2020 Los Angeles Sparks season
The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season will tip off on July 25, 2020, versus the Phoenix Mercury.[1]
| 2020 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Derek Fisher |
| Arena | Originally: Staples Center Rescheduled to play at the: IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida |
| Attendance | 0 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 15–7 (.682) |
| Place | 3rd (Western) |
| Playoff finish | 3rd Seed, lost in the 2nd Round #7 Connecticut Sun, L 73-59 |
| Team Leaders | |
| Points | Candace Parker (14.7 PPG) |
| Rebounds | Candace Parker (9.7 RPG) |
| Assists | Chelsea Gray (5.3 APG) |
| Media | |
| Television | Spectrum SportsNet ESPN2, CBSSN, NBATV |
|
2021 season → | |
This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.[4][5]
The Spark's season started slowly, with the team going 3–3 in their first six games. Every win was followed by a loss during that streak. Then the team warmed up and won nine games in a row, before losing the last game in August to go into the final month of the season 12–4, and already having secured a playoff berth. September wasn't kind to the Sparks, as they went 3–3 to finish out the season. Their final record of 15–7 was good enough for the third seed in the playoffs.
As the third seed, the Sparks were awarded a First Round bye and awaited the lowest remaining seed in the Second Round. They played the seventh seeded Connecticut Sun and suffered a disappointing 59–73 loss to end their season.
Transactions
WNBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 20 | Beatrice Mompremier |  United States |
Miami (FL) |
| 2 | 22 | Leonie Fiebich |  Germany |
Wasserburg (Germany) |
| 3 | 34 | Tynice Martin | United States |
West Virginia |
Trades/Roster Changes
| Date | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| February 10, 2020 | Signed G Kristi Toliver[6] | |
| Traded C Kalani Brown to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for G Brittney Sykes and C Marie Gülich[7] | ||
| February 11, 2020 | Re-signed G/F Tierra Ruffin-Pratt[8] | |
| February 20, 2020 | Signed G/F Seimone Augustus[9] | |
| February 21, 2020 | Traded G Marina Mabrey to Dallas in exchange for Dallas' Second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft[10] | |
| February 28, 2020 | Re-signed G Chelsea Gray[11] | |
| May 15, 2020 | Signed G Sydney Wiese to a contract extension.[12] | |
| May 26, 2020 | Traded the second round pick acquired in the February 21st trade to Dallas in exchange for C Kristine Anigwe and a third round pick in the 2021 Draft.[13] | |
| June 26, 2020 | G Kristi Toliver opts out of the 2020 season.[14] | |
| F/C Chiney Ogwumike opts out of the 2020 season.[15] | ||
| June 27, 2020 | Signed F Reshanda Gray.[16] | |
| June 28, 2020 | Signed G Te'a Cooper.[17] | |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Game log
Playoffs
| 2020 playoff game log Total: 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Second Round
| ||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
| 5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
| 7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
| 8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
| 9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
| 11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
Playoffs
| First round: Single elimination (September 15) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | |||||||||||
1 Las Vegas Aces | 3 | |||||||||||||
7 Connecticut Sun | 2 | |||||||||||||
4 Minnesota Lynx | 80 | |||||||||||||
5 Phoenix Mercury | 79 | |||||||||||||
5 Phoenix Mercury | 85 | |||||||||||||
8 Washington Mystics | 84 | |||||||||||||
1 Las Vegas Aces | 0 | |||||||||||||
2 Seattle Storm | 3 | |||||||||||||
6 Chicago Sky | 81 | |||||||||||||
7 Connecticut Sun | 94 | |||||||||||||
3 Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | |||||||||||||
7 Connecticut Sun | 73 | |||||||||||||
2 Seattle Storm | 3 | |||||||||||||
4 Minnesota Lynx | 0 | |||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
- Semifinals
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Las Vegas Aces | 62 | 83 | 68 | 84 | 66 |
7 Connecticut Sun | 87 | 75 | 77 | 75 | 63 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
2 Seattle Storm | 88 | 89 | 92 |
4 Minnesota Lynx | 86 | 79 | 71 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
1 Las Vegas Aces | 80 | 91 | 59 |
2 Seattle Storm | 93 | 104 | 92 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candace Parker | 22 | 22 | 30.0 | 51.0 | 39.6 | 73.1 | 9.7 | 4.6 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 14.7 |
| Chelsea Gray | 22 | 22 | 30.6 | 44.2 | 30.5 | 93.9 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 14.0 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | 18 | 18 | 26.2 | 56.9 | 50.0 | 83.7 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 13.3 |
| Riquna Williams | 21 | 4 | 21.1 | 43.5 | 42.2 | 88.9 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 10.5 |
| Brittney Sykes | 21 | 14 | 24.4 | 48.7 | 32.7 | 80.6 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 10.1 |
| Te'a Cooper | 20 | 3 | 17.3 | 45.1 | 34.4 | 76.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0 | 7.0 |
| Sydney Wiese | 19 | 15 | 19.1 | 50.5 | 47.2 | 91.7 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| Seimone Augustus | 21 | 0 | 15.8 | 49.1 | 54.5 | 66.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.9 |
| Kristine Anigwe | 17 | 1 | 11.6 | 60.4 | 0 | 53.8 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 4.6 |
| Tierra Ruffin-Pratt | 17 | 10 | 14.5 | 26.7 | 46.2 | 73.1 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2.9 |
| Marie Gülich | 12 | 1 | 9.9 | 50.0 | 0 | 100.0 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
| Reshanda Gray | 10 | 0 | 6.3 | 36.4 | 0 | 85.7 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candace Parker | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | August 24, 2020 | [18] |
| Peak Performer: Rebounds | September 14, 2020 | [19] | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | September 24, 2020 | [20] | |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | September 29, 2020 | [21] |
| Brittney Sykes | 2nd Team All-Defense | September 29, 2020 | [22] |
| Candace Parker | All-WNBA First Team | October 4, 2020 | [23] |
References
- "2020 Los Angeles Sparks Schedule". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
- "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
- "Sparks Sign Kristi Toliver". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- "Sparks Acquire Brittney Sykes and Marie Gülich from Atlanta Dream". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- "Sparks Re-Sign Tierra Ruffin-Pratt". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- "Sparks Sign Four-Time WNBA Champion Seimone Augustus". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
- "Sparks Acquire 2021 Second Round Pick from Dallas Wings". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- "Sparks Re-Sign All-WNBA Guard Chelsea Gray". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- "Sparks Sign Sydney Wiese To Contract Extension". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- "Sparks Acquire Kristine Anigwe from Dallas Wings". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. May 26, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- "Kristi Toliver To Opt Out of 2020 WNBA Season". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- "Chiney Ogwumike To Opt Out of 2020 WNBA Season". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- "Sparks Sign Reshanda Gray". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- "Sparks Sign Rookie Te'a Cooper". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- "Vandersloot, Parker Garner Players Of The Week Honors For Week 4". wnba.com. WNBA. August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- "Dallas' Ogunbowale, Los Angeles' Parker And Chicago's Vandersloot Earn 2020 WNBA Peak Performer Awards". wnba.com. WNBA. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- "Candace Parker Named 2020 WNBA Defensive Player Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- "Los Angeles' Nneka Ogwumike Wins 2020 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
External links
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.