# 2009 Los Angeles Sparks season

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.

## Offseason

* On May 13, Sparks star Candace Parker gave birth to a baby girl. It is the first child for the WNBA’s reigning MVP and rookie of the year and husband Shelden Williams of the Boston Celtics. Goodwin Sports Management announced the baby girl was born in Los Angeles. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.

### Dispersal Draft

Based on the Sparks' 2008 record, they would pick 9th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. The Sparks waived their pick.

### WNBA draft

The following are the Sparks' selections in the 2009 WNBA draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 13 | Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton | United States | Purdue |
| 2 | 22 | Ashley Paris | United States | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 35 | Britney Jordan | United States | Texas A&M-Commerce |

### Transactions

* June 5: The Sparks waived Jessica Moore.
* June 4: The Sparks waived Ashley Paris and Marta Fernandez.
* May 18: The Sparks waived Britney Jordan.
* May 7: The Sparks signed Kristi Harrower to a training camp contract.
* May 5: The Sparks then traded the pick from the Liberty and Rafaella Masciadri to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Noelle Quinn.
* May 5: The Sparks traded Sidney Spencer to the New York Liberty in exchange for a first round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
* April 14: The Sparks signed Betty Lennox.
* April 14: The Sparks waived Murriel Page.
* March 26: The Sparks traded Temeka Johnson to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
* March 25: The Sparks signed Marta Fernandez.
* March 12: The Sparks signed Tina Thompson.
* January 30: The Sparks traded Christi Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Vanessa Hayden-Johnson.
* December 17, 2008: The Sparks traded the rights to Chamique Holdsclaw to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.
* April 21, 2008: The Sparks traded their first-round draft pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin/Delisha Milton-Jones transaction.
| Date | Trade | Trade |
| December 17, 2008 | To Los Angeles Sparks | To Atlanta Dream |
| December 17, 2008 | 13th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft | rights to Chamique Holdsclaw |
| January 30, 2009 | To Los Angeles Sparks | To Minnesota Lynx |
| January 30, 2009 | Vanessa Hayden-Johnson | Christi Thomas |
| March 26, 2009 | To Los Angeles Sparks | To Phoenix Mercury |
| March 26, 2009 | first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick | Temeka Johnson |
| May 5, 2009 | To Los Angeles Sparks | To New York Liberty |
| May 5, 2009 | first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick | Sidney Spencer |
| May 5, 2009 | To Los Angeles Sparks | To Minnesota Lynx |
| May 5, 2009 | Noelle Quinn | Rafaella Masciadri and a first-round 2010 WNBA Draft pick |

### Free agents
## Season standings

| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Phoenix Mercury $^x$ | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 12–5 | 11–6 | 13–7 |
| Seattle Storm $^x$ | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3.0 | 13–4 | 7–10 | 13–7 |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 5.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 11–9 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^x$ | 15 | 19 | .441 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 10–10 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^o$ | 14 | 20 | .412 | 9.0 | 9–8 | 5–12 | 7–13 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^o$ | 12 | 22 | .353 | 11.0 | 7–10 | 5–12 | 6–14 |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2009 Game Log: Preseason
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1May 313:00pm@ Connecticut80-77Thompson (14)Leslie, Wisdom-Hylton (6)Lennox (4)Mohegan Sun Arena 6,6301-0 :

