Los Angeles Sparks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Los Angeles Sparks | |
 |
|
| Conference | Western Conference |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Arena | Staples Center |
| City | Los Angeles, California |
| Team Colors | Purple, Gold |
| Owner | Katherine E. Goodman |
| General Manager | Penny Toler |
| Head Coach | Michael Cooper |
| WNBA Championships | 2 (2001, 2002) |
| Conference Titles | 3 (2001, 2002, 2003) |
The Los Angeles Sparks are a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1997, they are one of the original WNBA teams and were one of the teams that participated in the league's inaugural game.
Since their inception, the Sparks have been a focal point of the league. Despite this, they had little early success and went through several coaches. After the team signed former Los Angeles Lakers star Michael Cooper as head coach and made some key roster changes, the team made a quick turnaround. Since then, they have been one of the most consistently successful teams in the WNBA.
The team's major star has always been USC standout Lisa Leslie, who has led the Sparks since being signed to the team in 1997. The Sparks are the sister team of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Uniform: Golden with purple lines on the side at home, with the name Sparks written across in purple. Purple with golden yellow lines on the side on the road, with the name Sparks in Yellow.
Contents |
[edit] Franchise History
The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty in the WNBA's inaugural game. Sparks player Penny Toler scored the league's first two points with a lay-up in that game. The Sparks had what many considered to be a disappointing season in 1997, finishing with a record of 14-14, thanks to a loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the final game of the season, which eliminated the Sparks from playoff contention. In 1998, the Sparks finished only 12-18, missing the playoffs once more. They earned playoff berths with the help of Lisa Leslie in 1999 and 2000 (with records of 20-12 and a league-best 28-4, respectively), but their hopes ended in frustration those years, particularly when they got eliminated by the Houston Comets.
In 2001, former Los Angeles Lakers player Michael Cooper coached the Sparks to their first championship, after the Sparks were able to finally eliminate the Comets in the playoffs, and beat the Charlotte Sting for the championship. In 2002, Leslie became the first woman to dunk in the league and the Sparks returned to the WNBA Finals, defeating the New York Liberty to become back-to-back champions. They returned to the Finals in 2003, but lost to the Detroit Shock in three games.
The 2004 season marked a season of change for the Sparks. They signed two standout players, Tamika Whitmore and Teresa Weatherspoon, who had played for their rival team the New York Liberty. In addition, their coach Michael Cooper left midseason to seek a coaching job in the NBA. While the Sparks finished with one of the league's best regular season records, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Sacramento Monarchs.
In 2005, the Sparks made the playoffs in the Western Conference in the fourth and final playoff berth. Once again, they played the Sacramento Monarchs. They lost the series in two games.
Former University of Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw was a key addition to the team's roster in 2005. She came to the Sparks in a trade that sent Delisha Milton-Jones and a first-round draft pick to the Washington Mystics. With Lisa Leslie, they formed one of the most formidable duos in the league.
In 2006, the Sparks posted the best record in the regular season, but lost again to the Sacramento Monarchs in the Western Conference finals.
After the season ended, team owner Jerry Buss announced he was selling the Sparks. On December 7, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that the NBA Board of Governors had unanimously approved the $10 million sale to an investor group led by Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson. Goodman is currently a high school teacher at HighTechHigh-LA in Encino and was a former executive for Intermedia Films. Christofferson is a litigation attorney for the O'Melveny & Myers law firm and Miss North Dakota USA 1989. The next day, the purchase was announced, and on the same day, Leslie announced that she was pregnant and would not play in the WNBA in the 2007 season.
[edit] Media coverage
Some Sparks games not on national television are shown on Fox Sports Net West/Prime Ticket with Larry Burnett and Ann Meyers as the announcers. Burnett also calls the games on radio, on KTLK AM1150.
The Sparks may have had the worst radio situation in WNBA history in the early 2000s. In those days, the NBA owned all WNBA teams and usually placed radio and TV coverage on the same affiliates as the NBA team in that market. In the Sparks' case, that would have been KLAC, but KLAC aired the Anaheim Angels (now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) throughout the WNBA season. Eventually, the team signed with KWKU AM1220, a sister station of KWKW based in Pomona. KWKU agreed to break up the signal so that the Sparks games could air on that frequency. But the station's signal was only 500 watts. In addition, KWKU had no web site, streaming audio, or even a studio with a direct phone line. Eventually, the team moved many of its home games to brokered-time station KXMX in Anaheim, and finally, in 2005 to KTLK, which had been created when owner Clear Channel Communications ended its earlier simulcast with XETRA-AM 690 kHz.
