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The Los Angeles Sparks have secured their home court for the foreseeable future, signing a five-year extension to continue playing their games at Crypto.com Arena through 2029. The deal with arena owner AEG was announced Tuesday.
The Sparks, one of the WNBA's original eight teams, have called the downtown arena home since 2001. Over the years, they have won three league championships in this venue, including witnessing Lisa Leslie's historic first dunk in league history. The team shares the arena with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and NHL's Los Angeles Kings, while the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers have moved to a new arena in nearby Inglewood. The Sparks played at the Forum in Inglewood from 1997 to 2000 before relocating to their current home.
“We've made a lot of history in this building, and I'm excited to witness more defining moments in the future,” Sparks managing partner and governor Eric Holoman said, per the Associated Press.
The Sparks' recent performance has been a mixed bag. They celebrated a huge win against the Las Vegas Aces last Friday but followed it up with a disappointing 84-78 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. Despite trailing by double digits early in the game, the Sparks managed to rally but couldn't close out the game. This inconsistency has been a recurring issue this season, said head coach Curt Miller.
“If we don't play better, if we play like we did tonight, Minnesota will beat us by 20 plus easily. They are really, really talented,” Miller said, via David Yapkowitz of ClutchPoints. “Again, I don't worry about the wins and losses. What I'm more worried about is us playing to our standards and what we want to look like. If we don't do that Tuesday against the Minnesota team, it will be a long night.”
Sparks have struggled with execution this season
The Sparks have struggled against the Minnesota Lynx this season, losing both games. The first loss was a lopsided 86-62 defeat at home on June 5, followed by a closer but still unsuccessful 81-76 outcome on the road. The Lynx, currently boasting the best record in the Western Conference and fresh off a WNBA Commissioner's Cup win, present a challenge. However, they may be without star forward Napheesa Collier, who is dealing with a foot injury.
One of the critical issues for the Sparks has been finding a reliable closer in tight games. In their loss to the Mercury, Natasha Cloud dominated the fourth quarter, scoring a career-high 31 points and taking control in crunch time. The Sparks, by contrast, appeared disorganized and unsure of their strategy in the final minutes.
“You need closers, and no one is going to tell Natasha that she's not the best player on the floor every time she plays,” Miller said. “Attitude is everything, and I thought she was confident in crunch time, and we looked around to see who was going to be our closer.”
Miller expressed his frustration over the team's lack of execution, especially following timeouts.
“I frustrated that we didn't play like we're capable of playing. I don't think we played with the same spirit, I didn't think we played with the same intensity,” he said. “The number one thing that you realize as a coach when there's a lack of use is when you struggle coming out of a timeout. When you look them in the eye and you diagram something and you come out and they don't know where they're supposed to be, or they don't execute that. That is a frustrating thing for a coach.”
