La Sparks

Founded in 1997, the Sparks are one of the eight original WNBA teams. Also one of the teams that participated in the league's inaugural game, the Sparks are the sister team of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.

Since their inception, the Sparks have been a focal point of the league. The team's major star was former USC standout Lisa Leslie, who led the Sparks since the team's inception until her retirement in 2009.


Franchise History
In the Shadow of the Comets (1997-2000)
The 1997 WNBA season, the league's first, opened with a game between the Sparks and the New York Liberty at the Sparks home (The Forum) in Inglewood.

Sparks player Penny Toler scored the league's first two points with a lay-up 59 seconds into the game. The team did compete for a playoff spot, but because of a loss to the Phoenix Mercury in the final game of the season, the Sparks missed the playoffs.In the 1998 WNBA season, the Sparks finished 12–18, missing the playoffs once more.
The 1999 season featured the development of Lisa Leslie and the Sparks' first playoff berth, as the Sparks posted a 20–12 record. The Sparks won their first playoff game and series with a win over the Sacramento Monarchs.

Ultimately, the Sparks were playing in the shadow of the Comets, as they won the first four WNBA championships.
Sparks Begin to Fly (2001-2002)
The 2000-01 offseason saw a move to the STAPLES Center and an important coaching change, when the Sparks hired former Los Angeles Lakers player Michael Cooper as head coach. In the 2001 playoffs, the Sparks finally eliminated the Comets, sweeping them in the first round.

A late three in game 2 by Nikki Teasley gave the Sparks their second consecutive championship.
Battle for the Three-Peat (2003)
In 2003, the Sparks posted a 24–10 record and went into the playoffs looking for a "three-peat." Both the first and the second rounds were forced to decided third games, as they beat the Minnesota Lynx and Sacramento Monarchs. The Shock were on a roll after having been the worst team in the WNBA in 2002.The rough road to the finals and the tough play of the Shock wore down the Sparks, which lost the series, two games to one, and failed to three-peat.
End of the Glory Days (2004-2006)
During the 2003-04 off season, the Sparks signed two standout players, Tamika Whitmore and Teresa Weatherspoon, both of whom had played for the rival New York Liberty. During the playoffs, the team stumbled, losing in three games to the Sacramento Monarchs.
The Sparks stumbled and never recovered through the 2005 season and finished with a 17–17 record.

On December 7, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported the sale to an investor group led by Kathy Goodman and Carla Christofferson. Goodman is currently a high school teacher at HighTech-LA in Lake Balboa and was a former executive for Intermedia Films.

Christofferson is a litigation attorney for the O’Melveny & Myers law firm and was Miss North Dakota USA in 1989. Thompson, the four-time WNBA champ and eight-time WNBA All-Star, also went to college with Leslie at USC.
Things did not start up good in the 2009 season.However, when Leslie and Parker returned to the court in July, despite sitting at 8-14, the Sparks managed to go 10-2 and clinch a playoff berth for the tenth time in thirteen years at 18-16. However, in the West Finals, the Sparks' road back to the Finals came up short and lost in the conference finals to the eventual champion Phoenix Mercury in three games.

It was also the end of Lisa Leslie's career and Michael Cooper's end of tenure with the Sparks as head coach. Their previous home was the Great Western Forum, but the Sparks organization moved after claiming "the Forum" was the reason for the low attendance at Sparks games.
Uniforms
2009 - On June 5, the Los Angeles Sparks and Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced a multi-year marketing partnership that includes a branded jersey sponsorship.

The uniform looks similar to the Los Angeles Lakers' uniform.
1997 - 2006: For home games, gold with large purple stripe on the side, with the name "Sparks" written across in purple. For away games, purple with large gold stripe on the side, with the name "Los Angeles" in yellow.
Season-by-season records
Players
Current Roster


Head coach

Jennifer Gillom (Mississippi)

Assistant coach(es)

Steve Smith

Strength and conditioning coach(es)

Bruce Deziel

Athletic trainer(s)

Rachel Schlachet (Arizona State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended

Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2010-02-12

Former Players
Latasha Byears
Tamecka Dixon, now a member of the Indiana Fever
Ukari Figgs
Jennifer Gillom, now the Sparks' head coach
Chamique Holdsclaw, now a member of the Atlanta Dream
Mwadi Mabika
Taj McWilliams, now a member of the Detroit Shock
Nikki Teasley
Penny Toler, now the Sparks' General Manager
Tamika Whitmore, now a member of the Connecticut Sun
Sophia Witherspoon
Haixia Zheng
Temeka Johnson, now a member of the Phoenix Mercury
Lisa Leslie
Retired Numbers
11 Penny Toler
Head Coaches



Media coverage
The Sparks games not on national television are shown on Fox Sports Net West/Prime Ticket with Larry Burnett and Ann Meyers as the announcers, along with the recent addition of Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher.