2016 Los Angeles Sparks season

2016 Los Angeles Sparks season
Head Coach Brian Agler
Arena Staples Center
Results
Record 26–8
(.765)
Place 2nd (Western)
Playoff Finish Champions
(Defeated Minnesota Lynx 3-2)
Media
Television TWC SportsNet and TWC Deportes
ESPN2, NBATV
Los Angeles Sparks seasons
< 2015 2017 >

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]

Transactions

WNBA Draft

See also: 2016 WNBA draft

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

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]

Trades

Roster

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



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LA • MIN • PHO • SA • SEA
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 (UC Berkeley)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Kelly Dormandy (Springfield College)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page


Schedule

Standings

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
Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
3 - New York Liberty 21 13 .618 - 10-7 11-6 11-5
4 - Chicago Sky 18 16 .529 3 11-6 7-10 8-8
5 - Indiana Fever 17 17 .500 4 8-9 9-8 8-8
6 - Atlanta Dream 17 17 .500 4 11-6 6–11 9-7
e - Connecticut Sun 14 20 .412 7 8-9 6-11 4-12
e - Washington Mystics 13 21 .382 8 5-12 8-9 8-8

Playoffs

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 Lynx		3
 
 
8
Phoenix Mercury		0
 
 
 
 
 
3
New York Liberty		94
 
 
 
8
Phoenix Mercury		101
 
5
Indiana Fever		78
 
 
 
8
Phoenix Mercury		89
 
1
Minnesota Lynx		2
 
 
 
2
Los Angeles Sparks		3
 
6
Atlanta Dream		94
 
 
 
7
Seattle Storm		85
 
4
Chicago Sky		108
 
 
6
Atlanta Dream		98
 
 
 
 
 
2
Los Angeles Sparks		3
 
 
4
Chicago Sky		1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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

Semifinals
Team 1 2 3
1
Minnesota Lynx 		113 96 82
8
Phoenix Mercury 		95 86 67
Team 1 2 3 4
2
Los Angeles Sparks 		95 99 66 95
4
Chicago Sky 		75 84 70 75
WNBA Finals
Team 1 2 3 4 5
1
Minnesota Lynx 		76 79 75 85 76
2
Los Angeles Sparks 		78 60 92 79 77

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

References

  1. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Basketball - Sparks News, Scores, Videos - College Basketball - ESPN". espn.go.com. Retrieved 31 August 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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