2018 Los Angeles Sparks season

2018 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach Brian Agler
Arena Staples Center
Attendance 10,642 per game
Results
Record 19–15 (.559)
Place 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish 6th seed, Lost in Second Round to Washington 64–96
Team Leaders
Points Candace Parker – 17.9 ppg
Rebounds Candace Parker – 8.2 rpg
Assists Chelsea Gray – 5.1 apg
Media
Television Spectrum SportsNet
ESPN2, NBATV
2019 season →

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 20th.[1]

The Sparks started out strong with a 4–1 record in May. They won their season opener in a re-match of the 2017 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx. They continued their strong run into June where the team posted an 8–4 record. The Sparks won 6 of 7 to start the month. Two of their June losses game to the eventual WNBA Champion Seattle Storm. However, things started to get shaky in July. The Sparks went 4–6. However, all but one loss came to eventual playoff teams. The other loss was to Indiana, who ended the season with the worst record. The Sparks finished with a 4–4 record in August, including 3–0 at home. However, the Sparks lost 4 of their last 5 (again all against playoff teams).

Their final record of 19–15 was good enough to secure the 6th seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs. They met the Lynx in the first round, in a re-match of the last three WNBA Finals. The Sparks prevailed 75–68 at the Staples Center. In the second round, they faced the Washington Mystics in Washington, but were defeated 64–96 to end their season.

Transactions

WNBA Draft

Trades/Roster Changes

Roster

Los Angeles Sparks roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F 0 United States Beard, Alana 5' 11" (1.8m) 160 lb (73kg) 05-14-1982 Duke 12
G/F 17 United States Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 07-28-1986 Rutgers 10
G 12 United States Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 10-08-1992 Duke 3
C 42 United States Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 11-12-1988 Ohio State 7
F 30 United States Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 07-02-1990 Stanford 6
F/C 3 United States Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) 04-19-1986 Tennessee 10
G 44 United States Samuelson, Karlie 6' 0" (1.83m) – 05-10-1995 Stanford R
G 1 United States Sims, Odyssey 5' 8" (1.73m) 160 lb (73kg) 07-13-1992 Baylor 4
C 10 Russia Vadeeva, Maria 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 06-16-1988 Russia R
G 24 United States Wiese, Sydney 6' 0" (1.83m) – 06-16-1995 Oregon State 1
G 2 United States Williams, Riquna 5' 7" (1.7m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-28-1990 Miami (FL) 5



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LV • LA • MIN • PHO • SEA
Head coach
United States Brian Agler (Wittenberg)
Assistant coaches
United States Tonya Edwards (Tennessee)
United States Bobbie Kelsey (Stanford)
Athletic trainer
United States Courtney Watson (California)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Kelly Dormandy (Springfield College)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page

Game Log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
May: 1–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–2)
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 19–15 (Home: 11–6; Road: 8–9)
May: 3–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–1)
June : 8–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 2–3)
July : 4–6 (Home: 1–5; Road: 3–1)
August : 4–4 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–4)
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
WNBA First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 August 21 Phoenix W 75–68 Gray (26) Parker (6) Gray (6) Staples Center
8,598		 1–0
WNBA Second Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 August 23 @ Washington L 64–96 Parker (16) Parker (8) 3 Tied (3) Capital One Arena
3,548		 1–1
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

# Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Seattle Storm (1)268.765–13–413–411–5
2 Phoenix Mercury (5)2014.58869–811–68–8
3 Los Angeles Sparks (6)1915.559711–68–99–7
4 Minnesota Lynx (7)1816.52989–89–89–7
5 Dallas Wings (8)1519.4411110–75–127–9
6 e –Las Vegas Aces1420.412128–96–114–12
 
First round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
 
              
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
Seattle Storm 		3
 
 
5
Phoenix Mercury 		2
 
 
 
 
 
4
Connecticut Sun		86
 
 
 
5
Phoenix Mercury 		96
 
5
Phoenix Mercury		101
 
 
 
8
Dallas Wings		 83
 
1
Seattle Storm 		3
 
 
 
3
Washington Mystics		 0
 
6
Los Angeles Sparks		75
 
 
 
7
Minnesota Lynx		 68
 
3
Washington Mystics		96
 
 
6
Los Angeles Sparks 		64
 
 
 
 
 
2
Atlanta Dream		 2
 
 
3
Washington Mystics		 3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals
Team12345
1
Seattle Storm		9191668494
5
Phoenix Mercury		8787868684
Team12345
2
Atlanta Dream		8478817681
3
Washington Mystics		8775769786
WNBA Finals
Team123
1
Seattle Storm		897598
3
Washington Mystics		767382

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Chelsea Gray WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week May 29, 2018 [7]
Candice Parker July 15, 2018 [8]
Nneka Ogwumike WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [9]
Chelsea Gray
Candice Parker WNBA All-Star Captain
Candice Parker WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week August 6, 2018 [10]
Alana Beard WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award August 31, 2018 [11]

References

  1. ↑ "2018 Los Angeles Sparks Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Odyssey Sims re-signs with Los Angeles Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Ana Dabovic and Karlie Samuelson". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Sparks re-sign 2017 WNBA Defensive Player of the year, Alana Beard". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 6, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Sparks sign top WNBA free agent Cappie Pondexter". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Tiffany Jackson re-signs with Sparks". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 21, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Alyssa Thomas, Chelsea Gray Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Atlanta's Breland, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  9. ↑ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Atlanta's Hayes, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Sparks' Alana Beard Named 2018 Defensive Player Of The Year - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
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