4 record, the best in league history, and second only to the 1998 Houston Comets for best all-time. In the playoffs, the Sparks swept the Phoenix Mercury in the first round but lost in the Western Conference Finals again, when they were swept by the Comets. Ultimately, the Sparks were playing in the shadow of the Comets, who won the first four WNBA championships.

2001–2002: Back-to-Back Championships

The 2000–01 off-season saw a move to the Staples Center and a coaching change, when the Sparks hired former Los Angeles Lakers player Michael Cooper as head coach. During the ensuing regular season, the Sparks again posted a 28–4 record. In the 2001 playoffs, the Sparks finally eliminated the Comets, sweeping them in the first round. The Sparks took all three games to eliminate the Monarchs to earn their first berth in the WNBA Finals, in which they swept the Charlotte Sting, 2–0, for their first league championship.

In 2002, Leslie became the first woman in the league to dunk the ball during a game, and once again the Sparks dominated the regular season, posting a 25–7 record. The Sparks then flew through the playoffs, sweeping both the Seattle Storm and the Utah Starzz. In the finals, the Sparks were matched against the Liberty, who were still looking for their first championship. A late three-pointer in game 2 by Nikki Teasley gave the Sparks their second consecutive championship.

2003: Chasing a three-peat

In 2003, the Sparks posted a 24–10 record and went into the playoffs looking for a "three-peat". Both the first and the second rounds were forced to deciding third games, as they beat the Minnesota Lynx and Sacramento Monarchs. The Sparks then faced the upstart Detroit Shock in the Finals. The Shock were on a roll after having been the worst team in the WNBA in 2002. The Finals were a battle fueled by the relationship between head coaches Michael Cooper (Sparks) and Bill Laimbeer (Shock) which stemmed from their days in the NBA. The rough road to the finals and the tough play of the Shock wore down the Sparks, which lost the series, two games to one, and failed to three-peat.

2004–2006: Further championship contention

During the 2003-04 off-season, the Sparks signed two players, Tamika Whitmore and Teresa Weatherspoon, who had played for the New York Liberty. When the season began, the Sparks got off to a great start, but coach Cooper left at mid-season to seek a coaching job in the NBA. The loss of their coach was a factor in the team's so-so finish to the season, which ended with a record of 25–9. During the playoffs, the team lost in three games to the Sacramento Monarchs.

The Sparks never recovered through the 2005 season and finished with a 17–17 record. They barely made the playoffs as the number-four seed. In the first round, the Sparks were outplayed and swept by the eventual champion Monarchs.

In 2006, the Sparks played much better, posting a 25–9 record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Seattle Storm in three games. However, in the Western Conference finals, the Sparks' season was ended by the Monarchs for the third year in a row.

2007: Rock bottom

Staples Center

After the 2006 season ended, team owner Jerry Buss, who also owned the Lakers, announced he was selling the Sparks. On December 7, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported the sale to an investor group led by Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson. Goodman is currently a high school teacher at HighTech-LA in Lake Balboa and was a former executive for Intermedia Films. Christofferson is a litigation attorney for the O’Melveny & Myers law firm and was Miss North Dakota USA in 1989. The day after the sale was announced, team star Lisa Leslie announced that she was pregnant and would not play in the WNBA in the 2007 season despite Michael Cooper's return to the team as head coach.

The loss of Leslie for the year proved devastating, as the Sparks posted a league-worst 10–24 record. The record was also the worst in Sparks history, as the Sparks missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

2008–2015: Lisa Leslie's final years, the rise of Candace Parker, falling short and new ownership

Before the start of the 2008 season, the team's prospects improved dramatically. Lisa Leslie returned to the team, and on April 9, 2008, the team used its number-one draft pick to select Candace Parker, the college player of the year, the morning after Parker had led the University of Tennessee Lady Vols to their second-straight NCAA championship.

In 2008, the Sparks posted a 20–14 record and finished third in the Western Conference. Parker had won Rookie of the Year and WNBA MVP, becoming the first player in WNBA history to win both awards in the same season.[2] In the playoffs, the Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 2–1 to reach the Western Conference Finals and compete against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The Sparks were on track to win game 2 of the series, but Silver Star Sophia Young made a turn-around bank-shot with a second left on the clock to force the series to a deciding game three. The Sparks lost game three, and the Silver Stars moved on to the WNBA Finals.

