# 2019 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association.
During the off-season, head coach Brian Agler resigned and accepted the head coach position with the Dallas Wings. On December 5, former NBA player Derek Fisher was announced as the new head coach.
The Sparks started the season with a 6-6 record in the first two months. Their good form continued into August, with the team going 8–4 and putting together a five game win streak. The turn around game mostly at home, with the Sparks posting a 9–0 home record during July and August. The team finished out the season with three straight wins at home. Their 22–12 overall record, secured them the third seed in the playoffs.
After earning a bye in the first round, the Sparks easily defeated the Seattle Storm at home, 92–69. This set up a semifinal matchup with the Connecticut Sun. The Sparks lost the first two road games in the series, and couldn't win the third game at home. The Sun swept the Sparks to end their season.
After the 2019 season, Penny Toler was dismissed as general manager. Her dismissal came among rumors that she entered the locker room after a playoff game and gave a "obscenity-laced speech that also included several racial epithets".

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 7 | Kalani Brown | United States | Baylor |
| 2 | 19 | Marina Mabrey | United States | Notre Dame |
| 3 | 31 | Ángela Salvadores | Spain | Ensino (Spain) |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 1, 2019 | Re-signed G Karlie Samuelson |
| February 1, 2019 | Re-signed G Odyssey Sims |
| February 6, 2019 | Signed F Ashley Walker |
| February 11, 2019 | Re-signed G/F Alana Beard |
| February 13, 2019 | Signed G/F Tierra Ruffin-Pratt |
| February 20, 2019 | Signed G Alina Iagupova |
| March 5, 2019 | Signed C Rachel Hollivay |
| March 28, 2019 | Signed G Loryn Goodwin |
| April 12, 2019 | Signed G Gabby Green |
| April 22, 2019 | Traded G Odyssey Sims to Minnesota in exchange for G Alexis Jones |
| April 27, 2019 | Traded their first-round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft to Connecticut in exchange for F Chiney Ogwumike |
| April 30, 2019 | Re-signed G Chelsea Gray |
| May 13, 2019 | Claimed G Cierra Dillard off Waivers |
| May 13, 2019 | Waived G Gabby Green and G Gabby Green |
| May 15, 2019 | Re-signed G Riquna Williams |
| May 20, 2019 | Traded C Jantel Lavender to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft |

## Game log
### Preseason

2019 pre-season game log :
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 11
@ Phoenix Mercury
L 75–82
Walker (16)
Tied (7)
Jones (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 3,751
0–1
2
May 17
Seattle Storm
W 92–85
N. Ogwumike (18)
N. Ogwumike (7)
Jones (6)
Hutto-Patterson Gym N/A
1–1 :
2019 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2019 game log Total: 22–12 (Home: 15–2; Road: 7–10) :
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 26
@ Las Vegas Aces
L 70–83
Vadeeva (24)
N. Ogwumike (11)
3 tied (4)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 7,249
0–1
2
May 31
Connecticut Sun
W 77–70
C. Ogwumike (20)
N. Ogwumike (15)
Tied (4)
Staples Center 12,334
1–1 :
June
: 5–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 3–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
June 4
@ New York Liberty
W 78–73
Gray (29)
C. Ogwumike (10)
Gray (4)
Westchester County Center 3,579
2–1
4
June 6
@ Connecticut Sun
L 77–89
N. Ogwumike (21)
N. Ogwumike (10)
Gray (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,496
2–2
5
June 8
@ Minnesota Lynx
W 89–85
Williams (25)
Tied (9)
Ruffin-Pratt (5)
Target Center 8,834
3–2
6
June 14
@ Phoenix Mercury
W 85–65
Gray (21)
N. Ogwumike (8)
Gray (9)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,381
4–2
7
June 15
New York Liberty
L 92–98
C. Ogwumike (26)
C. Ogwumike (14)
Gray (6)
Staples Center 11,388
4–3
8
June 18
Washington Mystics
L 52–81
Tied (12)
Tied (7)
Parker (3)
Staples Center 9,537
4–4
9
June 21
@ Seattle Storm
L 62–84
N. Ogwumike (10)
C. Ogwumike (6)
4 tied (2)
Angel of the Winds Arena 6,114
4–5
10
June 23
@ Phoenix Mercury
L 72–82
Tied (12)
N. Ogwumike (13)
Gray (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,132
4–6
11
June 27
Las Vegas Aces
W 86–74
3 tied (18)
C. Ogwumike (10)
Gray (6)
Staples Center 10,295
5–6
12
June 30
Chicago Sky
W 94–69
Williams (19)
C. Ogwumike (7)
Tied (5)
Staples Center 11,067
6–6 :
July
: 5–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13
July 7
Washington Mystics
W 98–81
N. Ogwumike (31)
Tied (10)
Gray (13)
Staples Center 10,336
7–6
14
July 9
@ Dallas Wings
L 62–74
N. Ogwumike (15)
Tied (10)
Gray (4)
College Park Center 6,885
7–7
15
July 12
@ Indiana Fever
W 90–84
N. Ogwumike (22)
C. Ogwumike (9)
Gray (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,849
8–7
16
July 14
@ Atlanta Dream
W 76–71 (OT)
Williams (23)
N. Ogwumike (15)
Gray (9)
State Farm Arena 5,083
9–7
17
July 18
Dallas Wings
W 69–64
N. Ogwumike (22)
Gray (9)
Gray (4)
Staples Center 14,050
10–7
18
July 20
@ New York Liberty
L 78–83
N. Ogwumike (20)
N. Ogwumike (12)
Wiese (6)
Westchester County Center 2,195
10–8
19
July 23
@ Atlanta Dream
W 78–66
N. Ogwumike (24)
C. Ogwumike (12)
Gray (6)
State Farm Arena 7,047
11–8 :
August
: 8–4 (Home: 7–0; Road: 1–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
August 1
Las Vegas Aces
W 76–68
N. Ogwumike (19)
N. Ogwumike (11)
Gray (10)
Staples Center 11,692
12–8
21
August 4
Seattle Storm
W 83–75
Parker (21)
N. Ogwumike (10)
Gray (8)
Staples Center 12,820
13–8
22
August 8
Phoenix Mercury
W 84–74
N. Ogwumike (24)
Parker (11)
Parker (6)
Staples Center 10,345
14–8
23
August 11
Chicago Sky
W 84–81
Gray (26)
N. Ogwumike (12)
Gray (6)
Staples Center 9,244
15–8
24
August 14
@ Dallas Wings
L 78–84
Gray (22)
N. Ogwumike (9)
Gray (7)
College Park Center 5,004
15–9
25
August 16
@ Chicago Sky
L 81–91
Gray (25)
N. Ogwumike (7)
Tied (5)
Wintrust Arena 7,907
15–10
26
August 20
Minnesota Lynx
W 81–71
Parker (20)
Parker (10)
N. Ogwumike (4)
Staples Center
16–10
27
August 22
Indiana Fever
W 98–65
N. Ogwumike (17)
Tied (7)
Parker (5)
Staples Center 8,816
17–10
28
August 25
Connecticut Sun
W 84–72
Williams (21)
N. Ogwumike (8)
Gray (6)
Staples Center 17,076
18–10
29
August 27
@ Washington Mystics
L 66–95
Tied (12)
Vadeeva (7)
Gray (7)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200
18–11
30
August 29
@ Indiana Fever
W 87–83
Gray (30)
N. Ogwumike (8)
Gray (9)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5,641
19–11
31
August 31
@ Las Vegas Aces
L 86–92
Williams (37)
N. Ogwumike (7)
Gray (7)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 8,470
19–12 :
September
: 3–0 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
September 3
Atlanta Dream
W 70–60
Parker (21)
Parker (11)
Parker (6)
Staples Center 9,889
20–12
33
September 5
Seattle Storm
W 102–68
Parker (20)
N. Ogwumike (10)
Gray (7)
Staples Center 10,591
21–12
34
September 8
Minnesota Lynx
W 77–68
Williams (15)
Parker (7)
Gray (8)
Staples Center 13,500
22–12 :
2019 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2) :
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 15
Seattle Storm
W 92–68
Gray (21)
Parker (10)
Gray (8)
Staples Center 9,081
1–0 :
Semifinals: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 17
@ Connecticut Sun
L 75–84
Parker (24)
Tied (10)
Gray (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,102
0–1
2
September 19
@ Connecticut Sun
L 68–94
N. Ogwumike (18)
N. Ogwumike (7)
Gray (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,051
0–2
3
September 22
Connecticut Sun
L 56–78
N. Ogwumike (17)
N. Ogwumike (6)
Gray (4)
Walter Pyramid 4,000
0–3 :
2019 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Western Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Los Angeles Sparks (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 15–2 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 2 | Las Vegas Aces (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
| 3 | Seattle Storm (6) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 7–9 |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 7 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 5–11 |
| 6 | e – Dallas Wings | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 5–11 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 97 | 103 | 75 | 94 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 93 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 95 | 91 | 92 | 90 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Chicago Sky | 105 | 5 | Chicago Sky | 92 | | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 95 | 87 | 94 | 86 | 89 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 76 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 99 | 81 | 90 | 78 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | 84 | 94 | 78 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 92 | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 68 | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Seattle Storm | 84 | 6 | Seattle Storm | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 74 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Nneka Ogwumike | 32 | 32 | 27.9 | 51.0 | 33.8 | 82.8 | 8.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 16.1 |
| Chelsea Gray | 34 | 34 | 32.6 | 41.6 | 38.2 | 91.7 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 14.5 |
| Riquna Williams | 23 | 14 | 25.8 | 38.4 | 39.1 | 88.0 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 12.3 |
| Candace Parker | 22 | 22 | 26.0 | 42.2 | 46.7 | 79.1 | 6.4 | 3.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 11.2 |
| Chiney Ogwumike | 32 | 14 | 21.8 | 49.4 | 25.0 | 80.9 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 9.6 |
| Maria Vadeeva | 15 | 1 | 12.0 | 49.0 | 31.3 | 76.9 | 3.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 7.8 |
| Tierra Ruffin-Pratt | 34 | 33 | 25.2 | 36.7 | 34.2 | 85.4 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 6.0 |
| Kalani Brown | 28 | 0 | 13.5 | 47.8 | 0 | 78.3 | 3.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 5.4 |
| Sydney Wiese | 32 | 16 | 20.6 | 38.5 | 36.6 | 100 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Alexis Jones | 20 | 1 | 12.2 | 40.0 | 33.3 | 80.0 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| Marina Mabrey | 31 | 0 | 11.5 | 34.4 | 27.3 | 87.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
| Alana Beard | 16 | 3 | 14.7 | 44.9 | 20.0 | 77.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 3.3 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | July 15, 2019 |
| Chelsea Gray | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month - July | August 1, 2019 |
| Candace Parker | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | August 5, 2019 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | August 12, 2019 |
| Candace Parker | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | September 9, 2019 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | September 16, 2019 |