The Los Angeles Sparks may be in the midst of a rebuilding season, but veteran forward Dearica Hamby has been playing like an All-Star. Hamby has been an All-Star before when she played for the Las Vegas Aces, but this season in particular she has been putting up career numbers. On Wednesday her campaign for the All-Star game got a bit of an adorable boost with her daughter Amaya explaining everything her mom can do on the court.
“My mom is the best player because she's great and she's good at layups, three-pointers and running,” Amaya said in a video post by the Sparks. “Vote my mother for All-Star!”
Hamby responded with, “She really got the scouting report down.” Prior to joining the Sparks, Dearica Hamby was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022. This is Hamby's second season with the Sparks after being traded in the 2023 offseason by the Aces. Hamby showed flashes of the player she was with the Aces last season, but this year she's been the Sparks best player on the court.
Hamby has played in all 17 games so far this season at a little over 35 minutes per game. She's been averaging 17.8 points, 10.5 rebounds. 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 50.9 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent shooting from the three-point line and 63.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Her points, rebounds and assists are all career-highs.
With the injury to Sparks teammate Cameron Brink, Hamby was named as a replacement to Team USA for the Olympics 3×3 competition. In the first WNBA All-Star voting returns, Hamby was in the top ten.
Sparks road trip coming to an end
The Sparks have been on a season-high seven-game road trip that began on June 11 against the Seattle Storm and culminates on Friday against the Phoenix Mercury. The Sparks are currently 0-6 on this trip with the Mercury game looming.
While the Sparks have lost each game on this trip so far, they've managed to be competitive in most of these games. They lost Cameron Brink on the fourth game of this trip against the Connecticut Sun. She left the game early and was later diagnosed with a torn ACL. The Sparks have continued to get strong play from Dearica Hamby though.
In the Sparks most recent game against the New York Liberty, Hamby put up 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals. She shot 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the three-point line.
Even though Brink is currently out and was among the Sparks most promising young players, they still have other young talent on the roster worth evaluating for the rest of the season. Fellow lottery pick Rickea Jackson and second-year center Li Yueru are among them as well as second-year guard Zia Cooke and third-year wing Rae Burrell.
The Sparks also apparently view Hamby as a part of their future as both parties agreed to a contract extension earlier this month. Hamby's extension will carry her through the 2025 season. The WNBA's current CBA is set to expire following that season.
Follow Us
Subscribe