Following the 2008 season, Parker announced that she was pregnant. To compensate for Parker's absence, the Sparks signed native veteran superstar Tina Thompson (who had previously played for the former rival Houston Comets) and former Finals MVP Betty Lennox in free agency. With the addition of Thompson and Lennox, the Sparks added more championship experience and veteran leadership to their roster to them help them compete for another title.

The 2009 season had started poorly for the Sparks. Parker began the season on maternity leave, and Leslie suffered a knee injury early in the season. Both Leslie and Parker returned to the court in July, however, sparking a 10–2 run which turned an 8–14 start into an 18–16 regular-season record and clinching the Sparks' tenth playoff appearance in their 13-year history. In the first round of the playoffs, the Sparks defeated the Seattle Storm for the third time in four years. In the Western Conference Finals, the Sparks' lost to the eventual champion Phoenix Mercury in three games. The end of the 2009 playoff run marked the end of Leslie's career as a player and Cooper's second tenure as Sparks' head coach. In the off-season, former Sparks player Jennifer Gillom became the team's new head coach.

With the acquisition of former All-Star point guard Ticha Penicheiro and Parker establishing herself as the team's next franchise player, the 2010 Sparks believed they had the pieces to contend for a championship. However, Parker had season-ending shoulder surgery after the team started 3–7. Without her, the Sparks struggled, finishing 13–21, which was good enough to qualify them for fourth place in the Western Conference, but they were swept by the eventual champion Seattle Storm in the first round.

The 2011 season was eerily reminiscent of the previous year for the Sparks. The team started 4–3 but again Parker sustained an injury. Following three more losses, the Sparks fired head coach Gillom, promoting previous Sparks coach Joe Bryant. With Parker out until the end of the season, the Sparks headed into the All-Star break 6–8 and in fifth place. The Sparks finished the season three games out of the playoffs with a 15–19 record. Thompson would become a free agent and sign with the Seattle Storm.

In the 2012 season, the Sparks significantly improved, making it back to the playoffs since 2010, finishing second in the Western Conference with a 24–10 record. That same year they drafted Rookie of the Year and future MVP Nneka Ogwumike with the number-one pick. However, the Sparks were eliminated 2–0 in the first round by the Minnesota Lynx.

The team was owned by Williams Group Holdings (Paula Madison, majority owner) and Carla Christofferson, Nicholas J H, and Lisa Leslie (minority owners) until January 2014 when it was abruptly announced that WGH would relinquish all control. Paula Madison said that since becoming an owner in 2007, she and her family had lost $12 million, including $1.4 million in 2013.[3] The team was temporarily absorbed by the league, and was then purchased by Sparks LA Sports, a group that included former NBA player Magic Johnson.[4]

The 2014 and 2015 seasons would be disappointing for the Sparks as they had continued to be an underachieving playoff team, getting eliminated in the first round both years by the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx respectively.

2016–present: Champions once again

After making the playoffs in 2015, losing in the first round, the Sparks made subtle roster changes and improved the following year. Suddenly showing signs of championship contention, they finished with a 26–8 record and made it to the 2016 WNBA Playoffs. By this time, the Sparks had a "Big Three", consisting of Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Toliver. They earned the number 2 seed in the league and received a double bye to the semi-finals with the WNBA's new playoff format.[5] The Sparks faced off against the Chicago Sky in the semi-finals and defeated the Sky 3 games to 1 to advance to the Finals for the first time since 2003. They faced the number 1 seeded Minnesota Lynx in the finals. They stole game 1 on the road when veteran forward Alana Beard made a game-winning jumper at the buzzer, lifting the team to a 78–76 victory. They lost game 2 79–60, but back in Los Angeles, put themselves one win away from their first title in over a decade with a dominant 92–75 game 3 victory. Even though they expected to clinch a championship on their home floor, they lost game 4 in a disappointing finish of 85–79. Game 5 was truly historic, against all odds, and swarmed with Minnesota fans, the 2016 WNBA MVP, Nneka Ogwumike grabbed an offensive rebound and made the game-winning shot to put the Sparks ahead 77–76 with 3.1 seconds remaining. The Sparks won their first championship since 2002 and their third championship in franchise history. Candace Parker was named the Finals MVP.[6][7]

Current home

The Los Angeles Sparks currently play in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The capacity for a Sparks game is 13,141 because the upper level is closed off (capacity for a Lakers game is 18,997). The Sparks have played in the Staples Center since 2001. They previously played at The Forum but stayed there for two years after the Lakers departed for Staples Center before the venue was purchased by a local church.