### Regular season

2009 Game Log: Regular Season :
June
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1June 62:30pmDetroitABC78-58Thompson (18)Lennox (10)Harrower (7)STAPLES Center 13,1541-0
2June 87:30pm@ Detroit52-81Thompson (14)Thompson (11)Milton-Jones, Quinn (3)Palace of Auburn Hills 13,9151-1
3June 108:00pm@ Minnesota76-87Lennox (25)Lennox, Leslie (8)Quinn (4)Target Center 7,4441-2
4June 127:00pm@ Indiana61-73Leslie (21)Leslie (13)Harrower (3)Conseco Fieldhouse 9,3201-3
5June 1910:00pm@ Phoenix80-89Lennox (16)Thompson (14)Quinn (6)US Airways Center 8,2551-4
6June 219:30pmSacramentoNBA TV FSNW67-47Hayden, Thompson (12)Hayden, Lennox (8)Bobbitt (5)STAPLES Center 9,4942-4
7June 2610:00pm@ Seattle67-69Thompson (20)Milton-Jones (7)Lennox (5)KeyArena 9,6862-5
8June 289:30pmSeattleNBA TV FSNW82-55Ferdinand-Harris (15)Quinn (6)Harrower (5)STAPLES Center 10,7973-5 :
July
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
9July 59:30pmPhoenixNBA TV FSNW89-104Lennox, Thompson (17)Milton-Jones (7)Bobbitt (6)STAPLES Center 9,8723-6
10July 97:30pm@ New YorkMSG69-60Lennox (20)Thompson (8)Harrower, Ferdinand-Harris (3)Madison Square Garden 12,2474-6
11July 117:00pm@ Washington63-75Bobbitt, Lennox (10)Milton-Jones, Thompson (7)Harrower (3)Verizon Center 12,2174-7
12July 147:00pm@ ConnecticutESPN271-82Milton-Jones (19)Lennox (11)Lennox, Milton-Jones, Parker (2)Mohegan Sun Arena 6,6124-8
13July 2210:30pm@ Seattle87-98 (3OT)Thompson (22)Lennox (12)Parker (5)KeyArena 7,1544-9
14July 288:00pm@ Minnesota76-70Thompson (30)Parker (10)Lennox, Thompson (4)Target Center 7,2165-9
15July 298:00pm@ Chicago63-75Milton-Jones (15)Parker (10)Thompson (4)UIC Pavilion 5,6335-10 :
August
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
16August 110:00pm@ Sacramento59-56Parker, Milton-Jones (13)Parker (12)Harrower (6)ARCO Arena 7,2046-10
17August 43:00pmSan Antonio59-63Leslie, Quinn (13)Thompson (12)Quinn (4)STAPLES Center 13,8656-11
18August 610:30pmSeattle79-75 (OT)Quinn (23)Parker (13)Leslie (4)STAPLES Center 9,7357-11
19August 1010:30pmIndiana75-63Leslie (21)Leslie (11)Milton-Jones (4)STAPLES Center 8,2638-11
20August 119:00pmNew YorkESPN261-65Leslie (12)Parker (11)Bobbitt, Harrower, Quinn (2)STAPLES Center 9,5488-12
21August 1410:30pmSacramento79-85Leslie (25)Parker (10)Quinn (5)STAPLES Center 10,1228-13
22August 1510:00pm@ Sacramento78-61Parker (18)Leslie (9)Milton-Jones, Quinn, Thompson (4)ARCO Arena 7,6469-13
23August 1810:30pmWashington72-69Leslie (20)Parker (12)Parker, Quinn (5)STAPLES Center 9,28710-13
24August 1910:30pmMinnesota78-63Leslie (28)Parker (10)Quinn (7)STAPLES Center 9,18111-13
25August 218:00pm@ San AntonioNBA TV KMYS67-66 (OT)Parker (17)Parker, Thompson (12)Leslie (4)AT&T Center 9,54012-13
26August 233:00pm@ Atlanta91-87Parker (23)Lennox, Parker (8)Thompson (6)Philips Arena 11,30413-13
27August 2510:00pmChicagoESPN275-63Leslie, Parker (21)Parker (12)Bobbitt, Thompson (3)STAPLES Center 9,61514-13
28August 2710:30pmPhoenixNBA TV FSNW90-98Leslie (23)Lennox (6)Quinn (8)STAPLES Center 9,58614-14
29August 309:30pmConnecticutNBA TV FSNW91-81Thompson (21)Parker (13)Milton-Jones, Quinn (5)STAPLES Center 11,07215-14 :
September
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30September 110:30pmAtlanta79-84Leslie (24)Parker (14)Lennox (5)STAPLES Center 8,75615-15
31September 58:00pm@ San Antonio72-89Leslie (21)Parker (10)Parker (8)AT&T Center 8,63115-16
32September 810:30pmSan AntonioNBA TV KMYS76-68Leslie (18)Parker (13)Quinn (6)STAPLES Center 10,47616-16
33September 1110:30pmMinnesotaNBA TV FSNW90-64Leslie, Thompson (19)Parker (14)Quinn (9)STAPLES Center 13,76417-16
34September 133:00pm@ PhoenixESPN281–78Parker (24)Parker (14)Lennox (6)US Airways Center 12,96818–16 :
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess :

### Postseason

2009 Game Log: Postseason :
Western Conference Semifinals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 1610:00pmSeattleESPN270-63Thompson (16)Leslie, Parker (10)Harrower (5)STAPLES Center 7,9191-0
2September 1810:00pm@ SeattleNBA TV74-75Lennox (17)Leslie (14)Quinn (5)KeyArena 8,8541-1
3September 205:00pm@ SeattleESPN275-64Parker (22)Milton-Jones (9)Quinn (7)KeyArena 8,1592-1 :
Western Conference Finals
GameDateTime (ET)OpponentTVScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1September 2310:00pmPhoenixESPN294-103Parker (28)Parker (10)Thompson (5)Pauley Pavilion 6,3890-1
2September 2510:00pm@ PhoenixNBA TV87-76Parker (24)Parker (18)Quinn (4)US Airways Center 7,6281-1
3September 2610:00pm@ PhoenixNBA TV74-85Leslie (22)Thompson (11)Lennox, Thompson (3)US Airways Center 7,2261-2 :

## Regular Season Statistics
### Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Shannon Bobbitt | 33 | 3 | 10.7 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.45 | 0.03 | 2.2 |
| Marie Ferdinand-Harris | 28 | 6 | 12.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.54 | 0.07 | 5.4 |
| Kristi Harrower | 31 | 26 | 16.8 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.52 | 0.00 | 3.1 |
| Vanessa Hayden | 25 | 1 | 10.8 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.16 | 0.88 | 3.8 |
| Betty Lennox | 30 | 13 | 21.3 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.87 | 0.13 | 10.2 |
| Lisa Leslie | 23 | 21 | 27.7 | 6.6 | 2.1 | 0.70 | 1.43 | 15.4 |
| Delisha Milton-Jones | 33 | 33 | 31.6 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 1.24 | 0.24 | 10.2 |
| Candace Parker | 25 | 24 | 32.6 | 9.8 | 2.6 | 0.60 | 2.12 | 13.1 |
| Noelle Quinn | 34 | 9 | 27.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 1.18 | 0.32 | 8.4 |
| Tina Thompson | 34 | 34 | 34.8 | 5.9 | 2.3 | 0.76 | 0.71 | 13.0 |
| Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton | 29 | 0 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.10 | 0.28 | 2.4 |

### Team statistics

| Team | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| Los Angeles Sparks | .430 | .297 | .791 | 36.7 | 17.3 | 6.4 | 4.9 | 16.7 | 17.1 | 74.5 |
| Opponents | .399 | .335 | .769 | 30.9 | 15.2 | 8.8 | 3.4 | 13.6 | 18.3 | 73.5 |

## Awards and honors

* Candace Parker was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 17, 2009.
* Candace Parker was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the week of September 7, 2009.
* Lisa Leslie was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as a Western Conference starter.
* Tina Thompson was named to the 2009 WNBA All-Star Team as a Western Conference reserve.
* Candace Parker was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
* Lisa Leslie was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
* Candace Parker was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.