LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks are currently in year two of the Curt Miller era and this season in particular has been about growth and development. With a young roster, the Sparks are experiencing the type of growing pains often associated with a rebuild. On Tuesday against the Seattle Storm, the Sparks were unable to close the game out, a trend that's been common for them this year. Following the loss to the Storm, veteran forward/center Azurá Stevens acknowledged that the Sparks are showing progress even if their record might not show it.
“I think just the little things. Obviously we don't have as many wins as we want, and even last season we didn't make the playoffs, that's obviously a goal of ours in this build that we're having at the moment,” Stevens said. “But little stuff, huddling, communication and pointing to each other, practice habits, all of that, we're doing that everyday. I've won before and I know that stuff matters. So to see us doing that and continuing to implement it is really awesome. And when we win, it will be a credit to all that stiff that we're doing.”
Azurá Stevens is in her second season with the Sparks. She signed as a free agent in the 2023 offseason. After missing the first 21 games of the season due to an arm injury suffered in the offseason while playing overseas in China, Stevens has returned to the lineup and made her presence felt.
Stevens is also one of the few players on the roster that has championship experience, She was a key player on the Chicago Sky during their 2021 title run so she knows a thing or two about building winning habits.
Sparks showing signs of progress amid rebuild
While the Sparks 6-18 record may not show it, they've been competing this season and making progress while in a rebuilding year. Almost half of the Sparks roster is different from last season with a good number of them being no higher than their third season in the WNBA.
Two of the major building blocks for the Sparks this season are their prized rookies, Cameron Brink who was the No. 2 0verall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and Rickea Jackson who was the No. 4 overall pick.
Brink is lost of the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL, but Jackson has been thriving amid the Sparks rough season. Jackson stepped into the starting lineup by the sixth game of the season and has been one of the league's top rookies. Following the loss to the Storm, Jackson echoed Azurá Stevens in acknowledging the progress the Sparks have made.
“I just feel like our chemistry is getting better. I feel like we're starting to learn where who likes the ball and things like that. I feel like that's really important when rebuilding a team. I feel like we're catching on pretty quick,” Jackson said. “We're clearly not where we want to be but it's trending in the right direction.
“We know we can beat these teams, we just have to stay together. Hanging with one of the top teams in the league tonight, I just feel like we just need that extra push and those extra efforts on the boards and things like that.”
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