2023 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2023 WNBA season was the 27th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the first season under head coach Curt Miller. The season tipped off on May 19, 2023, versus the Phoenix Mercury.

2023 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach	Curt Miller
Arena	Crypto.com Arena (Capacity: 19,068)
Attendance	6,554 per game
Results
Record	17–23 (.425)
Place	4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team Leaders
Points	Nneka Ogwumike – 19.1 ppg
Rebounds	Nneka Ogwumike – 8.8 rpg
Assists	Jordin Canada – 6.0 apg
Media
Television	Spectrum SportsNet ABC ESPN ESPN2 ESPN+ CBS Paramount+ CBSSN NBA TV ION
← 2022 season 2024 season →

The Sparks hired Miller on October 21, 2022. He previously served as the head for the Connecticut Sun, and led the Sun to the 2022 WNBA Finals. He also previously served as an assistant coach for the Sparks in 2015.^[1]

The Sparks won their opening game of the season before dropping the next two games to Las Vegas to finish the opening month 1–2. June was an up and down month that saw the Sparks win their first two games, but then alternate wins and losses for the next five games. They won two games in a row over Dallas but then they lost their final two games of the month to Chicago. They would ultimately finish the month 6–7. July was not as good of a month for the Sparks as they lost six games in a row to start the month. They won two games against Indiana but lost their final game of the month to finish July 2–7. August began with two losses, but then the Sparks went on a six-game winning streak. August finished with three straight losses, and the Sparks finished August 6–5. The Sparks were fighting for the eighth and final playoff seed entering September and they won their opening game. They then lost their next two games, and were eliminated from playoff contention on September 8 when they did not play, but Chicago defeated Minnesota. They won their final game of the season to finish September 2–2 and one game out of the eighth playoff spot. This marked the third straight year of the Sparks not qualifying for the playoffs.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2023 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
1	10	Zia Cooke	United States	South Carolina
2	14	Shaneice Swain	Australia	Cairns Dolphins
3	26	Monika Czinano	United States	Iowa

Transactions

Date	Transaction
October 21, 2022	Hired Curt Miller as head coach[2]
December 31, 2022	Renounced the rights to Ivana Raca[3]
January 3, 2023	Hired Karen Bryant as Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager[4]
	Promoted Eli Horowitz to Assistant General Manager[5]
January 4, 2023	Hired Steve Smith and Chris Koclanes as assistant coaches[6]
January 13, 2023	Extended Qualifying Offer to Kianna Smith[7]
January 16, 2023	Traded Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Jasmine Walker, and Kianna Smith to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Jasmine Thomas and the 10th Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft[8]
January 21, 2023	Traded Amanda Zahui B and a 2024 Second-Round Pick to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for Dearica Hamby and a 2024 First-Round Pick [9]
February 1, 2023	Signed Lexie Brown to a 2-Year Deal[10]
	Signed Stephanie Talbot to a Multi-Year Deal[11]
February 3, 2023	Signed Azurá Stevens[12]
February 7, 2023	Signed Layshia Clarendon to a training-camp contract[13]
February 8, 2023	Signed Jordin Canada to a training-camp contract[14]
February 19, 2023	Signed Yang Liwei to a rookie-scale contract[15]
February 21, 2023	Signed Karlie Samuelson and Reshanda Gray to training-camp contracts[16][17]
February 22, 2023	Signed Chiney Ogwumike to a 1-Year Deal[18]
February 24, 2023	Signed Nneka Ogwumike to a 1-Year Deal[19]
February 28, 2023	Full-Season Suspension of Stephanie Talbot due to Overseas Injury
March 9, 2023	Hired Danielle Viglione as assistant coach[20]
March 17, 2023	Waived Chennedy Carter[21]
April 13, 2023	Signed Zia Cooke and Monika Czinano to rookie-scale contracts
	Signed Joyner Holmes and Crystal Bradford to training-camp contracts[22]
May 13, 2023	Waived Crystal Bradford and Reshanda Gray[23]
May 15, 2023	Waived Monika Czinano[24]
May 16, 2023	Waived Karlie Samuelson and Rae Burrell[25]
May 17, 2023	Waived Yang Liwei[26]
May 18, 2023	Claimed Nia Clouden off Waivers[27]
	Placed Katie Lou Samuelson on the Inactive List due to Pregnancy/Child-Birth
	Signed Karlie Samuelson to a Hardship Contract[28]
May 27, 2023	Signed Rae Burrell to a Hardship Contract[29]
May 29, 2023	Released Rae Burrell from the Hardship Contract
June 5, 2023	Waived Joyner Holmes[30]
	Released Karlie Samuelson from the Hardship Contract[30]
June 6, 2023	Signed Karlie Samuelson[31]
June 16, 2023	Signed Destanni Henderson to a Hardship Contract[32]
June 17, 2023	Signed Rae Burrell to a Hardship Contract[33]
July 16, 2023	Released Destanni Henderson from the Hardship Contract[34]
July 31, 2023	Signed Evina Westbrook to a 7-Day Contract[35]
August 7, 2023	Signed Evina Westbrook to a 2nd 7-Day Contract[36]
August 14, 2023	Signed Evina Westbrook to a 3rd 7-Day Contract[37]
August 21, 2023	Signed Evina Westbrook to a Hardship Contract[38]

