Coming into the 2024 WNBA season, the Los Angeles Sparks had five new faces on the roster, six including Stephanie Talbot who was not with the team last year as she recovered from an ACL injury. One of those new faces for the Sparks is Aari McDonald who was entering her fourth season in the WNBA.
Aari McDonald was originally drafted by the Atlanta Dream with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft. She played three seasons for the Dream before being traded this past offseason to the Sparks. It was a sign-and-trade deal that involved free agent Jordin Canada being sent to the Dream.
McDonald began the 2024 season coming off the bench, but she's since moved into the Sparks starting point guard role. As the team's primary ball-handler and floor leader, McDonald has taken on more of a leadership role, something she doesn't have much experience with in her career so far.
The first half of the season has been an adjustment for McDonald, but she's been able to gain the trust and respect of her teammates as she settles into this new role.
“In the beginning, it was very tough for me, I'm very quiet by nature. Me being quiet and just not uncomfortable, you could kind of tell when I was playing in the beginning of the season. But as I got more comfortable and just got to know my teammates, I started talking more and they started trusting me,” McDonald told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “That's big, I kind of got my confidence, my teammates trust me, they know that I'm not telling them the wrong thing. That's helped me a lot, and to be an extension of Curt [Miller] on the floor at all times.”
Aari McDonald has emerged as a starting guard for the Sparks
Back when Aari McDonald was with the Dream, she was one of the team's most productive bench players. A lottery pick, she had a strong rookie season in 2021. She finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting and looked like a future building block for the Dream.
During her second season in the league in 2022, McDonald looked like a potential star. She nearly doubled her points per game average from 6.3 to 11.1. She shot 33.8 percent from the three-point line. But last year, she suffered a minor setback after injuring her shoulder only five games into the season. She was ultimately able to pick up where she left off her second season as the team's bench spark.
Now in her fourth WNBA season, Aari McDonald has had to adjust to becoming a full-time starter. Sparks head coach Curt Miller put McDonald in the starting lineup back on June 18 and she's been the team's starting point guard since. She had been on a tear though in the games prior to being placed in the starting lineup. She had four consecutive games of double-figures scoring while shooting over 45 percent.
For McDonald, showing the same consistency is key to being successful whether she's helping the bench unit or quarterbacking the starting lineup.
“It's just trying to be consistent. Just controlling what you can control whether you're starting or coming off the bench,” McDonald said. “Just trying to be consistent in what I do which is playing defense, bringing the energy and just scoring when the opportunity is there.”
McDonald has appeared in 24 games for the Sparks, including ten starts, in a little over 23 minutes per game. She's been averaging 9.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals. She's shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from the three-point line and 84.3 percent from the free-throw line.
She's been the team's floor leader and has helped with establishing key on-court chemistry in what has been a tough season. At the Olympic break, the Sparks stand at 6-18. Several of their losses have come due to their inability to close out close games. But despite the team's record, this group continues to play hard and has continued to stay together. That's largely due to McDonald's developing leadership.
While the Sparks record may not be what they'd they like to be, McDonald has seen little improvements that she thinks can help in the long run.
“I think our record doesn't look like how we are, I think we're a really good team that's way better than our record. This league is hard, it's very hard. But I think we're definitely building something special here, and I think we just got to know that we can never get too high and never get too low in this league,” McDonald said. “Anybody can be beat on any given day so we've got to come ready and stay locked in. . .We're right there. I think we got some big things ahead. We just got to regroup and we'll be alright.”
Aari McDonald wants to continue improving with Sparks
After the Olympic break, the Sparks have 16 games remaining in the regular season. Making the playoffs might be a long shot, but it's not completely out of the realm of possibility if the team can string together some wins.
But after the WNBA season is over, Aari McDonald is set to hit restricted free agency with the Sparks as per Her Hoop Stats. She's still on her rookie contract and this will be the first time in her career that she'll experience free agency. But as a restricted free agent, the Sparks will have the option of matching any offer she may receive.
It's still too early though to focus on the offseason and McDonald wants to use the second half of the season to continue to get better and improve her game alongside an organization that believes in her.
“My goals are always to get better and make those around me better and as their best self. When I got traded here I knew it was gonna be a great opportunity for me. Just talking to Raegan [Pebley] and Curt [Miller], just knowing everything that we were saying aligned with each other,” McDonald said. “So far everything has been true. Each time I step into practice or a game, I'm just trying to make the most of my opportunity. And I'm just thankful that I have ownership and coaches who believe in me and my talents.”
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