2000 Los Angeles Sparks season

Last updated

2000 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach Michael Cooper
Arena Great Western Forum
Attendance6,563 per game
Results
Record284 (.875)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals (2-0) to Houston Comets

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.

Contents

Transactions

Indiana Fever expansion draft

The following player was selected in the Indiana Fever expansion draft from the Los Angeles Sparks:

PlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
Gordana Grubin Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Yugoslavia MiZo Pécs (Hungary)

Seattle Storm expansion draft

The following player was selected in the Seattle Storm expansion draft from the Los Angeles Sparks:

PlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
Nina Bjedov Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Yugoslavia Basket Bees Treviglio (Italy)

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country
115 Nicole Kubik Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Nebraska
231 Paige Sauer Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States UConn
347 Marte Alexander Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Arizona
463 Nicky McCrimmon Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States USC

Transactions

DateTransaction
September 30, 1999Head Coach Orlando Woolridge retires from coaching [1]
October 14, 1999Hired Michael Cooper as Head Coach [1]
December 15, 1999Lost Nina Bjedov to the Seattle Storm in the WNBA expansion draft [1]
Lost Gordana Grubin to the Indiana Fever in the WNBA expansion draft [1]
April 25, 2000Drafted Nicole Kubik, Paige Sauer, Marte Alexander and Nicky McCrimmon in the 2000 WNBA draft [1]
May 30, 2000Waived Nicole Kubik [1]
October 11, 2000Traded La'Keshia Frett to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Latasha Byears [1]
Traded Allison Feaster and Clarisse Machanguana to the Charlotte Sting in exchange for Rhonda Mapp and E.C. Hill [1]

Roster

2000 Los Angeles Sparks roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg Dixon, Tamecka 5' 9" (1.75m)148 lb (67kg)1975-12-14 Kansas 3
F 5 Flag of the United States.svg Feaster, Allison 5' 11" (1.8m)168 lb (76kg)1976-02-11 Harvard 2
G 15 Flag of the United States.svg Figgs, Ukari 5' 9" (1.75m)142 lb (64kg)1977-03-31 Purdue 1
F 0 Flag of the United States.svg Frett, La'Keshia 6' 3" (1.91m)170 lb (77kg)1975-06-12 Georgia 1
G 17 Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana 6' 1" (1.85m)160 lb (73kg)1975-01-13R
C 9 Flag of the United States.svg Leslie, Lisa 6' 5" (1.96m)170 lb (77kg)1972-07-07 USC 3
G 4 Flag of Zaire (1971-1997).svg Mabika, Mwadi 5' 11" (1.8m)165 lb (75kg)1976-07-273
F/C 33 Flag of Mozambique.svg Machanguana, Clarisse 6' 5" (1.96m)180 lb (82kg)1976-10-04 Old Dominion 1
G 10 Flag of the United States.svg McCrimmon, Nicky 5' 8" (1.73m)125 lb (57kg)1972-03-22 USC R
F 8 Flag of the United States.svg Milton-Jones, DeLisha 6' 1" (1.85m)175 lb (79kg)1974-09-11 Florida 1
C 31 Flag of the United States.svg Sauer, Paige 6' 5" (1.96m)200 lb (91kg)1977-12-08 Connecticut R
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Michael Cooper (New Mexico)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Marianne Stanley