Roster Changes

Additions Personnel Signed/Trade Former Team Jasmine Thomas Trade Connecticut Sun Dearica Hamby Trade Las Vegas Aces Stephanie Talbot Free Agency Seattle Storm Azurá Stevens Free Agency Chicago Sky Layshia Clarendon Free Agency - Karlie Samuelson Free Agency Townsville Fire Zia Cooke Draft Pick 2023 Draft Pick Nia Clouden Waiver Claim Connecticut Sun Evina Westbrook Free Agency Phoenix Mercury

Subtractions Personnel Reason New Team Olivia Nelson-Ododa Trade Connecticut Sun Jasmine Walker Trade Connecticut Sun Kianna Smith Trade Connecticut Sun Amanda Zahui B Trade Las Vegas Aces Chennedy Carter Waived - Kianna Smith Free Agency - Brittney Sykes Free Agency Washington Mystics Kristi Toliver Free Agency Washington Mystics

Roster

2023 Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 4 Brown, Lexie (OUT) 5' 9" (1.75m) 162 lb (73kg) 1994-10-24 Duke 5 G/F 12 Burrell, Rae 6' 2" (1.88m) 168 lb (76kg) 2000-06-21 Tennessee 1 G 21 Canada, Jordin 5' 6" (1.68m) 135 lb (61kg) 1995-08-11 UCLA 5 G 25 Clarendon, Layshia 5' 9" (1.75m) 158 lb (72kg) 1991-03-02 California 9 G 2 Clouden, Nia  5' 9" (1.75m) 139 lb (63kg) 2000-05-17 Michigan State 1 G 1 Cooke, Zia 5' 9" (1.75m) 163 lb (74kg) 2001-01-09 South Carolina R F 5 Hamby, Dearica 6' 3" (1.91m) 189 lb (86kg) 1993-11-06 Wake Forest 8 F 30 Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 1990-07-02 Stanford 11 F/C 13 Ogwumike, Chiney  6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) 1992-03-21 Stanford 6 F 44 Samuelson, Karlie 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 1995-05-10 Stanford 4 F 33 Samuelson, Katie Lou (ML) 6' 3" (1.91m) 163 lb (74kg) 1997-06-13 Connecticut 4 F/C 23 Stevens, Azurá 6' 6" (1.98m) 180 lb (82kg) 1996-02-01 Connecticut 5 G 15 Thomas, Jasmine 5' 9" (1.75m) 143 lb (65kg) 1989-09-30 Duke 11 G 22 Westbrook, Evina 6' 0" (1.83m) 158 lb (72kg) 1998-09-28 Connecticut 1	Head coach Curt Miller (Baldwin Wallace) Assistant coaches Chris Koclanes (Old Dominion) Steve Smith Danielle Viglione (Texas) 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 Chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Jordin Canada	Jasmine Thomas Nia Clouden
SG	Layshia Clarendon	Zia Cooke Lexie Brown
SF	Karlie Samuelson	Evina Westbrook Rae Burrell
PF	Nneka Ogwumike	Dearica Hamby
C	Azurá Stevens	Chiney Ogwumike

Schedule

Preseason

2023 pre-season game log Total: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0)
May: 1–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 12 7:00 p.m. at Phoenix W 90–71 Zia Cooke (12) C. Ogwumike N. Ogwumike Holmes (4) Canada Liwei (5) Footprint Center N/A 1–0
2023 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

