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The Los Angeles Sparks have fallen to a dismal 7-28 record after Sunday's loss to the Connecticut Sun. With this loss, the Sparks have lost four straight games, including 11 of its last 12, also becoming the first team in the league to fall out of playoff contention this season. Still, the silver lining in this season to forget is that this recent loss have upped the Sparks' chances to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, who will most likely be Paige Bueckers from the University of Connecticut.
“The Los Angeles Sparks have locked in the top odds for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft lottery — 44.2%,” per a post from Alexa Philippou on X, formerly Twitter. “They are also guaranteed a top-3 pick regardless of the lottery results.”
The Sparks' prospects
Despite the loss, Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson led all scorers with 23 points and she also had a career-high three steals. The Sparks paired their fourth overall pick in 2024 with their second pick, Cameron Brink, as a one-two punch on both sides of the ball. However, Brink tore an ACL in June, ending her season early.
“I just continue to trust in my teammates. I feel like they find me, they were getting me the ball in my spots. Just credit to them. I feel like I was being aggressive as well. I know Connecticut isn't going to just let me do what I want, so I know I had to hit them first, go at them first. We just got to put together four quarters,” Jackson said, as reported by Andres Soto for the Los Angeles Times and Yahoo Sports.
Moreover, the Sparks can also rely on their WNBA champion and two-time All-Star Dearica Hamby, whom they acquired in a trade with the defending champions Las Vegas Aces. In the Sun loss, Hamby finished with ten points and seven rebounds.
Drafting Paige Bueckers
Still, with a record 7-28, the Sparks have become the mathematical favorite to secure the No. 1 draft pick for 2025, which they might likely use on UCONN star Paige Bueckers. Besides being the top collegiate point guard in the country, Bueckers also fills a point guard need for the Sparks, who've already rotated a few players at the position.
While the Sparks already have dynamic scorers in Hamby and Jackson, they will need a playmaker to make life easier for them. On the other hand, Brink's specialty may be on defense, but it wouldn't hurt for her to get lobs or easy passes in the paint to make the defense pay attention to her.
No professional team or player will admit to tanking intentionally, but the Sparks could form the best young core in the league thanks to their second straight losing season.