Uniforms

Season-by-season records

Players

Current roster

Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G/F 0 United States Beard, Alana 6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) 05-14-1982 Duke 12
F 10 Russia Belyakova, Evgeniya 6' 0" (1.83m) 150 lb (68kg) 06-27-1986 Russia R
G/F 17 United States Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 07-28-1986 Rutgers 8
G 23 Serbia Dabović, Ana 6' 0" (1.83m) 157 lb (71kg) 08-18-1989 Serbia 1
F 28 Montenegro Dubljević, Jelena 6' 3" (1.91m) 179 lb (81kg) 05-07-1987 Montenegro R
G 12 United States Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 10-08-1992 Duke 1
F/C 7 France Gruda, Sandrine 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 06-25-1987 France 4
C 42 United States Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 11-12-1988 Ohio State 5
F 30 United States Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 07-02-1990 Stanford 4
F/C 3 United States Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) 04-19-1986 Tennessee 8
G 20 United States Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 01-27-1987 Maryland 7
C 21 Belgium Wauters, Ann 6' 4" (1.93m) 193 lb (88kg) 10-12-1980 Belgium 8



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LA • MIN • PHO • SA • SEA
Head coach
United States Brian Agler (Wittenberg)
Assistant coaches
United States Tonya Edwards (Tennessee)
United States Amber Stocks (Cincinnati)
Athletic trainer
United States Courtney Watson (UC Berkeley)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Kelly Dormandy (Springfield College)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page

Other rights owned

Nationality Name Years pro Last played Drafted
United States Jennifer Hamson R 2015 2014
South Korea Ha Eun-Joo 0 N/A N/A
France Emmeline Ndongue 1 2006 N/A

Former players

Retired numbers

Los Angeles Sparks retired numbers
No. Player Position Tenure
9 Lisa Leslie C 1997–2009
11 Penny Toler G 1997–99

Coaches and staff

Owners

Head coaches

Los Angeles Sparks head coaches
Name Start End Seasons Regular season Playoffs
W L PCT G W L PCT G
Linda Sharp Beginning of 1997 July 16, 1997 1 4 7 .364 11 0 0 .000 0
Julie Rousseau July 16, 1997 July 30, 1998 2 17 20 .459 37 0 0 .000 0
Orlando Woolridge July 30, 1998 October 2, 1999 2 25 17 .595 42 2 2 .500 4
Michael Cooper October 14, 1999 July 18, 2004 5 119 31 .793 150 19 7 .731 26
Karleen Thompson July 18, 2004 End of 2004 1 11 3 .786 14 1 2 .333 3
Henry Bibby April 7, 2005 August 22, 2005 1 13 16 .448 29 0 0 .000 0
Joe Bryant August 22, 2005 April 4, 2007 2 29 10 .744 39 2 5 .286 7
Michael Cooper April 4, 2007 End of 2009 3 48 54 .471 102 6 6 .500 12
Michael Cooper Total 8 167 85 .663 252 25 13 .658 38
Jennifer Gillom December 14, 2009 July 11, 2011 2 17 27 .386 44 0 2 .000 2
Joe Bryant July 11, 2011 January 5, 2012 1 11 13 .458 24 0 0 .000 0
Joe Bryant Total 3 40 23 .635 63 2 5 .286 7
Carol Ross January 5, 2012 July 20, 2014 3 58 32 .644 90 3 4 .429 7
Penny Toler July 20, 2014 End of 2014 1 6 6 .500 12 0 2 .000 2
Brian Agler January 5, 2015 Present 2 40 28 .588 68 7 5 .583 12

General Managers

Assistant coaches

Statistics

Los Angeles Sparks statistics

Media coverage

Currently, some Sparks games are broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, a local television channel in the Southern California area, after agreeing to a multi-year broadcast deal with TWC in March 2012.[11] More often than not, NBA TV will pick up the feed from the local broadcast, which is shown nationally. Broadcasters for the Sparks games are Larry Burnett and Lisa Leslie. Previously, Sparks games were found on Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket and former analysts have included Derek Fisher and Ann Meyers.

