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. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time. Johnson played 13 seasons 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 Los Angeles 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 an American professional basketball league.
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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. As of 2023, the Sparks are the most recent franchise to win back-to-back titles.
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.
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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.
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Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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 and two seasons with the Chicago Sky, winning a championship with each team.
Michael Jerome Cooper is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. 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.
Temeka Rochelle Johnson is a former American professional basketball player. Her primary position was point guard.
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.
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 F.C.
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 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.
