# 2024 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2024 WNBA season was the franchise's 28th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the second season under head coach Curt Miller. The season tipped off on May 15, 2024, in Long Beach versus the Atlanta Dream, and ended on September 19 against the Minnesota Lynx.
The season started slowly for the Sparks as they lost both of their opening two games. They defeated Washington by two points on May 21 to earn their first win of the season. They lost the following two games including a one point loss to Dallas. They defeated Indiana before losing to Chicago to end the month with a 2–5 record. Their June started off with two losses as well. They won two games to follow including a victory at home against Last Vegas. That would be the highlight of the month as the team went on a seven game losing streak from there to finish the month with a 2–9 record. The only non-double digit loss during that streak was a 70–79 loss to Connecticut on June 18. Their losing streak extended one more game into July before they defeated Last Vegas in overtime. They would lose the next two games before defeating Dallas. They lost to Seattle to finish July 2–4 and head into the Olympic break. The Sparks lost the first six games after returning from the Olympic break before defeating New York to finish August 1–6. Well out of the playoff race, the Sparks lost the first eight games of September. The closest loss of the streak was by three-points at Seattle on September 15. The team finished the season with a win over Minnesota. The season was marred by a multitude of injuries, including a season-ending ACL tear to the team's No. 2 draft pick, Cameron Brink, who wound up missing the remainder of the season after playing just 15 games. Brink's injury also caused her to miss the 2024 Summer Olympics, with her teammate Dearica Hamby taking her place on the United States women's national 3x3 team. The Sparks finished with just 8 wins and 32 losses, missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and failing to improve on their 17-23 record from 2023. Their eight wins were the team's lowest total in francise history.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 2 | Cameron Brink | United States | Stanford |
| 1 | 4 | Rickea Jackson | United States | Tennessee |
| 3 | 28 | McKenzie Forbes | United States | USC |

### Transactions

| Date | Transaction |
| January 5, 2024 | Hired Raegan Pebley as General Manager |
| January 17, 2024 | Jasmine Thomas retired |
| January 31, 2024 | Traded the 19th pick in the 2024 WNBA draft to Seattle in exchange for Kia Nurse |
| February 1, 2024 | Re-signed Layshia Clarendon |
| February 1, 2024 | Traded the 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft and Jordin Canada to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Aari McDonald and the 8th overall pick in the 2024 draft |
| February 1, 2024 | Re-signed Rae Burrell |
| February 2, 2024 | Signed Monique Billings |
| February 2, 2024 | Signed Virag Kiss to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 2, 2024 | Signed Taylor Mikesell to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 6, 2024 | Signed Lexie Brown to an Extension |
| February 21, 2024 | Traded the 8th overall pick in the 2024 draft to Chicago in exchange for Julie Allemand, the rights to Li Yueru and a third round pick in the 2025 draft. |
| March 21, 2024 | Hired Christine Monjer as President |
| April 17, 2024 | Signed Blake Dietrick to a Training Camp Contract |
| April 18, 2024 | Signed McKenzie Forbes to a Rookie Contract |
| April 19, 2024 | Signed Rickea Jackson to a Rookie Contract |
| April 20, 2024 | Signed Cameron Brink to a Rookie Contract |
| April 30, 2024 | Waived Virág Kiss |
| May 6, 2024 | Waived Taylor Mikesell |
| May 12, 2024 | Waived Nia Clouden, Blake Dietrick, and McKenzie Forbes |
| May 13, 2024 | Suspended the contract of Julie Allemand (full season) |
| May 13, 2024 | Waived Monique Billings |
| June 22, 2024 | Signed Queen Egbo to hardship contract |
| June 29, 2024 | Waived Queen Egbo |
| July 4, 2024 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a 7-day hardship contract |
| July 12, 2024 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a second 7-day contract |
| July 12, 2024 | Suspended the contract of Li Yueru (temporary) |
| August 7, 2024 | Activated Li Yueru |
| August 16, 2024 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a third 7-day contract |
| August 17, 2024 | Signed Odyssey Sims to 7-day contract |
| August 22, 2024 | Signed Azurá Stevens and Stephanie Talbot to extensions through 2025 |
| August 22, 2024 | Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a rest of season contract |
| August 24, 2024 | Signed Odyssey Sims to a second 7-day contract |
| August 31, 2024 | Released Odyssey Sims and signed Simms to a 7-day contract |
| September 7, 2024 | Released Odyssey Sims and signed Simms to a rest-of-season contract |
| September 20, 2024 | Layshia Clarendon announced their retirement| |
| September 24, 2024 | Head coach, Curt Miller, was fired |

### Roster changes
## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Lexie Brown | Zia Cooke |
| SG | Layshia Clarendon | Aari McDonald |
| SF | Kia Nurse | Rae Burrell Rickea Jackson |
| PF | Dearica Hamby | Stephanie Talbot |
| C | Cameron Brink | Azurá Stevens Li Yueru |

