LOS ANGELES – With a new head coach and new offseason acquisitions, there was fresh optimism surrounding the Los Angeles Sparks. An energy level that hadn’t been seen in previous seasons. But with the 2025 WNBA season officially underway, the Sparks have had a bit of a rocky start to the year amid multiple key injuries. Prior to the Sparks’ game against the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, head coach Lynne Roberts spoke about the consistency the team is trying to build during the start of the season.

“I think consistency starts with me, win or lose. I got to show up the same; the same work ethic, the same desire to win, and that comes across in how we prepare and how we talk and all the things,” Roberts said. “And these guys are competitors. They want to win as bad as I do, they really do. A lot of new, but we’re getting to the point where we can’t use that anymore.”

“But it is still learning one another and what everybody, as a group, what we respond to. And as individuals, that’s the beauty of a team sport. So I love doing it,” Roberts continued. “But I think it’s just continuing to be consistent in the messaging, be consistent in the approach and mentality.”

Before the Sparks’ game against the Chicago Sky last Sunday, Lynne Roberts admitted that she was still adjusting to the lack of real practice time in the WNBA, especially with a compressed schedule and multiple injuries/absences looming over the team.

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During the first game of the season for the Sparks, Rae Burrell went down with a leg injury and is expected to miss at least six to eight weeks. Rickea Jackson, one of last year’s lottery picks, was placed in league concussion protocol after sustaining a hit to the face in the second game of the season. Cameron Brink, the team’s other 2024 lottery pick, has yet to play as she continues her ACL rehab.

Through the first five games of the year, the Sparks have gotten off to a 2-3 start. But reinforcements are on the way. Jackson was cleared to return to the court with her first game back being Tuesday’s matchup with the Dream. But for the time being, she will come off the bench as she gets re-acclimated to playing.

“She needs to kind of get her ‘sea legs,’ It’s not that she’s just been out, when you’re in concussion protocol, you’re very limited in what you can do physically. I don’t anticipate her to have extended minutes just because of the fatigue factor,” Roberts said. “But we’re excited to have her back.”