Joseph Washington "Jellybean" Bryant was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played for several teams in Italy and one in France. Bryant was the head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks from 2005 to 2007 and returned to that position for the remainder of the 2011 WNBA season. Bryant also coached in Japan and Thailand. His son, basketball player Kobe Bryant, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw is an American former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season. Holdsclaw was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Michael Jerome Cooper is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association, winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. In 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Following his Hall of Fame induction, the Lakers retired his No. 21 jersey on January 13, 2025.
DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American and SEC Player of the Year her senior season.
Larry Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'8" forward/center from Alcorn State University, Smith spent 13 seasons (1980–1993) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs. Smith, nicknamed "Mr. Mean", received NBA All-Rookie Team Honors in 1981, and would become one of the best rebounders of the 1980s. He had career averages of 9.2 rebounds and 25.9 minutes per game. Smith was affectionally nicknamed and known as "Mr. Mean" throughout his career, especially during his time with the Warriors, due to the stark contrast between him being nice and soft-spoken off the court but always with a serious demeanor and angry scowl on the court while grabbing a rebound. Smith's popularity in Golden State and Houston led to local fan clubs who would attend games wearing hard hats holding up a sign saying "Larry's Local 13". At the end of his career, Smith earned praise from the Houston Rockets coaching staff and fanbase for adequately covering for an injured Hakeem Olajuwon.
Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds the distinction of scoring the first field-goal and the first free throw in WNBA history.
Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is an American former Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002, before finishing her playing career with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2003. Gillom is also a former Sparks head coach, also coached the Minnesota Lynx, and was, until 2015, an assistant coach of the Connecticut Sun.
Curt Miller is an American basketball executive and coach who is the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. He most recently served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks from 2023–2024. Other previous head coaching positions include the Connecticut Sun (2016–2022), Bowling Green State University (2001–2012), and Indiana University (2012–2014). Miller also served as an assistant coach to Brian Agler with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2015.
The 2002 WNBA season was the sixth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks ended the season winning the WNBA Finals for the second straight year. As of 2012, this is the last WNBA team to win back to back championships.
Daedra Janel Charles was an American women's basketball player and assistant coach at Tennessee. She was a member of the United States women's national basketball team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Charles attended the University of Tennessee. She twice helped Tennessee win the NCAA Women's Championship in 1989 and 1991. Charles was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
The 2000 WNBA season was the fourth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The team set a 28-4 record, the best in league history, but they were unable to go for the WNBA Finals, losing in the conference finals in a sweep to the Houston Comets.
The 1998 WNBA season was the second for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks missed out of the playoffs for the second consecutive season. It would be the last season they missed the playoffs until the 2007 season.
The 2005 WNBA season was the ninth for the Los Angeles Sparks. Despite making the playoffs, they played mediocre basketball all season long, and they were not considered a playoff factor, as they were swept in the Conference Semifinals to eventual champion Sacramento Monarchs.
The 1999 WNBA season was the 3rd season for the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs made their first postseason appearance but lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in the first round.
The USC Trojans women's basketball team, or the Women of Troy, is the collegiate women's basketball team that represents the University of Southern California, in the Big Ten Conference. The team rose to prominence in 1976, at which time scholarships became available to female basketball players. They were the first Division I team to give these scholarships.
Li Yueru is a Chinese basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Galatasaray of the Women's Basketball Super League (WBSL) and the Chinese national team. Li was drafted in the third round of the 2019 WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream.
Rhonda Windham is a former WNBA general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks from 1997 to 1999. Before joining the Sparks, Windham played basketball at the University of Southern California between 1982 and 1987. With USC, Windham scored 1,040 points and was the assists leader for each season except for 1984. During her last year in college, Windham played at the 1987 Summer Universiade and received the 1987 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award.
Wendi Wells is a girls basketball high school head coach in Shawnee, Oklahoma since 2008. Before starting her head coaching tenure, Willits had 3,345 points while playing high school basketball in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. With the Arkansas Razorbacks women's basketball team from 1997 to 2001, Willits had 1574 points and set an Arkansas career record with 316 three-pointers. As part of the Razorbacks, Willits and her team reached the final four during the 1998 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and won the 1999 Women's National Invitation Tournament. After joining the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001, Willits and the team won the 2001 WNBA Championship. As an assistant coach, Willits worked for the University of West Georgia and Shawnee High School in the early to late 2000s.
Kianna Smith is an American-South Korean professional basketball for the Samsung Life Blueminx. She played college basketball for the California Golden Bears and the Louisville Cardinals. Smith graduated from Troy High School in Fullerton, California, where she was rated a five-star recruit by ESPN and earned McDonald's All-American honors.
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