LOS ANGELES – With the 2025 WNBA regular season entering its final week, the Los Angeles Sparks’ chances at making the playoffs are hanging on by a thread. The Sparks need to win all three of their final games while getting help from the Seattle Storm. Following the Indiana Fever’s win on Sunday, the Storm are the only team the Sparks can catch for a postseason spot. But prior to the Sparks’ game against the Dallas Wings, head coach Lynne Roberts stressed the importance of not paying attention to what other teams are doing.

“You just have to continue reinforcing that message, and not talking about things we can’t control. Whether Indiana wins or loses or Seattle, we can’t control that. We just have to focus on what we’re doing and see how it all shakes out,” Roberts said.

The Sparks are currently 19-22 in Lynne Roberts’ first year as head coach, an 11-game improvement from last season. Even if they do not make the playoffs, overall the Sparks have shown improvement from where they were in the beginning of the season.

Roberts acknowledged that even though she said from the start that making the playoffs and winning were among her first-year goals, she believes this season has been a success in terms of establishing a culture and foundation for the next several years.

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“And coming into this season, the goal was the process of getting this organization back to where it belongs and making the culture what we want. Win as many games as possible, and we’ve done those things,” Roberts said. “We weren’t shy about saying that we wanted to get to the playoffs, but I’m still proud of the whole body of work.”

“I remember hearing as a young assistant: for sustainable success you can’t take the elevator, you have to take the stairs and do it the right way and build culture first and get the right people,” Roberts continued. “And I think that’s what we’re in the process of.”

In terms of the playoff picture, the Sparks will need to win their remaining three games against the Wings, Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces, while hoping the Storm lose their final game against the Golden State Valkyries. There is little room for error. But it’s a task that Roberts believes the Sparks are up for.

“The locker room is actually really good. These guys are all in. I’ve been impressed with their resolve and their willingness to get back at it,” Roberts said. “There’s not a sense of feeling sorry for ourselves or down or anything. We’re ready to compete.”