# 2022 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 6, 2022, versus the Chicago Sky.
The Sparks started the season well with road wins over Chicago and Indiana, but could not hold onto that momentum as they lost the next five games in a row. They broke the streak by winning three of their next four games to finish May 5–6. They would open June with a loss and on June 7, 2022, the Sparks and head coach Derek Fisher parted ways after starting the season 5–7, and Fred Williams was named the interim head coach. Williams' tenure started with back to back losses, but the Sparks won two of their last four games in June to finish the month 2–5. The team won its first three games in July before losing their next three. Two wins were followed by three losses to finish July 5–6. The team began August in the playoff hunt, but three straight losses extended their losing streak to six total and dashed their playoff hopes. A win at Washington would be the Sparks' only win in August as they finished the season with three straight home losses. They finished the month 1–6 and the season 13–23.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 9 | Rae Burrell | United States | Tennessee |
| 2 | 16 | Kianna Smith | United States | Louisville |
| 2 | 19 | Olivia Nelson-Ododa | United States | UConn |
| 3 | 27 | Amy Atwell | United States | Hawaii |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| December 31, 2021 | Renounced the rights to Marianna Tolo and Aina Ayuso |
| January 1, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Te'a Cooper and Lauren Cox |
| January 4, 2022 | Signed Lauren Cox to a Qualifying Offer |
| January 20, 2022 | Signed Te'a Cooper to a Qualifying Offer |
| February 3, 2022 | Traded Gabby Williams to Seattle in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the 2022 WNBA draft. |
| February 5, 2022 | Traded Erica Wheeler, a 2023 First-Round Pick, and 2022 Second-Round Pick to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Chennedy Carter and the rights to Li Yueru |
| February 8, 2022 | Signed Jordin Canada to a One-Year Deal |
| February 18, 2022 | Signed Liz Cambage |
| March 30, 2022 | Trade the rights to Li Yueru to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Lexie Brown |
| April 15, 2022 | Signed Chantel Horvat and Lexi Gordan to training-camp contracts |
| April 16, 2022 | Signed Rae Burrell, Kianna Smith, and Amy Atwell to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 17, 2022 | Signed Olivia Nelson-Ododa to a rookie-scale contract |
| April 29, 2022 | Waived Lauren Cox, Chantel Horvat, and Lexi Gordan |
| May 4, 2022 | Waived Te'a Cooper, Arella Guirantes, and Kianna Smith |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Kristi Toliver and Katie Lou Samuelson due to NBA and Overseas Commitments |
| May 5, 2022 | Full Season suspension of the contract of Amanda Zahui B |
| May 11, 2022 | Exercised the 4th Year Team Option on Chennedy Carter |
| May 16, 2022 | Signed Katie Lou Samuelson to a One Year Extension |
| May 17, 2022 | Activated Katie Lou Samuelson from her Temporary Suspension |
| June 7, 2022 | Fired Head coach/GM Derek Fisher and named Fred Williams as Interim Head coach |
| June 7, 2022 | Waived Amy Atwell |
| June 9, 2022 | Activated Kristi Toliver from her Temporary Suspension |
| July 4, 2022 | Signed Kianna Smith to a 7-Day Hardship Contract |
| July 26, 2022 | Waived Liz Cambage |
| July 26, 2022 | Signed Kianna Smith to a 2nd 7-day contract |
| August 2, 2022 | Signed Kianna Smith |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Chiney Ogwumike | Olivia Nelson-Ododa |
| PF | Nneka Ogwumike | Jasmine Walker |
| SF | Katie Lou Samuelson | Rae Burrell |
| SG | Brittney Sykes | Lexie Brown Kianna Smith |
