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.^[1]

2022 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach	Derek Fisher (Until June 7) Fred Williams (Interim, from July 7th-present)
Arena	Crypto.com Arena
Attendance	5,653 per game
Results
Record	13–23 (.361)
Place	6th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team Leaders
Points	Nneka Ogwumike – 18.1 ppg
Rebounds	Nneka Ogwumike – 6.6 rpg
Assists	Jordin Canada – 5.5 apg
Media
Television	Spectrum SportsNet ESPN CBS/CBS Sports Network NBA TV
← 2021 season 2023 season →

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.^[2] 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

See also: 2022 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 [3]
January 1, 2022	Extended Qualifying Offers to Te'a Cooper and Lauren Cox[4]
January 4, 2022	Signed Lauren Cox to a Qualifying Offer[5]
January 20, 2022	Signed Te'a Cooper to a Qualifying Offer[6]
February 3, 2022	Traded Gabby Williams to Seattle in exchange for Katie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the 2022 WNBA draft.[7]
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[8]
February 8, 2022	Signed Jordin Canada to a One-Year Deal[9]
February 18, 2022	Signed Liz Cambage[10]
March 30, 2022	Trade the rights to Li Yueru to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Lexie Brown[11]
April 15, 2022	Signed Chantel Horvat and Lexi Gordan to training-camp contracts[12]
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[13]
May 4, 2022	Waived Te'a Cooper, Arella Guirantes, and Kianna Smith[14]
May 5, 2022	Temporarily Suspend Kristi Toliver and Katie Lou Samuelson due to NBA and Overseas Commitments
	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[15]
May 17, 2022	Activated Katie Lou Samuelson from her Temporary Suspension[16]
June 7, 2022	Fired Head coach/GM Derek Fisher and named Fred Williams as Interim Head coach[17]
	Waived Amy Atwell[18]
June 9, 2022	Activated Kristi Toliver from her Temporary Suspension
July 4, 2022	Signed Kianna Smith to a 7-Day Hardship Contract[19]
July 26, 2022	Waived Liz Cambage[20]
	Signed Kianna Smith to a 2nd 7-day contract[21]
August 2, 2022	Signed Kianna Smith[22]

Roster

2022 Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 4 Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m) 162 lb (73kg) 1994-10-24 Duke 4 G/F 12 Burrell, Rae  6' 2" (1.88m) 168 lb (76kg) 2000-06-21 Tennessee R G 21 Canada, Jordin 5' 6" (1.68m) 135 lb (61kg) 1995-08-11 UCLA 4 G 7 Carter, Chennedy 5' 9" (1.75m) 143 lb (65kg) 1998-11-14 Texas A&M 2 C 10 Nelson-Ododa, Olivia 6' 5" (1.96m) 173 lb (78kg) 2000-08-17 Connecticut R F 30 Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 1990-07-02 Stanford 10 F/C 13 Ogwumike, Chiney 6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) 1992-03-21 Stanford 5 F 33 Samuelson, Katie Lou 6' 3" (1.91m) 163 lb (74kg) 1997-06-13 Connecticut 3 G 5 Smith, Kianna 6' 0" (1.83m) 162 lb (73kg) 1994-06-10 Louisville R G 15 Sykes, Brittney 5' 9" (1.75m) 154 lb (70kg) 1994-02-07 Syracuse 5 G 20 Toliver, Kristi  5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 1987-01-27 Maryland 12 F 40 Walker, Jasmine 6' 3" (1.91m) 182 lb (83kg) 1998-02-03 Alabama 1	Head coach Fred Williams (Boise State) Assistant coaches Latricia Trammell (East Central) Seimone Augustus (LSU) Athletic trainer Courtney Watson (California) Strength and conditioning coach Kelly Dormandy (Springfield) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 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

#	Team v t e	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

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

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	Ref.
Nneka Ogwumike	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 22	[23]
	Western Conference Player of the Week	June 27	[24]
	All-WNBA Second Team	September 15	[25]
Brittney Sykes	All-Defensive Second Team	August 30	[26]