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Schedule

Regular season

2000 game log
Total: 28–4 (Home: 15–1; Road: 13–3)
May: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1May 31 Utah W 69-62 Mwadi Mabika (21) Lisa Leslie (11) Leslie
Mabika (4)
Great Western Forum 1–0
July: 14–1 (Home: 10–1; Road: 4–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
14July 1 Cleveland W 75-67 Lisa Leslie (22) DeLisha Milton-Jones (12) Mwadi Mabika (6) Great Western Forum 12–2
15July 2 Detroit W 85-63 Mwadi Mabika (21) Lisa Leslie (12) Tamecka Dixon (8) Great Western Forum 13–2
16July 5@ Sacramento W 76-61 Mwadi Mabika (23) Lisa Leslie (9) Figgs
Mabika (5)
ARCO Arena 14–2
17July 6 Washington W 79-70 Lisa Leslie (21) Lisa Leslie (13) Nicky McCrimmon (6) Great Western Forum 15–2
18July 9 Utah W 92-72 Lisa Leslie (22) Leslie
Machanguana (5)
Ukari Figgs (7) Great Western Forum 16–2
19July 11 Portland L 77-80 Mwadi Mabika (22) Lisa Leslie (7) Figgs
Milton-Jones (4)
Great Western Forum 16–3
20July 14 Houston W 63-58 Mwadi Mabika (15) Leslie
Mabika (8)
Ukari Figgs (5) Great Western Forum 17–3
21July 15 Minnesota W 58-57 Lisa Leslie (24) Lisa Leslie (13) Dixon
Figgs (3)
Great Western Forum 18–3
22July 20 New York W 82-66 Lisa Leslie (21) Lisa Leslie (14) Ukari Figgs (9) Great Western Forum 19–3
23July 21@ Phoenix W 74-68 Lisa Leslie (30) Lisa Leslie (16) Figgs
McCrimmon (5)
America West Arena 20–3
24July 23 Sacramento W 73-68 Lisa Leslie (20) DeLisha Milton-Jones (11) Tamecka Dixon (7) Great Western Forum 21–3
25July 25 Orlando W 78-63 Lisa Leslie (17) Lisa Leslie (11) Ukari Figgs (6) Charlotte Coliseum 22–3
26July 27 Seattle W 76-63 Lisa Leslie (18) Lisa Leslie (7) Ukari Figgs (5) Great Western Forum 23–3
27July 29@ Houston W 84-74 Tamecka Dixon (19) Lisa Leslie (10) Mwadi Mabika (6) Compaq Center 24–3
28July 31@ Minnesota W 73-66 DeLisha Milton-Jones (18) DeLisha Milton-Jones (14) DeLisha Milton-Jones (6) Target Center 25–3
August: 3–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 3–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
29August 2@ Detroit W 84-81 Lisa Leslie (27) DeLisha Milton-Jones (6) Dixon
Leslie
Milton-Jones (3)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 26–3
30August 5@ Phoenix W 77-63 Lisa Leslie (22) Lisa Leslie (14) Tamecka Dixon (7) America West Arena 27–3
31August 8@ Seattle W 60-52 (OT) Tamecka Dixon (17) Mwadi Mabika (12) Mwadi Mabika (3) KeyArena 28–3
32August 9@ Utah L 77-89 Lisa Leslie (18) Lisa Leslie (10) Dixon
Leslie
McCrimmon (3)
Delta Center 28–4

Playoffs

2000 playoff game log
First round vs. Phoenix Mercury
Won Series: 2–0
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1August 11@ Phoenix W 86–71 Lisa Leslie (20) Lisa Leslie (11) Tamecka Dixon (5) America West Arena 1–0
2August 13 Phoenix W 101–76 Lisa Leslie (29) Leslie
Mabika (8)
Tamecka Dixon (7) Great Western Forum 2–0
Conference Finals vs. Houston Comets
Lost Series: 0–2
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1August 17@ Houston L 56–77 Mwadi Mabika (21) Lisa Leslie (8) Figgs
Milton-Jones (4)
Compaq Center 0–1
2August 20 Houston L 69–74 Mwadi Mabika (19) Lisa Leslie (14) Leslie
Figgs (5)
Great Western Forum 0–2
2000 playoff schedule

Season standings

Western Conference WLPCTConf.GB
Los Angeles Sparks x284.87517–4
Houston Comets x275.84417–41.0
Sacramento Monarchs x2111.65613–87.0
Phoenix Mercury x2012.62511–108.0
Utah Starzz o1814.56313–810.0
Minnesota Lynx o1517.4695–1613.0
Portland Fire o1022.3134–1718.0
Seattle Storm o626.1884–1722.0

Statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per gameTeam leaderLeague leader

Regular Season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Lisa Leslie 323232.1.458.219.8249.61.91.02.317.8
DeLisha Milton-Jones 323230.7.512.250.7456.12.11.40.911.8
Mwadi Mabika 323229.4.388.384.8205.63.11.80.612.3
Tamecka Dixon 313128.5.454.353.8053.43.11.30.310.9
Ukari Figgs 323225.1.431.354.8311.74.00.70.16.7
Nicky McCrimmon 32015.3.506.485.5001.02.00.90.33.2
Allison Feaster 32014.7.359.259.8332.71.00.70.16.3
Clarisse Machanguana 31113.6.578.000.5602.30.60.40.13.5
Vedrana Grgin-Fonseca 18010.2.274.059.6091.30.70.20.12.7
La'Keshia Frett 2507.5.275.000.7501.00.20.30.21.6
Paige Sauer 1205.5.571N/A.8001.30.30.20.11.7


Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2000 Los Angeles Sparks Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.