The Olympics are set to begin in just a few weeks and with that the WNBA will take close to a month-long hiatus before resuming the 2024 season in mid-August. Several WNBA players will be playing in the Olympics for various countries and as of Tuesday, Los Angeles Sparks guard Kia Nurse will be suiting up for Team Canada in basketball. At Sparks practice on Tuesday, the team surprised Nurse with a gift to celebrate the announcement.
Team Canada sent the Sparks a special shirt to give to Kia Nurse to let them know of their Olympics decision. The gift also consisted of a suitcase with various items inside.
This will be Nurse's second time playing for the Canadian national team in Olympics competition. She was on the team roster for the 2016 Olympics. But she's played for Canada during several FIBA events such as the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, the 2014 FIBA World Championship, the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2015 FIBA Americas Women's Championship.
Nurse is in her first season with the Sparks after being acquired in an offseason trade with the Seattle Storm that involved the Sparks also receiving the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The Sparks used that pick to draft Rickea Jackson.
Nurse has appeared in all 18 games this season at a little over 22 minutes per game. She's been averaging 9.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists with splits of 37.2 percent shooting from the field, 32.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
A six-year WNBA veteran, Nurse has made a full recovery from an ACL injury she suffered during the 2021 playoffs. The injury caused her to miss the entirety of the 2022 season. In addition to the Sparks and Storm, Nurse has also played for the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty. She was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Liberty and was an All-Star in the 2019 season.
Sparks look to finish strong ahead of the Olympics break
The Sparks have finally returned to Crypto.com Arena after a seven-game road trip that saw them go 0-7. Five of their final six games before the Olympic break are at home beginning with a Tuesday matchup against the Washington Mystics. The Mystics are currently tied with the Dallas Wings for the worst record in the WNBA at 4-15. The Sparks are right behind them at 4-14.
The WNBA season is almost halfway over with most teams approaching the 20 game mark. If the Sparks continue on this current trend, the focus should become the 2025 WNBA Draft. The team should get a bit of boost soon though as forward Azurá Stevens is on track to return to the lineup before the Olympic break.
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