## Schedule
### Pre-season

2024 pre-season game log Total: 2–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 2–0) :
May: 2–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 5
vs. Seattle
W 84–79
Dearica Hamby (17)
Dearica Hamby (9)
Dearica Hamby (5)
Rogers Place 16,655
1–0
2
May 10
@ Phoenix
W 98–85
Cooke Hamby (21)
Dearica Hamby (7)
Brown Hamby McDonald Talbot (3)
Footprint Center 4,598
2–0 :
2024 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2024 game log Total: 8–32 (Home: 5–15; Road: 3–17) :
May: 2–5 (Home: 1–3; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 15
Atlanta
L 81–91
Kia Nurse (23)
Dearica Hamby (14)
Layshia Clarendon (10)
Walter Pyramid 3,847
0–1
2
May 18
@ Las Vegas
L 82–89
Dearica Hamby (29)
Dearica Hamby (9)
Layshia Clarendon (4)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,286
0–2
3
May 21
Washington
W 70–68
Lexie Brown (20)
Dearica Hamby (18)
Lexie Brown (6)
Walter Pyramid 3,627
1–2
4
May 24
Indiana
L 73–78
Dearica Hamby (18)
Dearica Hamby (12)
Dearica Hamby (7)
Crypto.com Arena 19,103
1–3
5
May 26
Dallas
L 83–84
Cameron Brink (21)
Dearica Hamby (13)
Lexie Brown (6)
Crypto.com Arena 10,340
1–4
6
May 28
@ Indiana
W 88–82
Kia Nurse (22)
Dearica Hamby (10)
Dearica Hamby (5)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 16,013
2–4
7
May 30
@ Chicago
L 73–83
Dearica Hamby (24)
Dearica Hamby (13)
Lexie Brown (4)
Wintrust Arena 7,911
2–5 :
June
: 2–9 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–8)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
8
June 2
@ Phoenix
L 68–87
Dearica Hamby (23)
Rickea Jackson (7)
Aari McDonald (5)
Footprint Center 10,207
2–6
9
June 5
Minnesota
L 62–86
Dearica Hamby (17)
Dearica Hamby (11)
Stephanie Talbot (3)
Crypto.com Arena 8,104
2–7
10
June 7
Dallas
W 81–72
Dearica Hamby (22)
Dearica Hamby (12)
Brown, McDonald (6)
Crypto.com Arena 10,123
3–7
11
June 9
Las Vegas
W 96–92
Dearica Hamby (18)
Dearica Hamby (10)
Clarendon, Hamby (5)
Crypto.com Arena 13,900
4–7
12
June 11
@ Seattle
L 79–95
Li Yueru (18)
Dearica Hamby (11)
Brown, Hamby (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,202
4–8
13
June 14
@ Minnesota
L 76–81
Rickea Jackson (19)
Aari McDonald (7)
Target Center 8,117
4–9
14
June 16
@ Atlanta
L 74–87
Brink, Jackson (16)
Dearica Hamby (8)
Aari McDonald (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
4–10
15
June 18
@ Connecticut
L 70–79
Aari McDonald (14)
Rickea Jackson (7)
Aari McDonald (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,853
4–11
16
June 20
@ New York
L 80–93
Aari McDonald (15)
Hamby, Talbot (11)
Rae Burrell (4)
Barclays Center 10,955
4–12
17
June 22
L 88–98
Dearica Hamby (20)
Stephanie Talbot (8)
Stephanie Talbot (7)
Barclays Center 13,639
4–13
18
June 28
@ Phoenix
L 78–92
Dearica Hamby (29)
Dearica Hamby (7)
Aari McDonald (10)
Footprint Center 14,363
4–14 :
July
: 2–4 (Home: 1–4; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
July 2
Washington
L 80–82
McDonald, Talbot (17)
Dearica Hamby (11)
Dearica Hamby (7)
Crypto.com Arena 9,164
4–15
20
July 5
Las Vegas
W 98–93 (OT)
Dearica Hamby (28)
Dearica Hamby (14)
Stephanie Talbot (9)
Crypto.com Arena 13,840
5–15
21
July 7
Phoenix
L 78–84
Dearica Hamby (25)
Dearica Hamby (9)
Aari McDonald (6)
Crypto.com Arena 11,618
5–16
22
July 9
Minnesota
L 67–82
Dearica Hamby (18)
Dearica Hamby (8)
Clarendon, McDonald, Stevens (4)
Crypto.com Arena 9,533
5–17
23
July 13
@ Dallas
W 87–81
Dearica Hamby (27)
Azurá Stevens (8)
Dearica Hamby (5)
College Park Center 6,251
6–17
24
July 16
Seattle
L 83–89
Azurá Stevens (24)
Azurá Stevens (15)
Layshia Clarendon (6)
Crypto.com Arena 18,724
6–18 :
August
: 1–6 (Home: 1–2; Road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
25
August 15
New York
L 68–103
Rae Burrell (15)
Dearica Hamby (13)
Dearica Hamby (5)
Crypto.com Arena 11,120
6–19
26
August 17
Chicago
L 86–90
Kia Nurse (16)
Dearica Hamby (9)
Crystal Dangerfield (6)
Crypto.com Arena 16,551
6–20
27
August 18
@ Las Vegas
L 71–87
Rickea Jackson (15)
Dearica Hamby (11)
Odyssey Sims (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,311
6–21
28