2023 game log Total: 17–23 (Home: 10–10; Road: 7–13)
May: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 19 Phoenix W 94–71 Nneka Ogwumike (17) Chiney Ogwumike (7) Jordin Canada (5) Crypto.com Arena 10,396 1–0 2 May 25 Las Vegas L 85–94 Chiney Ogwumike (19) Chiney Ogwumike (8) Layshia Clarendon (6) Crypto.com Arena 7,314 1–1 3 May 27 @ Las Vegas L 65–93 Nneka Ogwumike (16) Karlie Samuelson (7) Nia Clouden (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,191 1–2
June : 6–7 (Home: 4–3; Road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 June 2 @ Phoenix W 99–93 (OT) Lexie Brown (26) Nneka Ogwumike (12) Nneka Ogwumike (6) Footprint Center 8,815 2–2 5 June 3 Seattle W 92–83 Nneka Ogwumike (27) Nneka Ogwumike (13) Jordin Canada (7) Crypto.com Arena 6,866 3–2 6 June 6 @ Seattle L 63–66 Nneka Ogwumike (22) Nneka Ogwumike (11) Jordin Canada (5) Climate Pledge Arena 7,840 3–3 7 June 9 Chicago W 77–62 Nneka Ogwumike (19) Nneka Ogwumike (14) Canada N. Ogwumike (5) Crypto.com Arena 5,431 4–3 8 June 11 @ Minnesota L 86–91 Nneka Ogwumike (27) Dearica Hamby (9) Jordin Canada (8) Target Center 8,025 4–4 9 June 14 @ Dallas W 79–61 Dearica Hamby (23) Nneka Ogwumike (10) Jordin Canada (6) College Park Center 5,807 5–4 10 June 16 Minnesota L 72–77 Jordin Canada (22) Dearica Hamby (9) Nneka Ogwumike (7) Crypto.com Arena 5,265 5–5 11 June 18 Connecticut L 74–83 Nneka Ogwumike (19) Nneka Ogwumike (15) Jordin Canada (6) Crypto.com Arena 6,289 5–6 12 June 20 Minnesota L 61–67 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Nneka Ogwumike (9) Jordin Canada (5) Crypto.com Arena 4,180 5–7 13 June 23 Dallas W 76–74 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Dearica Hamby (10) Jordin Canada (6) Crypto.com Arena 5,766 6–7 14 June 25 Dallas W 93–83 Nneka Ogwumike (27) Nneka Ogwumike (12) Jordin Canada (9) Crypto.com Arena 6,380 7–7 15 June 28 @ Chicago L 63–80 Nneka Ogwumike (16) Nneka Ogwumike (11) Jordin Canada (5) Wintrust Arena 8,810 7–8 16 June 30 @ Chicago L 78–86 Azurá Stevens (15) Dearica Hamby (12) Jordin Canada (4) Wintrust Arena 7,272 7–9
July : 2–7 (Home: 2–3; Road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 July 2 @ Atlanta L 84–112 Nneka Ogwumike (25) Azurá Stevens (9) Destanni Henderson (6) Gateway Center Arena 3,209 7–10 18 July 5 Atlanta L 79–90 Nneka Ogwumike (19) Azurá Stevens (12) Jordin Canada (7) Crypto.com Arena 5,912 7–11 19 July 9 @ Phoenix L 72–78 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Nneka Ogwumike (14) Cooke Thomas (4) Footprint Center 9,206 7–12 20 July 12 Las Vegas L 78–97 Azurá Stevens (22) Azurá Stevens (12) Karlie Samuelson (6) Crypto.com Arena 8,085 7–13 21 July 20 @ Minnesota L 70–73 Nneka Ogwumike (19) Nneka Ogwumike (9) Jordin Canada (8) Target Center 7,014 7–14 22 July 22 @ Dallas L 84–98 Dearica Hamby (18) Canada N. Ogwumike (5) Jordin Canada (7) College Park Center 5,041 7–15 23 July 25 Indiana W 79–78 Nneka Ogwumike (30) Nneka Ogwumike (8) Jordin Canada (10) Crypto.com Arena 5,565 8–15 24 July 27 Indiana W 81–68 Nneka Ogwumike (25) Nneka Ogwumike (9) Jordin Canada (7) Crypto.com Arena 11,970 9–15 25 July 30 New York L 79–87 Dearica Hamby (21) Dearica Hamby (6) Jordin Canada (4) Crypto.com Arena 8,139 9–16
August : 6–5 (Home: 2–3; Road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 26 August 1 New York L 69–76 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Nneka Ogwumike (8) Jordin Canada (6) Crypto.com Arena 6,498 9–17 27 August 4 @ Washington L 77–79 Azurá Stevens (19) Canada N. Ogwumike (8) Jordin Canada (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,747 9–18 28 August 6 @ Washington W 91–83 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Nneka Ogwumike (10) Jordin Canada (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,073 10–18 29 August 8 @ Indiana W 87–80 Nneka Ogwumike (20) Nneka Ogwumike (11) Jordin Canada (7) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 3,006 11–18 30 August 12 Atlanta W 85–74 Jordin Canada (20) Azurá Stevens (8) Jordin Canada (8) Crypto.com Arena 7,119 12–18 31 August 19 @ Las Vegas W 78–72 Layshia Clarendon (22) Nneka Ogwumike (11) Layshia Clarendon (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,348 13–18 32 August 23 Phoenix W 91–62 Azurá Stevens (20) Azurá Stevens (9) Jordin Canada (7) Galen Center 3,469 14–18 33 August 25 @ Atlanta W 83–78 Nneka Ogwumike (29) Nneka Ogwumike (12) Jordin Canada (9) Gateway Center Arena 2,957 15–18 34 August 27 @ Connecticut L 68–83 Azurá Stevens (17) Dearica Hamby (9) Layshia Clarendon (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,783 15–19 35 August 29 Chicago L 75–76 Nneka Ogwumike (18) Nneka Ogwumike (11) Jordin Canada (9) Crypto.com Arena 6,041 15–20 36 August 31 Seattle L 61–72 Nneka Ogwumike (11) Nneka Ogwumike (7) Jordin Canada (4) Crypto.com Arena 6,101 15–21
September : 2–2 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 37 September 3 Washington W 72–64 Layshia Clarendon (15) Dearica Hamby (10) Canada Clarendon Hamby Samuelson (3) Galen Center 4,284 16–21 38 September 5 @ Connecticut L 76–90 Hamby Stevens (18) Azurá Stevens (11) Jordin Canada (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,783 16–22 39 September 7 @ New York L 89–96 Layshia Clarendon (30) Hamby Stevens (8) Jordin Canada (5) Barclays Center 6,275 16–23 40 September 10 @ Seattle W 91–89 Nneka Ogwumike (22) Dearica Hamby (12) Jordin Canada (7) Climate Pledge Arena 10,728 17–23
2023 season schedule

