Although the Olympics are still on-going, WNBA players have already begun returning to their home markets in anticipation of the 2024 season resuming. The Los Angles Sparks will pick up the 2024 WNBA season on Aug. 15 at home against the New York Liberty.
Currently, the Sparks hold a record of 6-18. That puts them 10th in league standings, on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. But they're just four games behind the Chicago Sky for the eighth and final playoff spot with 16 games remaining.
Making the playoffs is not completely out of the question, even if the Sparks would need a little help from the teams ahead of them. But is that really what's best for this team? Would a likely first round exit as a low playoff seed be worth it? Here's a look at what kind of nightmare scenario could transpire for the Sparks during the second half of the 2024 WNBA season.
Sparks making the playoffs would not be best
If the Sparks make a push for the playoffs once the season resumes, they'll likely be fighting for either the 7th or 8th spot in the standings. Right now the Indiana Fever and Sky hold those two spots, respectively. Both have essentially identical records of 11-15 (Fever) and 10-14 (Sky). The top six teams in the standings are playing too well for any of the lower seeded teams to catch.
A 7th or 8th place finish would likely bring a matchup with either the Liberty or the Connecticut Sun, the two teams who have been solidly in the top two spots in the league. The storylines would be intriguing. A Liberty/Sparks series would be the top two media markets in the country and a battle between the two teams who played the first ever WNBA game back in 1997. A Sun/Sparks series would be Curt Miller leading an underdog squad against his former team.
But let's be realistic, the Sparks would not present much of a threat to either the Liberty or the Sun. Both of those potential playoff series end in 2-0 sweeps with the Sparks on the losing end. Especially when you take into consideration that higher seed has homecourt advantage through the first two games of the series. The road hasn't exactly been kind to the Sparks this season.
There's an argument to be made that any playoff experience, even if it ends in disaster, is beneficial to young teams and players like the Sparks. But when you consider the potential talent available at the top end of the 2025 WNBA Draft, that outweighs any kind of positivity that could come out of a first round sweep.
The goal for every team that makes the playoffs should be to make a series as competitive as possible. The Sparks do not have the roster yet to do so.
Another potential nightmare scenario for the Sparks would be if they finished just slightly out of the playoffs and ended up 9th in the standings. That would give them the worst lottery odds. The way the WNBA is set up, the top four picks in the draft are lottery picks. You can still draft a good player, star caliber even with picks 2-4. But the best player in the upcoming draft is Paige Bueckers who plays the position the Sparks are in most desperate need of help.
That's considered basketball purgatory, not good enough to make any real noise in the playoffs, but not bad enough to get the top lottery talent. Again, the Sparks could still draft a quality player with the No. 4 overall pick due to the way the WNBA draft is set up with only 12 picks per round. But as mentioned before, this particular draft has a star player at a position of need for the Sparks.
Any other season and a fourth place lottery finish isn't too bad. But with a chance at a core three of Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson and Paige Bueckers, that's not a risk the Sparks should be willing to take. No exaggeration, that could be a potential championship core a few years down the line. The Sparks should not prioritize instant gratification over the prospect of future glory.
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