| PG | Kristi Toliver | Jordin Canada Chennedy Carter |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) :
April: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 23
@ Seattle
L 68–81
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (15)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (12)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 5,734
0–1
2
April 30
Phoenix
W 87-84
Amy Atwell (19)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6)
Jordin Canada (3)
Matadome N/A
1-1 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2022 game log Total: 13–23 (Home: 7–11; Road: 6–12) :
May: 5–6 (Home: 2–1; Road: 3–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 6
@ Chicago
W 98–91 (OT)
Jordin Canada (21)
Nneka Ogwumike (7)
Jordin Canada (8)
Wintrust Arena 8,111
1–0
2
May 8
@ Indiana
W 88–78
Liz Cambage (22)
Liz Cambage (11)
Jordin Canada (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 1,456
2–0
3
May 11
@ Atlanta
L 75–77
Jordin Canada (19)
Nneka Ogwumike (15)
Nneka Ogwumike (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
2–1
4
May 14
@ Connecticut
L 60–77
Canada N. Ogwumike (12)
Cambage Walker (4)
Brittney Sykes (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,624
2–2
5
May 17
Minnesota
L 84–87
Nneka Ogwumike (22)
Nneka Ogwumike (8)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 4,701
2–3
6
May 20
@ Seattle
L 80–83
Liz Cambage (25)
Liz Cambage (8)
Lexie Brown (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,103
2–4
7
May 23
@ Las Vegas
L 76–104
Chennedy Carter (17)
Nneka Ogwumike (6)
Jordin Canada (9)
Michelob Ultra Arena 4,092
2–5
8
May 25
Phoenix
W 99–94
Nneka Ogwumike (23)
Liz Cambage (7)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 4,020
3–5
9
May 27
@ Indiana
L 96–101
Nneka Ogwumike (30)
Nneka Ogwumike (10)
Canada Carter Sykes (5)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1,417
3–6
10
May 29
@ Minnesota
W 85–83
Chennedy Carter (20)
Chennedy Carter (6)
Carter Sykes (4)
Target Center 7,234
4–6
11
May 31
Dallas
W 93–91
Brittney Sykes (25)
Nneka Ogwumike (10)
Cambage Sykes (4)
Crypto.com Arena 4,852
5–6 :
June
: 2–5 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
12
June 5
@ Phoenix
L 74–81
Nneka Ogwumike (19)
Nneka Ogwumike (7)
Canada Samuelson (4)
Footprint Center 10,151
5–7
13
June 11
Las Vegas
L 72–89
Nneka Ogwumike (16)
Nneka Ogwumike (9)
Jordin Canada (8)
Crypto.com Arena 8,200
5–8
14
June 19
@ Dallas
L 82–92
Nneka Ogwumike (17)
C. Ogwumike N. Ogwumike (10)
Liz Cambage (5)
College Park Center 3,779
5–9
15
June 21
Washington
W 84–82
Nneka Ogwumike (21)
Chiney Ogwumike (9)
Kristi Toliver (5)
Crypto.com Arena 3,745
6–9
16
June 23
Chicago
L 59–82
Nneka Ogwumike (15)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6)
Kristi Toliver (6)
Crypto.com Arena 5,627
6–10
17
June 25
@ Seattle
W 85–77
Nneka Ogwumike (24)
Cambage Nelson-Ododa (8)
Brittney Sykes (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,955
7–10
18
June 27
Las Vegas
L 73–79
Nneka Ogwumike (18)
Cambage N. Ogwumike (11)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Crypto.com Arena 4,200
7–11 :
July
: 5–6 (Home: 4–4; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
July 1
@ Dallas
W 97–89
Cambage N. Ogwumike (22)
Liz Cambage (11)
Kristi Toliver (7)
College Park Center 3,187
8–11
20
July 3
New York
W 84–74
Nneka Ogwumike (22)
Chiney Ogwumike (10)
Jordin Canada (7)
Crypto.com Arena 5,436
9–11
21
July 4
Phoenix
W 78–75
Nneka Ogwumike (23)
Nneka Ogwumike (9)
Jordin Canada (5)
Crypto.com Arena 3,340
10–11
22
July 7
Seattle
L 69–106
Lexie Brown (16)
Cambage Nelson-Ododa N. Ogwumike Walker (4)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 6,389
10–12
23
July 12
Washington
L 81–94
Samuelson Sykes (16)
