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2016 Los Angeles Sparks season
WNBA champions
Coach Brian Agler
Arena Staples Center
Attendanceper game
Results
Record26–8 (.765)
Place2nd (Western)
Playoff finishChampions
(Defeated Minnesota Lynx 3-2)
Media
Television Time Warner Cable SportsNet
ESPN2, NBATV

The 2016 WNBA season is the 20th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 15. [1] The Sparks finished with a record of 26–8, second in the Western Conference (and the league as a whole), and advanced to the WNBA Finals, which they won, three games to two, against the Minnesota Lynx. It was the team's first title since 2002. [2]

WNBA draft

See also: 2016 WNBA draft

The Sparks made three selections in the 2016 WNBA Entry Draft in Uncasville, Connecticut:

Round Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team School/Team/Country
2 15 Whitney Knight   United States Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun Florida Gulf Coast
2 23 Brianna Butler   United States Los Angeles Sparks from Connecticut Sun Syracuse
3 29 Talia Walton   United States Los Angeles Sparks Washington

After selecting Talia Walton, the Sparks waived her on May 11, 2016. The Sparks also waived draft pick Whitney Knight on August 30, 2016. [3]

Roster

2016 Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G/F 0 United States Beard, Alana 6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) 05-14-1982 Duke 12
F 10 Russia Belyakova, Evgeniya 6' 0" (1.83m) 150 lb (68kg) 06-27-1986 Russia R
G/F 17 United States Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 07-28-1986 Rutgers 8
G 23 Serbia Dabović, Ana 6' 0" (1.83m) 157 lb (71kg) 08-18-1989 Serbia 1
F 28 Montenegro Dubljević, Jelena 6' 3" (1.91m) 179 lb (81kg) 05-07-1987 Montenegro R
G 12 United States Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m) 170 lb (77kg) 10-08-1992 Duke 1
F/C 7 France Gruda, Sandrine 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 06-25-1987 France 4
C 42 United States Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 11-12-1988 Ohio State 5
F 30 United States Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m) 174 lb (79kg) 07-02-1990 Stanford 4
F/C 3 United States Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) 04-19-1986 Tennessee 8
G 20 United States Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 01-27-1987 Maryland 7
C 21 Belgium Wauters, Ann 6' 4" (1.93m) 193 lb (88kg) 10-12-1980 Belgium 8
Head coach
United States Brian Agler ( Wittenberg)
Assistant coaches
United States Tonya Edwards ( Tennessee)
United States Amber Stocks ( Cincinnati)
Athletic trainer
United States Courtney Watson ( California)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Kelly Dormandy ( Springfield College)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Standing

Western Conference

Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 - Minnesota Lynx 28 6 .824 - 15–2 13–4 15–1
2 - Los Angeles Sparks 26 8 .765 2 14–3 12–5 11–5
7 - Seattle Storm 16 18 .471 12 10–7 6–11 7–9
8 - Phoenix Mercury 16 18 .471 12 11–6 5–12 6–10
e - Dallas Wings 11 23 .324 17 6–11 5–12 8–8
e - San Antonio Stars 7 27 .206 21 4–13 3–14 1–15

Game log

Pre-season

2017 pre-season game log
Total: – (Home: –; Road: –)
Pre-season
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 7
2 May 9
3 May 10
2017 season schedule

Playoffs

2017 playoff game log
Total: – (Home: –; Road: –)
First Round
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 28 Chicago Sky Candace Parker (30) Nneka Ogwumike (10) Nneka Ogwumike (6) Walter Pyramid
2 September 30 Chicago Sky Candace Parker (20) Candace Parker (11) Candace Parker (8) Staples Center
3 October 2 @ Chicago Sky Nneka Ogwumike (22) Candace Parker (15) Candace Parker (6) Allstate Arena
4 October 4 @ Chicago Sky Candace Parker Nneka Ogwumike Chelsea Gray Allstate Arena
2017 playoff schedule

The Sparks qualified for the 2016 playoffs, and, as the team with the second-best regular season record in the WNBA, received two automatic byes, advancing straight to the best-of-five semifinal.

First round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 24 and 25)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)		 WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Oct. 9 – 20)
1 Minnesota Lynx1139682
3 New York Liberty948 Phoenix Mercury958667
5 Indiana Fever788 Phoenix Mercury1011 Minnesota Lynx7679758576
8 Phoenix Mercury892 Los Angeles Sparks7860927977
2 Los Angeles Sparks95996695
4 Chicago Sky1084 Chicago Sky75847075
6 Atlanta Dream946 Atlanta Dream98
7 Seattle Storm85

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Candace Parker Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Candace Parker Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Week
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Month June
Nneka Ogwumike Player of the Month July
Nneka Ogwumike
Candace Parker
Jantel Lavender

References

  1. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Basketball - Sparks News, Scores, Videos - College Basketball - ESPN". espn.go.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  2. ^ With 3.1 Seconds Left, Los Angeles Sparks Seize W.N.B.A. Title
  3. ^ Sources: Sparks waive rookie Whitney Knight. Retrieved October 2, 2016.

External links


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