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	34	6	.850	–	18–2	19–1	15–5	9–1
2	x – New York Liberty	32	8	.800	2	16–4	15–5	17–3	7–3
3	x – Connecticut Sun	27	13	.675	7	14–6	13–7	14–6	7–3
4	x – Dallas Wings	22	18	.550	12	11–9	11–9	11–9	6–4
5	x – Atlanta Dream	19	21	.475	15	11–9	11–9	8–12	6–4
6	x – Minnesota Lynx	19	21	.475	15	12–8	9–11	10–10	5–5
7	x – Washington Mystics	19	21	.475	15	9–11	12–8	7–13	5–5
8	x – Chicago Sky	18	22	.450	16	5–15	7–13	11–9	3–7
9	e – Los Angeles Sparks	17	23	.425	17	9–11	10–10	7–13	5–5
10	e – Indiana Fever	13	27	.325	21	5–15	6–14	7–13	2–8
11	e – Seattle Storm	11	29	.275	23	8–12	4–16	7–13	4–6
12	e – Phoenix Mercury	9	31	.225	25	2–18	8–12	1–19	1–9

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from postseason 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	36	36	31.1	.512	.339	.870	8.8	2.7	1.7	0.7	19.1
Jordin Canada	38	38	32.6	.404	.333	.873	3.1	6.0	2.3	0.2	13.3
Lexie Brown	12	11	30.3	.486	.415	.875	2.1	2.4	0.9	0.3	12.4
Layshia Clarendon	24	24	28.6	.497	.457	.915	3.0	3.4	1.1	0.0	11.1
Azurá Stevens	35	29	26.0	.404	.321	.754	5.9	1.1	1.2	0.9	10.8
Dearica Hamby	40	19	24.8	.431	.220	.648	5.9	1.8	0.9	0.3	8.9
Chiney Ogwumike	10	4	21.2	.430	.077	.714	4.3	1.3	1.3	0.3	8.4
Karlie Samuelson	34	23	26.1	.463	.426	.941	3.0	2.0	0.6	0.1	7.7
Destanni Henderson‡	10	1	16.9	.362	.105	.737	0.8	2.5	0.7	0.1	5.0
Zia Cooke	39	4	14.1	.289	.261	.813	0.9	0.8	0.3	0.3	4.8
Joyner Holmes‡	5	0	12.0	.348	.286	.750	3.4	0.2	0.0	0.4	4.2
Rae Burrell≠	29	3	11.1	.387	.390	.810	1.2	0.6	0.4	0.1	3.6
Jasmine Thomas	32	7	12.8	.273	.242	.909	1.1	1.3	0.3	0.2	2.7
Nia Clouden	5	1	10.8	.300	.333	.500	0.4	1.8	0.0	0.0	1.6
Evina Westbrook≠	9	0	6.2	.300	.400	1.000	0.9	0.7	0.2	0.2	1.1

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Nneka Ogwumike	Western Conference Player of the Week	June 6	[39]
	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 25	[40]
	All-Defensive Second Team	September 22	[41]
	All-WNBA Second Team	October 15	[42]
Jordin Canada	All-Defensive First Team	September 22	[43]