LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Sparks have been eliminated from playoff contention, but with back-to-back games against the Connecticut Sun followed by back-to-back games against the Seattle Storm, they’ve treated these games as if they were a playoff series. During their 90-82 loss to the Storm on Wednesday, the Sparks saw Odyssey Sims leave the game early due to injury, only to get the all-clear once the game as over.
“I just landed on my hand, but I’m okay,” Sims said following the game. “I got x-rays and everything.”
Sims has been a crucial piece for the Sparks during the second half of the season and she was clicking on all cylinders against the Storm. Before she exited the game she had put up 16 points, six assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes. She was shooting 8-of-13 from the field.
Sparks head coach Curt Miller remarked that if she didn’t have to leave the game early, there was a strong possibility that she would’ve played the entire game.
“When Odyssey went out, she was probably on track to play all 40 minutes,” Miller said. “She was willing us and Skylar [Diggins-Smith] was willing them.”
The Sparks can breathe a sigh of relief that Sims avoided a major injury and that she should be available for the team’s three remaining games of the season.
Odyssey Sims has brought veteran leadership to the Sparks
Odyssey Sims began this season not on a WNBA roster, but ended up signing a hardship contract with the Dallas Wings due to a wave of injuries they were hit with. Once the Wings got back to the requisite number of active players, her hardship contract was terminated.
The Sparks signed her to a 7-day contract almost immediately after the Olympic break. With injuries and absences to several key guards in Layshia Clarendon, Lexie Brown and Aari McDonald, Sims has been so important to the team.
Following the loss to the Storm, Sims spoke about what she’s seen from this young Sparks team and why it’s given her confidence.
“We go into every game having a mindset to play hard, win and have fun, we don’t have anything to lose. What we can control is our effort, whether you play a lot of minutes or not, go out there and give it your all,” Sims said. “It trickles down from one all the way to 12, it’s contagious. . .we have a young group but you see glimpses of how good we can be. I think that we continue to stay on each other, correct the little things and continue to just get better every game. You see it.”
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In 12 games with the Sparks, Sims has averaged 10.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists with splits of 43 percent shooting from the field and 81.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line. With the absences the Sparks have, they were able to sign her for the remainder of the season.
This is Sims’ second stint with the Sparks, having played for the franchise from 2017-2018. Her roster spot with the Sparks is not guaranteed past the end of the season, but she’s hoping that she’ll be back next year.
“It maybe a new team next year, not sure what’s going to happen, but the group that we have now, we’re just staying connected and trying to play hard,” Sims said. “We love each other. Our energy is really high in the locker room all the time whether we win or lose. . .this is a good group that really wants to learn and get better. We have the right young ones together for sure.”
The Sparks have three games left in the 2024 season against the Storm, Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx, respectively.
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