The Los Angeles Sparks are mired in a rebuild and one of the most important things a young team can have is veteran leadership. For that, the Sparks have turned to a pair of players in Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens this WNBA season to help lead the team.
For Stevens in particular, it’s been a bit of an adjustment for her. Like Hamby, Stevens is one of three players on the Sparks roster that has a championship ring with the third being Lexie Brown.
With Brown being sidelined for the majority of this season due to Crohn’s, Sparks head coach Curt Miller has leaned on both Hamby and Stevens to help keep this young team together despite the losing. Following the departure of Nneka Ogwumike in free agency, Stevens knew she was going to be counted on to be more vocal this season.
“This year, I knew with Nneka leaving and me and Dearica being the two older post players, that it would be our team to step up and lead. . .I try to be as vocal as I can. I’m more of a relationship person so I try to build relationships with everybody on this team. I love each and every one of these women, just being able to play with them and get to know them,” Stevens told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “This season I know it’s been really tough. . .there’s a lot of negativity but there’s a lot of positivity too. We’re building a good momentum here and we’ve stuck together through a lot of stuff.”
This is Azurá Stevens’ second WNBA season with the Sparks. She was signed as a free agent in the 2023 offseason and was one of the top available players on the market.
Stevens arrived from the Chicago Sky where she played a crucial role off the bench during the 2021 championship run. She was expected to play alongside Ogwumike in the frontcourt and provide spacing, rebounding and defense to what was supposed to be a playoff contender.
But the Sparks have been hit with a multitude of injuries and absences over the past two seasons. Stevens herself has fallen victim to the injury bug. Last year she battled a back injury that delayed her Sparks debut. This year she missed nearly the entire first half of the season while recovering from an arm injury.
The absences have no doubt contributed to the Sparks record and played a factor in trying to build on-court chemistry. But even so, Stevens is encouraged by what she’s seen from this resilient group.
“It’s really hard when you’re losing a lot to come show up every day and still give effort. That’s not really stuff that fans are going to see. . .but every day people come in and have given their max effort and that’s always going to be something I respect,” Stevens said. “We’re building really good habits even though the results are not showing up in the win column. But I know once we start winning it’s gonna be really good because we’re doing it the right way. I’m just excited to continue to build with the rest of this season, and then the offseason and then next season as well.”
Azurá Stevens wants to continue her WNBA career with Sparks
Azurá Stevens has been enjoying one of the best seasons of her career statistically amid the Sparks’ struggles. She provides a valuable presence in the paint with her length and ability to finish through traffic. She also can step out and shoot consistently from three-point range. She’s a double-double threat each game and she provides interior shot-blocking.
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In the 17 games she’s played this season, she’s averaged 10.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 blocks. She’s shot 42.9 percent from the field, 40.3 percent from the three-point line and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Her rebounds, assists and three-point percentage are all career-highs.
Stevens was set to hit unrestricted free agency this coming offseason, but the Sparks won’t need to worry about that. Last month she agreed to a one-year contract extension. But if you ask Stevens, she’s hoping to stay with the Sparks long-term.
“I think just the vision that the management has from the minute I met with them in free agency, I loved everything they had to say about getting LA back to what LA was before,” Stevens said. “I grew up watching Candace [Parker], so just being able to have an opportunity to be a part of an organization like this with so much history and tradition, I wanted to be a part of that. . .and it’s LA. I love LA, I love living here. But I love playing for this organization and I’m excited to see how we improve next season.”
With only three games remaining on the schedule, the Sparks have already clinched the top odds for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. But even though they’re mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, Stevens believes they can finish the year on a strong note and head into the offseason with a little momentum.
“I just want us to fight. . .we can still leave a lasting impression on this league and for ourselves. We know some players are going to be back. This locker room is going to look different next year but there’s a lot of us who have signed back already,” Stevens said. “I just want us to leave a lasting impression with our fanbase, with ourselves, with the other teams. Yeah we didn’t finish good this year but next year we’re coming back and we’re going to be different.”
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