The 2022 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 26th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 6, 2022, versus the Chicago Sky.
The Sparks started the season well with road wins over Chicago and Indiana, 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 coach Derek Fisher parted ways after starting the season 5–7, and Fred Williams was named the interim head coach. 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 at Washington 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.
Transactions
WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country 1 9 Rae Burrell Tennessee 2 16 Kianna Smith Louisville 2 19 Olivia Nelson-Ododa UConn 3 27 Amy Atwell Hawaii
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction December 31, 2021 Renounced the rights to Marianna Tolo and Aina Ayuso January 1, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to Te'a Cooper and Lauren Cox January 4, 2022 Signed Lauren Cox to a Qualifying Offer January 20, 2022 Signed Te'a Cooper to a Qualifying Offer February 3, 2022 Traded Gabby Williams to Seattle in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the 2022 WNBA draft. February 5, 2022 Traded Erica Wheeler, a 2023 First-Round Pick, and 2022 Second-Round Pick to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru February 8, 2022 Signed Jordin Canada to a One-Year Deal February 18, 2022 Signed Liz Cambage March 30, 2022 Trade the rights to Li Yueru to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Lexie Brown April 15, 2022 Signed Chantel Horvat and Lexi Gordan to training-camp contracts April 16, 2022 Signed Rae Burrell, Kianna Smith, and Amy Atwell to rookie-scale contracts April 17, 2022 Signed Olivia Nelson-Ododa to a rookie-scale contract April 29, 2022 Waived Lauren Cox, Chantel Horvat, and Lexi Gordan May 4, 2022 Waived Te'a Cooper, Arella Guirantes, and Kianna Smith May 5, 2022 Temporarily Suspend Kristi Toliver and Katie Lou Samuelson due to NBA and Overseas Commitments Full Season suspension of the contract of Amanda Zahui B May 11, 2022 Exercised the 4th Year Team Option on Chennedy Carter May 16, 2022 Signed Katie Lou Samuelson to a One Year Extension May 17, 2022 Activated Katie Lou Samuelson from her Temporary Suspension June 7, 2022 Fired Head coach/GM Derek Fisher and named Fred Williams as Interim Head coach Waived Amy Atwell June 9, 2022 Activated Kristi Toliver from her Temporary Suspension July 4, 2022 Signed Kianna Smith to a 7-Day Hardship Contract July 26, 2022 Waived Liz Cambage Signed Kianna Smith to a 2nd 7-day contract August 2, 2022 Signed Kianna Smith
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Chiney Ogwumike Olivia Nelson-Ododa PF Nneka Ogwumike Jasmine Walker SF Katie Lou Samuelson Rae Burrell SG Brittney Sykes Lexie BrownKianna Smith PG Kristi Toliver Jordin CanadaChennedy Carter
Schedule
Preseason
| 1 | April 23 | @ Seattle | L 68–81 | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (15) | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (12) | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (5) | Climate Pledge Arena5,734 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 30 | Phoenix | W 87-84 | Amy Atwell (19) | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6) | Jordin Canada (3) | MatadomeN/A | 1-1
Regular season
| 1 | May 6 | @ Chicago | W 98–91 (OT) | Jordin Canada (21) | Nneka Ogwumike (7) | Jordin Canada (8) | Wintrust Arena8,111 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 8 | @ Indiana | W 88–78 | Liz Cambage (22) | Liz Cambage (11) | Jordin Canada (6) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse1,456 | 2–0 |- | 3 | May 11 | @ Atlanta | L 75–77 | Jordin Canada (19) | Nneka Ogwumike (15) | Nneka Ogwumike (4) | Gateway Center Arena3,138 | 2–1 |- | 4 | May 14 | @ Connecticut | L 60–77 | CanadaN. Ogwumike (12) | CambageWalker (4) | Brittney Sykes (4) | Mohegan Sun Arena5,624 | 2–2 |- | 5 | May 17 | Minnesota | L 84–87 | Nneka Ogwumike (22) | Nneka Ogwumike (8) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena4,701 | 2–3 |- | 6 | May 20 | @ Seattle | L 80–83 | Liz Cambage (25) | Liz Cambage (8) | Lexie Brown (5) | Climate Pledge Arena10,103 | 2–4 |- | 7 | May 23 | @ Las Vegas | L 76–104 | Chennedy Carter (17) | Nneka Ogwumike (6) | Jordin Canada (9) | Michelob Ultra Arena4,092 | 2–5 |- | 8 | May 25 | Phoenix | W 99–94 | Nneka Ogwumike (23) | Liz Cambage (7) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena4,020 | 3–5 |- | 9 | May 27 | @ Indiana | L 96–101 | Nneka Ogwumike (30) | Nneka Ogwumike (10) | CanadaCarterSykes (5) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,417 | 3–6 |- | 10 | May 29 | @ Minnesota | W 85–83 | Chennedy Carter (20) | Chennedy Carter (6) | CarterSykes (4) | Target Center7,234 | 4–6 |- | 11 | May 31 | Dallas | W 93–91 | Brittney Sykes (25) | Nneka Ogwumike (10) | CambageSykes (4) | Crypto.com Arena4,852 | 5–6
