{"id":569574,"date":"2026-03-29T23:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T23:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/569574\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T23:18:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T23:18:07","slug":"who-should-the-sparks-protect-in-2026-wnba-expansion-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/569574\/","title":{"rendered":"Who should the Sparks protect in 2026 WNBA expansion draft?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the WNBA has a new collective bargaining agreement,<\/a> offseason events such as the expansion draft, WNBA draft and free agency can take place.<\/p>\n

However, with much of the offseason lost, everything will now happen at a blistering pace.<\/p>\n

The next step for the league is the expansion draft. Last year, the WNBA held one for the Golden State Valkyries and this season it will be double the fun with the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire joining the league.<\/p>\n

The WNBA has set up the ground rules for the draft<\/a>, stating that all teams can protect five players, a change from last year when teams were allowed to protect six.<\/p>\n

In preparation for the Expansion Draft, each of the existing 13 teams will be required to submit to the league office by Sunday, March 29, a Roster List that includes every player to whom the team has rights \u2013 players on the team\u2019s active, suspended, draft list\/reserved, core, or retired lists \u2013 as of the final day of the 2025 regular season. The 13 teams will be required to designate a maximum of five \u201cProtected Players\u201d who will not be available for selection in the Expansion Draft. All other players on each team\u2019s Roster List will be eligible for selection by the Fire and Tempo (\u201cUnprotected players)\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Sparks are set to have some big decisions to make and will likely lose a talented contributor from last year\u2019s team. Let\u2019s take a look at who the team could protect and, as a result, who may be left unprotected.<\/p>\n

The Sparks traded for Kelsey Plum last year<\/a> and the price was high, costing them their No.2 pick in the 2025 draft. The move paid off as Plum became LA\u2019s bona fide superstar, having a career year after averaging 19.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists.<\/p>\n

She was named an All-Star and has become one of the faces of the franchise.<\/p>\n

While Plum was the team\u2019s top player, Hamby still had a great year as the second option. LA\u2019s starting big averaged 18.4 points per game and 7.9 rebounds.<\/p>\n

No one on the Sparks\u2019 roster can do what Hamby does. She scores with ease inside the paint, cleans up the glass and is a great pick-and-roll partner with Plum.<\/p>\n

Jackson is filled with potential. She is an offensive firecracker, averaging 14.7 points and shooting 84% from the free throw line. Her biggest highlight of the season was undoubtedly her game-winner over the Liberty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While she is not as polished as Plum or Hamby, her ceiling is still unknown and unreached.<\/p>\n

Brink spent most of the season recovering from her ACL injury<\/a>. She returned in July and played in 19 games for the Sparks. Despite only playing in 34 games across two seasons, she\u2019s shown the potential to be one of the best defensive bigs in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

During the WNBA offseason, she played with Unrivaled<\/a> and remained relatively healthy, aside from the broken nose she suffered in a game with Breeze FC. In the 3×3 league, Brink averaged 10.9 points and was second in the league in blocks with 1.8 per game.<\/p>\n

While the other four players felt like no-brainers, the fifth protected spot was not as simple and came down to either Rae Burrell or Azur\u00e1 Stevens.<\/p>\n

Burrell had an increased role with the Sparks last season, coming off the bench and averaging 7.5 points per game. She has proven herself to be an energetic scorer and a versatile defender.<\/p>\n

Stevens, meanwhile, started every game for the Sparks last year and was an elite shooter, knocking down 38% of her shots from deep. She shined in head coach Lynne Roberts\u2019 system, averaging a career-high 12.8 points per game.<\/p>\n

Stevens was also the team\u2019s top rebounder, averaging eight per game.<\/p>\n

In the end, Stevens is the best option since she is a better scorer, rebounder and defender.<\/p>\n

Notable unprotected players<\/p>\n

With Burrell left unprotected in this scenario, it\u2019s likely she\u2019ll be selected in the expansion draft. But both Portland and Toronto can take one player from each team and there are other players who could be intriguing to them.<\/p>\n

While she did not have a great rookie season, Sarah Ashlee Barker<\/a> is still a young guard. Jullie Allemand falls on the other side of the spectrum as a more experienced guard.<\/p>\n

By design, the Sparks are set to lose someone who was productive last season, a tough blow but one every team in the league will experience.<\/p>\n

While we are unlikely to know who they protected as that information wasn\u2019t made public last year, deductive reasoning will likely allow us to determine who was and wasn\u2019t protected.<\/p>\n

We will know which players are selected by Portland and Toronto when the expansion draft takes place on Friday, April 3. Fans can watch the process on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88<\/a> or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/p>\n