The year is 2024 and the Los Angeles Sparks are amidst their biggest playoff drought in franchise history. They just saw their star player, Nneka Ogwumike, walk out the door, and they are closer to the WNBA basement than they are to title contention.
The atmosphere during media day, however, was upbeat. Players, head coach Curt Miller and general manager Raegan Pebley were all smiles and full of optimism as the team officially embarked on the 2024 season. At media day, Pebley said:
We want our top six to be arguably starters for any other team in this league. We want every player on this roster to be high EQ, high IQ, great culture fit, great skill sets that fit the system that Curt’s building. We believe those things can all lead to that WNBA championship.
The road to a title may be far away, but the marathon begins now, so let’s take a look at what the season might look like in Los Angeles.
Embrace the new school
It’s a new era of Sparks basketball, with the team drafting Cameron Brink as the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft and Rickea Jackson at the No. 4 selection. It’s unclear how good they’ll be, but it is clear they’ll have every opportunity to showcase their talent here in Southern California.
Brink averaged a double-double during her senior year at Stanford, scoring 17.4 points and grabbing 11.9 rebounds per game. The National Defensive Player of the Year is a stellar prospect who is excited to begin her WNBA career. Jackson was electric at Tennessee, averaging 17.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in her final season as a Lady Vol. Both will be pivotal to the Sparks’ success. Seeing how they develop throughout the season likely will be more important than the win-loss record in Los Angeles.
Whether you call this a rebuild, a retool or refresh, it’s a re-something. The Sparks are far from the top of the league; to usher in a new era, the organization has to get the most out of this pair of young players.
Who is the leader?
With Nneka Ogwumike gone, it’s unclear who the Sparks’ leader is. Will it be one of the rookies or emerging players like Lexie Brown and Dearica Hamby? According to Miller, it’s going to be a combination of everyone, particularly those who were with him last season. Miller shared at media day:
Watching new leadership emerge from the group, we had a long-time legend of the Sparks in Nneka Ogwumike, had a lot of the leadership. So it’s really fun to watch others find their voice be more comfortable in their voice kind of a shared leadership here early in the first three days at camp. Loving how they’re working together, having fun together and banding together as far as training camp.
I’ll be curious to see how this all unfolds. If you have many leaders, that usually means you have no leader. Maybe that’s fine since this is a young team. My assumption is someone will emerge. It could be Brink, who takes off and becomes the face of the organization, or maybe Brown has a career year, becoming an All-Star and a leader in her own right.
Sports often sell us on democracy, but ultimately, it’s a monarchy. Someone gets the glory, the spotlight and the blame. Who that player will be for the Sparks remains unknown, as the throne is there for the taking. And I refuse to believe everyone will take turns sitting in that seat. A leader will emerge, or else the Sparks will spend next season looking for the next heir, either through free agency or the draft.
Closing thoughts
You can’t win games on media day, but you can certainly lose the audience by saying the wrong things. The Sparks had a successful start, and there is renewed optimism surrounding the team.
Based the environment on media day, as well as fans I’ve spoken to, people seem excited about Sparks basketball in ways they haven’t been in years. People are fascinated with Brink and Jackson, ready to jump in at the ground floor of this new era in Los Angeles. It’ll be up to Miller, Pebley and the rest of the organization to capitalize on this recent surge of interest and put a team out there that will be worth watching in 2024 and beyond.