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 Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.
Lindsay Marie Whalen is an American former professional basketball player and coach. She most recently served as the head coach at Minnesota.
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.
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.
Seimone Delicia Augustus is an American basketball coach and former professional player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Louisiana State University women's basketball team. She was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 WNBA draft and played for the Lynx for most of her Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) career except for her final season in with the Los Angeles Sparks. An eight-time All-Star and the 2011 finals MVP, Augustus led the Lynx to four WNBA championships. She also won three gold medals in the Olympics on the U.S. national team.
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent 12 seasons with the Sparks and was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.
Odyssey Celeste Sims is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). An AP and WBCA All-American, Sims was born in Irving, Texas and graduated from MacArthur High School.
Chelsea Nichelle Gray is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft. She missed the 2014 WNBA season due to injury, but she made her debut with the Sun in the 2015 WNBA season. Gray won her first title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She won her second title with the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP. She won gold medals for 5x5 basketball at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
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.
The 2016 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2016 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx held home court advantage in the Finals, but lost three games to two to the second-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. The series followed a 2–2–1 format, and eschewed from the previous tradition of having the Western Conference champion face the Eastern Conference champion. Instead, in the 2016 season, the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs, regardless of conference. Both WNBA Finals teams were from the Western Conference. The Sparks won a semifinal series against the Chicago Sky to determine one of the Finals berths; the first-seeded Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury to earn the other. Candace Parker was named the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP. Renee Brown, outgoing Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations of the WNBA, issued statements following games 4 and 5 saying the referees had made an error in each game. Nevertheless, the Sparks won the series 3 games to 2.
The 2017 WNBA season was the 21st season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Sparks were the defending WNBA champions. The season tipped off on May 13.
The 2017 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx is their 19th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2016 season with a record of 28–6, finishing first in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.
The 2018 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was their 20th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2017 season with a record of 27–7, finishing first in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
The 2018 WNBA season is the 21st for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association which began on May 20, 2018. The Mystics qualified for the WNBA Playoffs and reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association.
The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games for each team, the introduction of a mid-season Commissioner's Cup tournament, and more games broadcast on ESPN and ABC. This was the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players Association. However, on April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, without fans present on July 25. A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces was named the league MVP. The Seattle Storm won the 2020 WNBA Finals over the Aces, and Breanna Stewart was named the Finals MVP.
The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on July 25, 2020, versus the Phoenix Mercury.
The 2021 WNBA season was the 25th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 14, 2021, versus the Dallas Wings.
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