All games (excluding blackout games, which are available on ESPN3.com) are broadcast to the WNBA LiveAccess game feeds on the league website. Furthermore, some Sparks games are broadcast nationally on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The WNBA has reached an eight-year agreement with ESPN, which will pay right fees to the Sparks, as well as other teams in the league.[12]

Currently, the team's games are not on radio; however, the team did bounce around several stations from 1999 to 2008. The first two years had no broadcasts. Then in 1999, the team signed with KWKU, a sister station to Spanish-language KWKW, licensed to Pomona, California. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times published in this period, KWKU had no switchboard and no website. In addition, its 500-watt signal reached only a handful of people in the greater L.A. area and was certainly nowhere near the team's home arenas. In 2003, the team left KWKU for KLAC, which had summer time slots available after the Anaheim Angels' radio broadcasts had just left. That lasted until 2006, when KLAC switched the broadcasts to XETRA, which carried the same format KLAC had before. In 2007, the game broadcasts moved again, this time to KTLK, when XETRA switched its language of broadcasts from English to Spanish. The Sparks and Clear Channel Communications (licensee of the last three stations mentioned) chose not to renew their contract after 2008. Sparks radio broadcasts never covered a complete season; most nationally-televised games and many games from the Eastern time zone were not covered. Burnett was the announcer.

All-time notes

Regular season attendance

Regular season all-time attendance
Year Average High Low Sellouts Total for year WNBA game average
1997 8,937 (4th) 14,457 5,987 0 125,114 9,669
1998 7,653 (9th) 11,191 4,851 0 114,801 10,869
1999 7,625 (10th) 13,116 5,436 0 122,000 10,207
2000 6,563 (14th) 11,378 4,416 0 105,005 9,074
2001 9,278 (4th) 11,819 6,591 0 148,446 9,075
2002 11,651 (3rd) 18,542 7,487 0 186,410 9,228
2003 9,290 (4th) 11,320 6,710 0 157,934 8,800
2004 10,369 (2nd) 18,997 8,368 0 176,269 8,613
2005 8,839 (5th) 17,769 7,246 0 143,211 8,172
2006 8,312 (5th) 12,289 6,670 0 141,312 7,476
2007 8,695 (3rd) 13,092 6,748 0 147,810 7,742
2008 9,429 (2nd) 13,142 7,245 0 161,369 7,948
2009 10,387 (2nd) 13,865 8,263 0 176,587 8,039
2010 9,468 (2nd) 14,413 6,026 0 160,951 7,834
2011 10,316 (2nd) 14,266 7,522 0 175,366 7,954
2012 10,089 (1st) 12,639 8,312 0 171,511 7,452
2013 9,869 (1st) 12,651 6,110 0 167,773 7,531
2014 8,288 (5th) 10,138 5,317 0 140,901 7,578
2015 7,464 (6th) 19,076 4,344 0 126,895 7,184

Draft picks

All-Stars

  • 1997: No All-Star Game
  • 1998: No All-Star Game
  • 1999: Lisa Leslie
  • 2000: Lisa Leslie, Mwadi Mabika, Delisha Milton
  • 2001: Tamecka Dixon, Lisa Leslie
  • 2002: Tamecka Dixon, Lisa Leslie, Mwadi Mabika
  • 2003: Tamecka Dixon, Lisa Leslie, Nikki Teasley
  • 2004: Mwadi Mabika, Nikki Teasley
  • 2005: Chamique Holdsclaw, Lisa Leslie
  • 2006: Lisa Leslie
  • 2007: Taj McWilliams-Franklin
  • 2008: No All-Star Game
  • 2009: Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson
  • 2010: Candace Parker
  • 2011: Candace Parker
  • 2012: No All-Star Game
  • 2013: Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker, Kristi Toliver
  • 2014: Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker
  • 2015: Jantel Lavender, Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2016: No All-Star Game