| 12 | June 5 | @ Phoenix | L 74–81 | Nneka Ogwumike (19) | Nneka Ogwumike (7) | CanadaSamuelson (4) | Footprint Center10,151 | 5–7 |- | 13 | June 11 | Las Vegas | L 72–89 | Nneka Ogwumike (16) | Nneka Ogwumike (9) | Jordin Canada (8) | Crypto.com Arena8,200 | 5–8 |- | 14 | June 19 | @ Dallas | L 82–92 | Nneka Ogwumike (17) | C. OgwumikeN. Ogwumike (10) | Liz Cambage (5) | College Park Center3,779 | 5–9 |- | 15 | June 21 | Washington | W 84–82 | Nneka Ogwumike (21) | Chiney Ogwumike (9) | Kristi Toliver (5) | Crypto.com Arena3,745 | 6–9 |- | 16 | June 23 | Chicago | L 59–82 | Nneka Ogwumike (15) | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6) | Kristi Toliver (6) | Crypto.com Arena5,627 | 6–10 |- | 17 | June 25 | @ Seattle | W 85–77 | Nneka Ogwumike (24) | CambageNelson-Ododa (8) | Brittney Sykes (8) | Climate Pledge Arena9,955 | 7–10 |- | 18 | June 27 | Las Vegas | L 73–79 | Nneka Ogwumike (18) | CambageN. Ogwumike (11) | Brittney Sykes (7) | Crypto.com Arena4,200 | 7–11
| 19 | July 1 | @ Dallas | W 97–89 | CambageN. Ogwumike (22) | Liz Cambage (11) | Kristi Toliver (7) | College Park Center3,187 | 8–11 |- | 20 | July 3 | New York | W 84–74 | Nneka Ogwumike (22) | Chiney Ogwumike (10) | Jordin Canada (7) | Crypto.com Arena5,436 | 9–11 |- | 21 | July 4 | Phoenix | W 78–75 | Nneka Ogwumike (23) | Nneka Ogwumike (9) | Jordin Canada (5) | Crypto.com Arena3,340 | 10–11 |- | 22 | July 7 | Seattle | L 69–106 | Lexie Brown (16) | CambageNelson-OdodaN. OgwumikeWalker (4) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena6,389 | 10–12 |- | 23 | July 12 | Washington | L 81–94 | SamuelsonSykes (16) | Chiney Ogwumike (10) | CanadaCambage (3) | Crypto.com Arena5,004 | 10–13 |- | 24 | July 14 | Chicago | L 68–80 | Nneka Ogwumike (16) | Chiney Ogwumike (13) | Jordin Canada (8) | Crypto.com Arena5,856 | 10–14 |- | 25 | July 19 | Indiana | W 86–79 | Nneka Ogwumike (35) | Chiney Ogwumike (10) | Jordin Canada (8) | Crypto.com Arena5,478 | 11–14 |- | 26 | July 21 | Atlanta | W 85–78 | Nneka Ogwumike (20) | Chiney Ogwumike (7) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena10,021 | 12–14 |- | 27 | July 23 | @ Las Vegas | L 66–84 | Chennedy Carter (15) | Jordin Canada (7) | Canada Samuelson (3) | Michelob Ultra Arena7,522 | 12–15 |- | 28 | July 28 | @ Phoenix | L 80–90 | Chennedy Carter (23) | Nneka Ogwumike (11) | Nneka Ogwumike (5) | Footprint Center8,124 | 12–16 |- | 29 | July 31 | Minnesota | L 77–84 | Nneka Ogwumike (23) | Chiney Ogwumike (6) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena6,857 | 12–17
| 30 | August 2 | @ New York | L 73–102 | Brittney Sykes (19) | Brittney Sykes (6) | Jordin Canada (4) | Barclays Center4,891 | 12–18 |- | 31 | August 3 | @ New York | L 61–64 | Nneka Ogwumike (19) | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (10) | Jordin Canada (8) | Barclays Center5,315 | 12–19 |- | 32 | August 5 | @ Atlanta | L 86–88 | Brittney Sykes (23) | Brittney Sykes (7) | Jordin Canada (8) | Gateway Center Arena3,138 | 12–20 |- | 33 | August 7 | @ Washington | W 79–76 | Brittney Sykes (21) | N. OgwumikeSykes (6) | Jordin Canada (12) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 13–20 |- | 34 | August 9 | Connecticut | L 71–97 | Brittney Sykes (18) | Brittney Sykes (7) | Jordin Canada (6) | Crypto.com Arena5,789 | 13–21 |- | 35 | August 11 | Connecticut | L 69–93 | Brittney Sykes (18) | Nneka Ogwumike (9) | Jordin Canada (5) | Crypto.com Arena4,987 | 13–22 |- | 36 | August 14 | Dallas | L 88–116 | Brittney Sykes (35) | Jasmine Walker (6) | CanadaSykes (5) | Crypto.com Arena7,245 | 13–23
Standings
Statistics
Regular season 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
Awards and honors Recipient Award Date awarded Ref. Nneka Ogwumike WNBA All-Star Starter June 22 Western Conference Player of the Week June 27 All-WNBA Second Team September 15 Brittney Sykes All-Defensive Second Team August 30
References
External links
Los Angeles Sparks at ESPN.com