2016 Los Angeles Sparks season

August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Sparks 2016 26 8 Western 2nd Brian Agler Staples Center WNBA champions(Defeated Minnesota 3-2) Time Warner Cable SportsNetESPN2, NBATV yes The 2016 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 20th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 15 at home, against the Seattle Storm.https://www.espn.com/wnba/team/_/name/la/los-angeles-sparks Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Basketball - Sparks News, Scores, Videos - College Basketball - ESPN ESPN 31 August 2016 The Sparks started the season well, winning all five of their games in May. Three of the five wins came by double-digits, and the closest was a five-point win over Connecticut on May 26. The team continued its hot streak into June and did not lose until June 21. The three-point loss, which came at home against Minnesota, ended an eleven-game winning streak. The Sparks got revenge on Minnesota, winning three days later in Minnesota by a score of 94–76. The Sparks did not lose again in June and finished the month with a 10–1 record. The team went on a nine-game winning streak, which lasted until July 17. They then lost back-to-back games for the first time in the season, with losses coming on the road against Atlanta and Indiana. The team won its final game heading into the Olympic break to finish July 6–2. The return from the break was a rocky one with the Sparks losing both of their games in August. However, a trip to Texas to begin September saw the team return to its winning ways when they defeated San Antonio and Dallas. The Sparks lost three straight games from September 6 to September 11 before finishing the season with two wins. Their September record was 5–3 and they finished the season 26–8 overall. The Sparks' 26–8 record earned them the second overall seed in the WNBA Playoffs and they finished two games behind top seed Minnesota. The Sparks earned a bye into the semifinals where they matched-up with fourth seed Chicago. The Sparks won the first two games at home, 95–75 and 99–84. When the series moved to Chicago, the Sparks lost Game 3 66–70. A return to Los Angeles wasn't needed as the Sparks won Game 4 95–75 to advance to the WNBA Finals and matched-up with first seed Minnesota. The series began in Minnesota and the Sparks won Game 1 78–76, but lost Game 2 60–79. The two teams again split Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles, with the Sparks winning Game 3 92–75 and losing Game 4 79–85. In the deciding Game 5, the Sparks won in Minnesota 77–76 to secure their third WNBA title.https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/sports/basketball/wnba-finals-los-angeles-sparks-minnesota-lynx.html With 3.1 Seconds Left, Los Angeles Sparks Seize W.N.B.A. Title The New York Times subscription October 21, 2016 June 24, 2024 Transactions WNBA draft 2016 WNBA draft The Sparks made three selections in the 2016 WNBA Entry Draft in Uncasville, Connecticut: Round Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team School/Team/Country215Whitney Knight Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut SunFlorida Gulf Coast223Brianna Butler Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut SunSyracuse329Talia WaltonLos Angeles SparksWashington Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction February 11, 2016 Signed Candace Parkerhttp://www.wnba.com/news/candace-parker-re-signs-los-angeles-sparks/ Candace Parker Re-Signs with Los Angeles Sparks - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA February 17, 2016 Signed Nneka Ogwumikehttp://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/14797792/la-sparks-re-sign-all-star-forward-nneka-ogwumike L.A. Sparks re-sign All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike Espn.com February 18, 2016 November 2, 2016 March 1, 2016 Acquired Riquna Williams and the 6th pick in the 2016 WNBA draft from the Dallas Wings in exchange for Erin Phillips, the 5th pick in the 2016 draft and, the 11th pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.https://www.wnba.com/news/los-angeles-sparks-dallas-wings-trade-erin-phillips-riquna-williams/ Sparks, Wings Exchange Erin Phillips, Riquna Williams, Draft Picks in Trade WNBA 1 March 2016 25 March 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200103221718/https://www.wnba.com/news/los-angeles-sparks-dallas-wings-trade-erin-phillips-riquna-williams/ 3 January 2020 live March 31, 2016 Signed Essence Carsonhttp://doublegsports.com/liberty-losses-its-essence-carson-signs-with-la-sparks/ Liberty Loses I t's [sic] Essence, Carson Signs With LA Sparks doublegsports.com https://web.archive.org/web/20170112162007/http://doublegsports.com/liberty-losses-its-essence-carson-signs-with-la-sparks/ 12 January 2017 April 14, 2016 Acquired Chelsea Gray, the 15th and 23rd picks in the 2016 draft, and the 4th pick in the 2017 draft from the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Jonquel Jones and the 17th pick in the 2016 draft.Los Angeles and Connecticut also trade second round positions in the 2016 WNBA Draft https://web.archive.org/web/20161021133408/http://sparks.wnba.com/sparks-acquire-chelsea-gray-connecticut-sun-exchange-draft-rights-guard-jonquel-jones-2017-first-round-pick/ 2016-10-21 / May 11, 2016 Waived Talia Walton August 30, 2016 Waived Whitney Knighthttp://www.swishappeal.com/platform/amp/2016/8/29/12699582/sources-sparks-waive-whitney-knight Sources: Sparks waive rookie Whitney Knight swishappeal.com June 19, 2024 Roster Los Angeles Sparks 2016 WNBA 0 Alana Beard G/F 6 1 160 05-14-1982 12 Duke USA 10 Evgeniya Belyakova F 6 0 150 06-27-1986 R Russia RUS 17 Essence Carson G/F 6 0 163 07-28-1986 8 Rutgers USA 23 Ana Dabović G 6 0 157 08-18-1989 1 Serbia SER 28 Jelena Dubljević F 6 3 179 05-07-1987 R Montenegro MNE 12 Chelsea Gray G 5 11 170 10-08-1992 1 Duke USA 7 Sandrine Gruda F/C 6 4 185 06-25-1987 4 France FRA 42 Jantel Lavender C 6 4 185 11-12-1988 5 Ohio State USA 30 Nneka Ogwumike F 6 2 174 07-02-1990 4 Stanford USA 3 Candace Parker F/C 6 4 175 04-19-1986 8 Tennessee USA 20 Kristi Toliver G 5 7 130 01-27-1987 7 Maryland USA 21 Ann Wauters C 6 4 193 10-12-1980 8 Belgium BEL USA Brian Agler Wittenberg University USA Tonya Edwards Tennessee USA Amber Stocks 1 Cincinnati USA Courtney Watson 1 California USA Kelly Dormandy 1 Springfield College Schedule Pre-season Los Angeles Sparks yes 2016 Total: 3–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 2–0) Los Angeles Sparks Pre-season yes 1 0 2 0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 | May 7 | Atlanta | W 88–80 | Candace Parker (22) | Rebecca Tobin (10) | Gray, Dabović (4) | Pasadena College460 | 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | May 9 | @ San Antonio | W 77–70 | Chelsea Gray (18) | Chelsea Gray (6) | Ana Dabović (7) | AT&T Center2,307 | 2–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 3 | May 10 | @ Atlanta | W 69–63 | Essence Carson (11) | Parker, Wauters (6) | Chelsea Gray (3) | McCamish Pavillion1,385 | 3–0 Los 2016 Regular season Los Angeles Sparks 2016 Total: 26–8 (Home: 14–3 Road: 12–5) Los Angeles Sparks May yes 1 0 4 0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 || May 15 || Seattle || W 96–66 || Candace Parker (34) || Nneka Ogwumike (7) || Parker, Toliver (4) || Staples Center10,591 || 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 || May 20 || @ Washington || W 97–67 || Kristi Toliver (19) || Candace Parker (9) || Candace Parker (6) || Verizon Center7,807 || 2–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 3 || May 21 || @ New York || W 79–72 || Nneka Ogwumike (25) || Nneka Ogwumike (15) || Dabović, Parker, Toliver (3) || Madison Square Garden9,417 || 3–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 4 || May 24 || @ Chicago || W 93–80 || Candace Parker (26) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Kristi Toliver (10) || Allstate Arena5,554 || 4–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 5 || May 26 || @ Connecticut || W 77–72 || Candace Parker (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Ogwumike, Parker, Toliver (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena4,766 || 5–0 Los Angeles Sparks June 7 1 3 0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 6 || June 2 || San Antonio || W 68–61 || Nneka Ogwumike (21) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center8,341 || 6–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 7 || June 4 || @ San Antonio || W 74–61 || Candace Parker (15) || Kristi Toliver (7) || Gray, Lavender (3) || AT&T Center5,403 || 7–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 8 || June 7 || New York || W 100–77 || Jantel Lavender (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Chelsea Gray (6) || Staples Center7,103 || 8–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 9 || June 11 || @ Dallas || W 97–73 || Nneka Ogwumike (32) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (6) || College Park Center5,061 || 9–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 10 || June 14 || Chicago || W 98–85 || Nneka Ogwumike (27) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Alana Beard (6) || Staples Center7,348 || 10–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 11 || June 17 || Phoenix || W 77–71 || Candace Parker (24) || Candace Parker (11) || Nneka Ogwumike (5) || Staples Center8,964 || 11–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 || June 21 || Minnesota || L 69–72 || Kristi Toliver (20) || Candace Parker (8) || Candace Parker (6) || Staples Center9,112 || 11–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 13 || June 24 || @ Minnesota || W 94–76 || Kristi Toliver (25) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Alana Beard (7) || Target Center13,003 || 12–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 14 || June 26 || Connecticut || W 80–73 || Nneka Ogwumike (27) || Kristi Toliver (8) || Kristi Toliver (5) || Staples Center9,441 || 13–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 15 || June 28 || Dallas || W 89–84 || Candace Parker (31) || Candace Parker (13) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center7,823 || 14–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 16 || June 30 || Atlanta || W 84–75 || Nneka Ogwumike (38) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Kristi Toliver (8) || Staples Center10,215 || 15–1 Los Angeles Sparks July 3 0 3 2 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 17 || July 3 || New York || W 77–67 || Nneka Ogwumike (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (15) || Kristi Toliver (6) || Staples Center10,003 || 16–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 18 || July 6 || Indiana || W 94–88 || Nneka Ogwumike (23) || Jantel Lavender (7) || Chelsea Gray (8) || Staples Center8,224 || 17–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 19 || July 10 || Washington || W 93–82 || Candace Parker (26) || Candace Parker (11) || Candace Parker (9) || Staples Center19,076 || 18–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 20 || July 13 || @ Chicago || W 77–67 || Nneka Ogwumike (20) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Candace Parker (9) || Allstate Arena16,444 || 19–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 21 || July 15 || @ Connecticut || W 98–92 || Jantel Lavender (25) || Lavender, Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (7) || Mohegan Sun Arena6,430 || 20–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 || July 17 || @ Atlanta || L 74–91 || Nneka Ogwumike (26) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Candace Parker (5) || Philips Arena7,551 || 20–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 || July 19 || @ Indiana || L 82–92 || Kristi Toliver (18) || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Nneka Ogwumike (7) || Bankers Life Fieldhouse7,269 || 20–3 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 24 || July 22 || @ Washington || W 95–75 || Nneka Ogwumike (24) || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Candace Parker (6) || Verizon Center5,455 || 21–3 Los Angeles Sparks August 0 0 0 2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 || August 26 || @ Seattle || L 72–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (28) || Candace Parker (10) || Candace Parker (6) || KeyArena9,481 || 21–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 || August 28 || @ Phoenix || L 66–70 || Candace Parker (25) || Candace Parker (13) || Candace Parker (7) || Talking Stick Resort Arena11,905 || 21–5 Los Angeles Sparks September 3 2 2 1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 || September 1 || @ San Antonio || W 70–61 || Kristi Toliver (21) || Beard, Ogwumike (9) || Parker, Toliver (6) || AT&T Center3,992 || 22–5 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 28 || September 2 || @ Dallas || W 87–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (28) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Candace Parker (5) || College Park Center5,176 || 23–5 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 29 || September 4 || Indiana || W 88–81 || Nneka Ogwumike (21) || Nneka Ogwumike (6) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Staples Center11,332 || 24–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 30 || September 6 || Minnesota || L 74–77 || Nneka Ogwumike (19) || Ogwumike, Parker (8) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center7,224 || 24–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 31 || September 8 || Atlanta || L 81–86 || Carson, Gray, Parker (16) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Ana Dabović (5) || Staples Center6,152 || 24–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 32 || September 11 || @ Seattle || L 60–78 || Candace Parker (20) || Candace Parker (10) || Alana Beard (4) || KeyArena9,348 || 24–8 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 33 || September 13 || Phoenix || W 90–85 || Nneka Ogwumike (24) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Kristi Toliver (7) || Staples Center9,371 || 25–8 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 34 || September 16 || San Antonio || W 71–65 || Nneka Ogwumike (17) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Nneka Ogwumike (4) || Staples Center13,519 || 26–8 LAS 2016 Playoffs Los Angeles Sparks yes 2016 Los Angeles Sparks Semifinals vs. ChicagoWon Series: 3–1 yes yes |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 | September 28 | Chicago | W 95–75 | Candace Parker (30) | Nneka Ogwumike (10) | Nneka Ogwumike (6) | Walter Pyramid3,894 | 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | September 30 | Chicago | W 99–84 | Lavender, Parker (20) | Candace Parker (12) | Candace Parker (8) | Staples Center7,855 | 2–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | October 2 | @ Chicago | L 66–70 | Nneka Ogwumike (22) | Candace Parker (15) | Candace Parker (6) | Allstate Arena5,018 | 2–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 4 | October 4 | @ Chicago | W 95–75 | Candace Parker (29) | Nneka Ogwumike (9) | Chelsea Gray (7) | Allstate Arena3,841 | 3–1 Los Angeles Sparks Finals vs. MinnesotaWon Series: 3–2 yes |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 || October 9 || @ Minnesota || W 78–76 || Ogwumike, Toliver (19) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Chelsea Gray (4) || Target Center12,113 || 1–0 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 || October 11 || @ Minnesota || L 60–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Beard, Carson, Parker (3) || Target Center12,832 || 1–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 3 || October 14 || Minnesota || W 92–75 || Candace Parker (24) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Alana Beard (7) || Galen Center8,093 || 2–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 || October 16 || Minnesota || L 79–85 || Chelsea Gray (20) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Alana Beard (4) || Staples Center12,885 || 2–2 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 5 || October 20 || @ Minnesota || W 77–76 || Candace Parker (28) || Ogwumike, Parker (12) || Alana Beard (6) || Target Center19,423 || 3–2 los yes 2016 Standings LAS Playoffs 2016 WNBA Playoffs The