Olympians

Honors and awards

  • 1997 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 1997 Sportsmanship Award: Haixia Zheng
  • 1998 All-WNBA Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 1999 All-WNBA Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 1999 All-Star Game MVP: Lisa Leslie
  • 2000 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2000 Coach of the Year: Michael Cooper
  • 2001 Most Valuable Player: Lisa Leslie
  • 2001 Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie
  • 2001 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2001 All-WNBA Second Team: Tamecka Dixon
  • 2001 All-Star Game MVP: Lisa Leslie
  • 2001 Peak Performer (FG%): Latasha Byears
  • 2002 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2002 All-WNBA First Team: Mwadi Mabika
  • 2002 Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie
  • 2002 All-Star Game MVP: Lisa Leslie
  • 2003 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2003 All-WNBA Second Team: Nikki Teasley
  • 2003 All-Star Game MVP: Nikki Teasley
  • 2004 Most Valuable Player: Lisa Leslie
  • 2004 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2004 All-WNBA Second Team: Nikki Teasley
  • 2004 Defensive Player of the Year: Lisa Leslie
  • 2004 Peak Performer (Rebounds): Lisa Leslie
  • 2005 All-WNBA Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2005 All-Defensive Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2006 Most Valuable Player: Lisa Leslie
  • 2006 All-Decade Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2006 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2006 All-Defensive First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2007 All-Rookie Team: Marta Fernandez
  • 2007 All-Rookie Team: Sidney Spencer
  • 2008 Most Valuable Player: Candace Parker
  • 2008 Rookie of the Year: Candace Parker
  • 2008 All-WNBA First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2008 All-WNBA First Team: Candace Parker
  • 2008 Defensive Player of the Year: Lisa Leslie
  • 2008 All-Defensive First Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2008 All-Rookie Team: Candace Parker
  • 2008 Peak Performer (Rebounds): Candace Parker
  • 2009 All-WNBA Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2009 All-WNBA Second Team: Candace Parker
  • 2009 All-Defensive Second Team: Lisa Leslie
  • 2009 All-Defensive Second Team: Candace Parker
  • 2009 Peak Performer (Rebounds): Candace Parker
  • 2010 Peak Performer (Assists): Ticha Penicheiro
  • 2012 Rookie of the Year: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2012 Most Improved Player: Kristi Toliver
  • 2012 Coach of the Year: Carol Ross
  • 2012 All-WNBA First Team: Candace Parker
  • 2012 All-Defensive First Team: Alana Beard
  • 2012 All-Defensive Second Team: Candace Parker
  • 2012 All-Rookie Team: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2013 Most Valuable Player: Candace Parker
  • 2013 All-WNBA First Team: Candace Parker
  • 2014 All-WNBA First Team: Candace Parker
  • 2014 All-WNBA Second Team: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2014 All-Defensive Second Team: Alana Beard
  • 2015 All-Rookie Team: Ana Dabović
  • 2015 All-Defensive First Team: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2015 All-WNBA Second Team: Candace Parker
  • 2016 Finals MVP: Candace Parker
  • 2016 Most Valuable Player: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2016 Sixth Woman of the Year: Jantel Lavender
  • 2016 All-Defensive First Team: Alana Beard
  • 2016 All-Defensive First Team: Nneka Ogwumike

References

  1. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Media Central. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/player/candace-parker/#/bio
  3. ↑ Feinberg, Doug (January 3, 2013). "WNBA's LA Sparks looking for new owners". sacbee.com. Sacramento Bee. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Sparks bought by investment group led by Magic Johnson and Mark Walter". February 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks lead Chicago in 2016 WNBA playoffs". WNBA.com. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sparks to face Minnesota Lynx in 2016 WNBA Finals". Encyclopedia of Things. October 6, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ http://theweek.com/speedreads/656704/los-angeles-sparks-win-third-wnba-championship
  8. ↑ "SportsPageMagazine.com". Spmsportspage.com. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks 2012 Media Guide" (PDF). Los Angeles Sparks. p. 7. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sparks bought by investment group led by Magic Johnson and Mark Walter". February 4, 2014.
  11. ↑ Time Warner Cable Sports Dunks Multiyear Rights Deal with WNBA's LA Sparks Multichannel News March 14, 2011
  12. ↑ WNBA Extends TV Rights Deal with ESPN and ABC Sports Business June 18, 2007
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Houston Comets		 WNBA Champions
2001 (First title)
2002 (Second title)
2016 (Third title) 		Succeeded by
TBD
WNBA Western Conference Champions
2001 (First title)
2002 (Second title)
2003 (Third title)
2016 (Fourth title) 		Succeeded by
TBD
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