[edit] Season-by-Season Records
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss %
| Season | W | L | % | Playoffs | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| 1997 | 14 | 14 | .500 | ||
| 1998 | 12 | 18 | .400 | ||
| 1999 | 20 | 12 | .625 | Won First Round Lost Conference Finals |
Los Angeles 71, Sacramento 58 Houston 2, Los Angeles 1 |
| 2000 | 28 | 4 | .875 | Won First Round Lost Conference Finals |
Los Angeles 2, Phoenix 0 Houston 2, Los Angeles 0 |
| 2001 | 28 | 4 | .875 | Won First Round Won Conference Finals Won WNBA Finals |
Los Angeles 2, Houston 0 Los Angeles 2, Sacramento 1 Los Angeles 2, Charlotte 0 |
| 2002 | 25 | 7 | .781 | Won First Round Won Conference Finals Won WNBA Finals |
Los Angeles 2, Seattle 0 Los Angeles 2, Utah 0 Los Angeles 2, New York 0 |
| 2003 | 24 | 10 | .706 | Won First Round Won Conference Finals Lost WNBA Finals |
Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 1 Los Angeles 2, Sacramento 1 Detroit 2, Los Angeles 1 |
| 2004 | 25 | 9 | .735 | Lost First Round | Sacramento 2, Los Angeles 1 |
| 2005 | 17 | 17 | .500 | Lost First Round | Sacramento 2, Los Angeles 0 |
| 2006 | 25 | 9 | .735 | Won First Round Lost Conference Finals |
Los Angeles 2, Seattle 1 Sacramento 2, Los Angeles 0 |
| Totals | 218 | 104 | .677 | ||
| Playoffs | 24 | 16 | .600 | 2 WNBA Championships | |
Stats updated August 27, 2006
[edit] Players of note
[edit] Hall of Famers
none
[edit] Retired numbers
- 11 -- Penny Toler
[edit] Not to be forgotten
- Latasha Byears
- Tamecka Dixon
- Allison Feaster
- Ukari Figgs
- La'Keshia Frett
- Jennifer Gillom
- Laura Macchi
- DeLisha Milton-Jones
- Nikki Teasley
- Penny Toler, now the Sparks' General Manager
- Tamika Whitmore
- Sophia Witherspoon
- Haixia Zheng
[edit] Current Roster
| Los Angeles Sparks Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: MIchael Cooper | Edit | |||
| Pos. | No. | Name | College | |
| Marta Fernandez | Spain | |||
| G | 10 | Doneeka Hodges | LSU | |
| F | 1 | Chamique Holdsclaw | Tennessee | |
| G | 2 | Temeka Johnson | LSU | |
| C | 9 | Lisa Leslie | USC | |
| F | 4 | Mwadi Mabika | Congo | |
| C | 31 | Jessica Moore | Connecticut | |
| G | 15 | Tamara Moore | Wisconsin | |
| C | 00 | Murriel Page | Florida | |
| F | 44 | Tiffany Stansbury | North Carolina State | |
| F | 32 | Christi Thomas | Georgia | |
| F | 12 | Ayana Walker | Louisiana Tech | |
| G | 40 | Lisa Willis | UCLA | |
| (IL) - Inactive List | ||||
[edit] Coaches and others
Head Coaches:
- Linda Sharp (1997)
- Julie Rosseau (1997-1998), now the Head Coach at Pepperdine University
- Orlando Wooldrige (1998-1999)
- Michael Cooper (1999-2004)
- Karleen Thompson (2004)
- Henry Bibby (2005 - August 16, 2005)
- Joe "Jellybean" Bryant (August 17, 2005 - April 4, 2007)
- Michael Cooper (1999-2004) (Rehired April 4, 2007)
[edit] External links
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference |
|---|---|
| Chicago Sky | Connecticut Sun | Detroit Shock | Indiana Fever | New York Liberty | Washington Mystics | Houston Comets | Los Angeles Sparks | Minnesota Lynx | Phoenix Mercury | Sacramento Monarchs | San Antonio Silver Stars | Seattle Storm |
| Defunct teams: Charlotte Sting | Cleveland Rockers | Miami Sol | Portland Fire | |
| Media: WNBA on ESPN | List of WNBA Finals broadcasters | |
| Other Women's Leagues: National Women's Basketball League | Women's National Basketball League (Australia) | |
