Roster
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| 2014 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Carol Ross (10-12) Penny Toler (6-6) |
| Arena | Staples Center |
| Attendance | per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–18 (.471) |
| Place | 4th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Lost in Conference Semifinals |
| Media | |
| Television | TWC SportsNet and TWC Deportes ESPN2, NBATV |
The 2014 WNBA season will be the 18th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association.
At the end of 2013, the Sparks' previous ownership group announced it was ceasing operation and transferring the team to the WNBA. [1] The league, led by commissioner Laurel Richie, began to search for a new owner. The owners of the Golden State Warriors expressed interest in purchasing the team and moving it to the San Francisco area, but ultimately the team was sold to Guggenheim Partners, which also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, ensuring the Sparks would remain in Los Angeles. [2] The new owners include former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson.
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Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning a national championship with Michigan State in 1979, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers, leading the team to five NBA championships during their "Showtime" era. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests against his return from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 36, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league based in the United States. It is composed of 12 teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All-Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two teams in the WNBA that are undefeated in the WNBA Finals; the Seattle Storm are the other. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most championships of any WNBA franchise. Despite all of their success, the team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 during the height of the Great Recession because new ownership could not be found.
The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Sacramento Monarchs were a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
Lisa Deshaun Leslie is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on Bally Sports Florida. In 2002, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game. Leslie was ranked 5th on ESPN.com's 2021 list of the WNBA's greatest players of all time.
The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007.
The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; then moved to San Antonio before the 2003 season and became the San Antonio Silver Stars, then simply the San Antonio Stars in 2014. The team was owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which also owned the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. The team was sold to MGM Resorts International in 2017 and became the Las Vegas Aces for the 2018 season.
The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at the Rose Garden. The team folded after the 2002 season, its third in the league. They were the only WNBA team that ceased operations without having made the playoffs.
The Orlando Miracle were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Orlando, Florida. It began play in the 1999 WNBA season. The Miracle relocated, in 2003, to Uncasville, Connecticut, where the team became the Connecticut Sun. The Miracle was a sister team to the NBA's Orlando Magic.
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.
Candace Nicole Parker, nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
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.
Temeka Rochelle Johnson is a former American professional basketball player. Her primary position was a point guard.
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association's Hawks, the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart. The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
The 2009 Los Angeles Sparks season is the 13th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. Lisa Leslie announced that the 2009 season would be her last. On June 5, the Sparks and Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced a multi-year marketing partnership that includes a branded jersey sponsorship. The Farmers Insurance branded jersey will be worn by the players for the first time on June 6. As part of this alliance, the Farmers Insurance name and logo will appear on the front of the Sparks jerseys and will have considerable visibility in the Staples Center during home games. Los Angeles became only the second WNBA team to finalize such an agreement. The Sparks attempted to reach the playoffs and were successful.
The WNBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games produced NBC Sports and broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States.
Mark Walter is an American businessman and the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a privately held global financial services firm with more than $325 billion in assets under management and headquarters in Chicago and New York. He is also the part-owner and chairman of the Major League Baseball franchise Los Angeles Dodgers and co-owner of Premier League club Chelsea. He also owns the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg Bibb is president and CEO. Brad Hilsabeck joined the Dallas Wings ownership group in March 2019 with the acquisition of Mark Yancey’s interest in the Wings.
The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team plays their home games at Michelob Ultra Arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada. The Aces won the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup and WNBA Championship. The Aces also won the 2023 WNBA Championship, becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since 2001-2002, when the Los Angeles Sparks completed that feat.