Chiney Ogwumike (10)
Canada Cambage (3)
Crypto.com Arena 5,004
10–13
24
July 14
Chicago
L 68–80
Nneka Ogwumike (16)
Chiney Ogwumike (13)
Jordin Canada (8)
Crypto.com Arena 5,856
10–14
25
July 19
Indiana
W 86–79
Nneka Ogwumike (35)
Chiney Ogwumike (10)
Jordin Canada (8)
Crypto.com Arena 5,478
11–14
26
July 21
Atlanta
W 85–78
Nneka Ogwumike (20)
Chiney Ogwumike (7)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 10,021
12–14
27
July 23
@ Las Vegas
L 66–84
Chennedy Carter (15)
Jordin Canada (7)
Canada Samuelson (3)
Michelob Ultra Arena 7,522
12–15
28
July 28
@ Phoenix
L 80–90
Chennedy Carter (23)
Nneka Ogwumike (11)
Nneka Ogwumike (5)
Footprint Center 8,124
12–16
29
July 31
Minnesota
L 77–84
Nneka Ogwumike (23)
Chiney Ogwumike (6)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 6,857
12–17 :
August
: 1–6 (Home: 0–3; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
30
August 2
@ New York
L 73–102
Brittney Sykes (19)
Brittney Sykes (6)
Jordin Canada (4)
Barclays Center 4,891
12–18
31
August 3
@ New York
L 61–64
Nneka Ogwumike (19)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa (10)
Jordin Canada (8)
Barclays Center 5,315
12–19
32
August 5
@ Atlanta
L 86–88
Brittney Sykes (23)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Jordin Canada (8)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
12–20
33
August 7
@ Washington
W 79–76
Brittney Sykes (21)
N. Ogwumike Sykes (6)
Jordin Canada (12)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
13–20
34
August 9
Connecticut
L 71–97
Brittney Sykes (18)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Jordin Canada (6)
Crypto.com Arena 5,789
13–21
35
August 11
Connecticut
L 69–93
Brittney Sykes (18)
Nneka Ogwumike (9)
Jordin Canada (5)
Crypto.com Arena 4,987
13–22
36
August 14
Dallas
L 88–116
Brittney Sykes (35)
Jasmine Walker (6)
Canada Sykes (5)
Crypto.com Arena 7,245
13–23 :
2022 season schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Nneka Ogwumike | 34 | 34 | 31.4 | .544 | .368 | .826 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 18.1 |
| Liz Cambage$^‡$ | 25 | 24 | 23.4 | .509 | .286 | .784 | 6.4 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 13.0 |
| Brittney Sykes | 32 | 24 | 28.8 | .433 | .269 | .770 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 12.7 |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | 32 | 29 | 29.5 | .373 | .352 | .837 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 9.7 |
| Jordin Canada | 32 | 25 | 27.0 | .384 | .140 | .806 | 2.3 | 5.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 9.2 |
| Chennedy Carter | 24 | 2 | 16.4 | .450 | .200 | .745 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.9 |
| Lexie Brown | 34 | 16 | 25.0 | .441 | .398 | .667 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 7.1 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 26 | 7 | 18.4 | .466 | .444 | .706 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 7.0 |
| Kristi Toliver | 11 | 10 | 19.8 | .373 | .361 | .875 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Olivia Nelson-Ododa | 30 | 6 | 14.5 | .566 | .000 | .703 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.0 |
| Kianna Smith$^≠$ | 11 | 0 | 10.3 | .314 | .278 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Rae Burrell | 3 | 1 | 14.7 | .111 | .167 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Jasmine Walker | 32 | 1 | 8.8 | .250 | .200 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Amy Atwell$^‡$ | 4 | 1 | 8.0 | .111 | .167 | .000 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Western Conference Player of the Week | June 27 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 |
| Brittney Sykes | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 |