August 20
@ Connecticut
L 61–69
Jackson, Stevens (14)
Dearica Hamby (10)
Crystal Dangerfield (4)
TD Garden 19,125
6–22
29
August 23
@ Washington
L 74–80
Rickea Jackson (17)
Dangerfield, Simms (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
6–23
30
August 25
@ Dallas
L 110–113
Odyssey Sims (26)
Tied (6 players, 3)
Odyssey Sims (10)
College Park Center 5,925
6–24
31
August 28
New York
W 94–88
Dearica Hamby (21)
Dearica Hamby (7)
Odyssey Sims (7)
Crypto.com Arena 10,403
7–24 :
September
: 1–8 (Home: 0–5; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
September 1
Atlanta
L 62–80
Li Yueru (14)
Dearica Hamby (9)
Odyssey Sims (6)
Crypto.com Arena 11,165
7–25
33
September 4
@ Indiana
L 86–93
Odyssey Sims (20)
Azurá Stevens (11)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 16,645
7–26
34
September 6
@ Chicago
L 78–92
Dearica Hamby (21)
Azurá Stevens (9)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
7–27
35
September 8
Connecticut
L 67–79
Rickea Jackson (23)
Li Yueru (8)
Azurá Stevens (5)
Crypto.com Arena 10,627
7–28
36
September 10
L 66–86
Rickea Jackson (16)
Azurá Stevens (17)
Odyssey Sims (6)
Crypto.com Arena 8,253
7–29
37
September 11
Seattle
L 82–90
Rickea Jackson (22)
Azurá Stevens (15)
Crypto.com Arena 9,561
7–30
38
September 15
@ Seattle
L 87–90
Dearica Hamby (25)
Dearica Hamby (11)
Odyssey Sims (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 11,301
7–31
39
September 17
Phoenix
L 81–85
Dearica Hamby (21)
Li Yueru (12)
Crystal Dangerfield (5)
Crypto.com Arena 11,294
7–32
40
September 19
@ Minnesota
W 68–51
Dearica Hamby (20)
Rickea Jackson (8)
Odyssey Sims (9)
Target Center 7,908
8–32 :
2024 season schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
* v
* t
* e
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    c – Commissioner's Cup winners
    y – Regular Season Champion
    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 | TO | PF | PPG |
| Dearica Hamby | 40 | 40 | 33.7 | .512 | .341 | .631 | 9.2 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 17.3 |
| Rickea Jackson | 40 | 35 | 28.8 | .456 | .347 | .807 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 13.4 |
| Odyssey Sims $^≠$ | 15 | 10 | 26.3 | .438 | .154 | .838 | 1.7 | 5.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 9.8 |
| Azurá Stevens | 20 | 19 | 24.7 | .399 | .350 | .815 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 9.6 |
| Aari McDonald | 26 | 10 | 21.8 | .403 | .319 | .843 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 8.7 |
| Lexie Brown | 16 | 8 | 23.7 | .321 | .304 | .889 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 8.1 |
| Kia Nurse | 40 | 27 | 20.3 | .388 | .331 | .793 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 7.6 |
| Cameron Brink | 15 | 15 | 22.0 | .398 | .323 | .840 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 7.5 |
| Rae Burrell | 37 | 7 | 15.6 | .362 | .333 | .780 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 5.9 |
| Li Yueru | 38 | 2 | 14.4 | .463 | .267 | .898 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 5.1 |
| Layshia Clarendon | 21 | 12 | 16.0 | .427 | .350 | .870 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 4.3 |
| Zia Cooke | 29 | 0 | 8.9 | .321 | .297 | .690 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 3.6 |
| Stephanie Talbot | 37 | 10 | 16.2 | .395 | .260 | .690 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 3.5 |
| Crystal Dangerfield $^≠$ | 18 | 5 | 12.8 | .286 | .308 | .667 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| Queen Egbo $^≠$ $^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | — | — | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Dearica Hamby | Western Conference Player of the Week | June 11, 2024 |
| Dearica Hamby | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 |
| Dearica Hamby | AP Most Improved Player | September 22, 2024 |
| Dearica Hamby | Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | October 2, 2024 |
| Rickea Jackson | AP All-Rookie Team | September 22, 2024 |
| Rickea Jackson | WNBA All-Rookie Team | October 3, 2024 |