Sparks qualified for the 2016 playoffs, and, as the team with the second-best regular season record in the WNBA, received two automatic byes, advancing straight to the best-of-five semifinal. Bracket Statistics Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Nneka Ogwumike 33 33 31.6 66.5% 61.5% 86.9% 9.1 3.1 1.3 1.2 19.7 Candace Parker 34 34 30.8 44.2% 38.2% 70.7% 7.4 4.9 1.4 1.0 15.3 Kristi Toliver 33 33 32.1 42.6% 42.4% 88.9% 2.6 3.7 0.8 0.1 13.2 Jantel Lavender 34 0 19.4 53.8% 0.0% 68.3% 3.6 1.3 0.3 0.5 9.6 Essence Carson 34 34 23.3 44.9% 35.9% 89.1% 2.0 1.5 1.1 0.2 8.1 Alana Beard 34 34 29.3 46.7% 34.2% 69.2% 3.3 2.1 1.7 0.6 7.1 Chelsea Gray 33 1 16.4 45.2% 30.4% 78.0% 1.8 2.2 0.5 0.1 5.9 Ana Dabović 22 0 10.7 37.0% 15.8% 75.9% 0.8 1.3 0.6 0.0 3.0 Evgeniya Belyakova 21 0 11.3 29.6% 17.9% 43.8% 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.0 2.1 Jelena Dubljević 15 0 5.3 40.9% 33.3% 100% 0.9 0.5 0.1 0.1 1.5 Ann Wauters 21 1 4.6 54.5% — 75.0% 1.1 0.4 0.2 0.1 1.4 Sandrine Gruda 7 0 5.3 33.3% — 100% 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.1 1.0 Whitney Knight 7 0 3.9 20.0% 28.6% — 0.4 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.9 Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Candace Parker 9 9 33.0 46.9% 31.3% 77.8% 8.7 3.2 1.7 1.9 19.3 Nneka Ogwumike 9 9 31.3 62.5% 22.2% 76.3% 9.3 2.6 2.0 1.1 17.9 Kristi Toliver 9 9 32.2 40.5% 41.4% 85.2% 2.0 3.0 1.4 0.1 12.8 Chelsea Gray 9 0 22.1 40.6% 39.1% 83.3% 1.7 2.8 1.1 0.0 9.0 Alana Beard 9 9 31.1 45.6% 50.0% 77.8% 3.8 3.7 1.1 0.4 8.0 Jantel Lavender 9 0 15.6 60.7% 0.0% — 2.3 1.0 0.0 0.1 7.6 Essence Carson 9 9 25.2 33.3% 25.8% 50.0% 2.3 1.2 0.4 0.1 6.7 Jelena Dubljević 2 0 3.0 50.0% — — 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 Ann Wauters 2 0 2.5 50.0% — — 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.0 Ana Dabović 6 0 8.0 7.1% 14.3% 100% 0.3 2.0 0.2 0.0 0.8 Sandrine Gruda 6 0 2.8 — — — 0.8 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.2 Evgeniya Belyakova 3 0 2.7 0.0% 0.0% — 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 Awards and honors Recipient Award Date awarded Ref. Candace Parker Finals MVP October 20, 2016 http://www.wnba.com/game/20161020/LASMIN/ 10/20/16: Los Angeles Sparks @ Minnesota Lynx - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA wnba.com Associated Press October 20, 2016 June 24, 2024 Western Conference Player of the Week May 29, 2016 https://acrossthetimeline.com/wnba/awards.html#season=2016&team=Los%20Angeles%20Sparks WNBA Awards - Across the Timeline acrossthetimeline.com June 24, 2024 June 20, 2016 Nneka Ogwumike WNBA MVP October 18, 2016 http://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-mvp-championship-same-season-nneka-ogwumike/ Nneka Ogwumike Makes History As MVP and Champ in Same Season Jack Maloney wnba.com WNBA October 18, 2016 November 2, 2016 All-WNBA First Team October 14, 2016 2016 All-WNBA First and Second Teams Announced https://www.wnba.com/news/2016-all-wnba-teams-official-release/ wnba.com WNBA July 5, 2022 All-Defensive First Team September 30, 2016 Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike Headline 2016 WNBA All-Defensive Team https://www.wnba.com/news/2016-wnba-all-defensive-team-official-release/ wnba.com WNBA July 5, 2022 Western Conference Player of the Week June 13, 2016 July 6, 2016 July 18, 2016 July 22, 2016 September 6, 2016 September 19, 2016 Western Conference Player of the Month - June July 1, 2016 Western Conference Player of the Month - July August 1, 2016 Jantel Lavender WNBA Sixth Player of the Year September 28, 2016 http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20160928/womens-basketball--ex-ohio-state-star-jantel-lavender-is-wnba-sixth-woman-of-year Women's basketball Ex-Ohio State star Jantel Lavender is WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year The Repository 2017-09-11 en Alana Beard All-Defensive First Team September 30, 2016 References External links http://www.wnba.com/sparks/ Category:Los Angeles Sparks seasons Los Angeles Los Angeles Sparks Category:WNBA championship seasons