Nneka Ogwumike records double-double in final game

The Sparks’ season was mere seconds away from ending on a high notice. Then, the Golden State Valkyries scored 13 consecutive factors late in the fourth quarter to dissolve a double-digits Sparks lead.

Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike concluded her WNBA profession with 17 factors and 15 rebounds in the 76-75 loss to the Valkyries. Her double-double was her nineteenth this season, which set a Sparks single-season document.

“I think we’re all bummed by the ending,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “But I think it was a special night to celebrate [Nneka]. You saw how those fans adore her, so for her to get that moment and really get the spotlight and the flowers is really special. We all wanted to get the win for her, for us, but tonight’s just about her.”

Immediately after the game, the Sparks announced that they’d title their new follow facility in El Segundo after Ogwumike, who retires as the Sparks’ all-time main scorer. Team president Stacy Johns, who took over in April, introduced the newly named “Nneka Ogwumike Player Sanctuary” proofs while the 15-year veteran had tears in her eyes.

“I wanted that for you guys, I wanted that for my teammates,” she said, addressing the group. “But I wouldn’t go down any other way, which is competing hard here in L.A. against some great competition.”

Golden State (32-12) secured the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs with the win.

The loss itself mattered little. The Sparks (16-28) had been eradicated from postseason competition almost a month in the past after starting with championship aspirations. In one of their most disappointing seasons to date because of the expectations connected, the Sparks go into the offseason making an attempt to put the items together again.

“It’s kind of hard to think about after a loss,” said Rae Burrell when requested how she processed this season. “It’s not really at the top of my mind.”

Ogwumike, who missed a free throw on a technical foul against the Valkyries with seconds remaining on Thursday, joked with the group after that she ought to have made the shot before starting to handle her profession.

“That’s just a testament to who she is,” Burrell said of Ogwumike.

This yr marked their sixth consecutive season lacking the playoffs and 10 years since they last received a WNBA title.

What went mistaken started before the group set foot on the court in May.

The Sparks basically tried to skip the rebuilding half of a rebuild, and then virtually every little thing that may go mistaken with that plan did.

The Sparks have spent a number of years rebuilding since lacking the playoffs in 2021. Rather than persevering with to accumulate younger expertise around their lone lottery picks, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, they determined they had been prepared to speed up.

But the acceleration didn’t work, and the Sparks completed with the second-worst protection in the WNBA.

They introduced back Ogwumike, signed veteran level guard Erica Wheeler, prolonged Dearica Hamby and traded for Ariel Atkins to help Kelsey Plum, coming into her second yr with the franchise after they traded for her from Las Vegas. The thought was to encompass the younger core with veterans and immediately turn out to be aggressive.

Plum was supposed to be the offensive engine. Early in the season, the plan truly appeared believable: the Sparks had been 7-5 with Plum and 1-3 without her before her second major injury. She had already missed three video games with an ankle injury before struggling the lower-leg injury. They then traded her to Phoenix.

There wasn’t a true second star alongside Plum, nor was there wasn’t enough high-level perimeter creation, and they sacrificed some of their younger property to assemble a veteran-heavy group that still wasn’t good enough to contend.

“I’m proud of our culture in terms of these guys play their asses off,” Roberts said. “I think that’s the first thing you need to look at when you’re evaluating how you did as a coach, is how did your team compete? There was so much change and injuries, but am I satisfied? No, but you can only control what you can control.”

The Sparks also desperately needed Brink to turn out to be the defensive spine of the group.

Instead, she missed a good portion of the season while the group was concurrently making an attempt to repair the league’s worst protection from 2025.

Roberts famous that accidents prevented the Sparks from selecting up any momentum during the season.

“We’ve had two tough years of injuries, and I’m not trying to blame anything on that,” she said. “It’s just the reality. You know, there has been a lot of change.”

When requested if she believes she ought to return as the Sparks head coach next season, coach Lynne Roberts said yes.

“I think what this org needs is some stability, and a vision and a direction, like a plan,” she said. “Not that we haven’t had one, but I think now that we’ve got people in place, just give us a goalpost, and we’ll march down the field in that way.”

The Sparks have two lottery picks thanks to the Plum commerce and their dismal place in the standings, but they’ve a lot to do to make the playoffs next season. They have Atkins, Wheeler and Hamby still under contract. Rae Burrell is a restricted free agent.

With a new common supervisor in Ariana Andonian, the Sparks are going through an offseason of resetting — again, without Ogwumike — but at least with some property.

“There’s already things that I wish I could go back and change or tweak or whatever,” Roberts said. “But the moment I stop doing that, I need to retire.”