Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats newsletter. We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Hudl. Hudl’s industry-leading tools – Sportscode, Instat, and Fastmodel – elevate the preparation, performance, and player development of WNBA and NCAA teams. We appreciate their support and look forward to working with them to help bring more insight about the women’s game to you.
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?
Previously published 2025-26 Offseason Guides:
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Dallas Wings
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum. Photo credit: Chris Poss
2025 record: 21-23. 6th in Offensive Rating, 10th in Defensive Rating. Missed the playoffs, ultimately by two games.
2026 draft picks: Finishing outside the playoffs and third in the combined two-year lottery standings had no real benefit to the Sparks, because their 2026 first-round pick is owned by Seattle as part of the Kia Nurse deal from early 2024 (which also enabled LA to select Rickea Jackson that year). They do still hold their own second- and third-round picks, and an extra second-rounder from Seattle that was part of the Kelsey Plum/Jewell Loyd trade, but that’s it.
Free agents: Dearica Hamby, Kelsey Plum, Azurá Stevens, Emma Cannon (all unrestricted free agents), Julie Allemand (restricted free agent), Rae Burrell, Julie Vanloo, Alissa Pili (all reserved).
Under contract: Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson, Sarah Ashlee Barker, Sania Feagin
2025 performance: It was something of a strange season for the Sparks. The first half was pretty disastrous, and in early July they were 6-14 and staring up at most of the standings. But improving health and a small roster shake-up where they settled on Julie Allemand as their starting point guard helped turn things around, and they went 15-9 the rest of the way, threatening to make the playoffs before falling just short. They became vastly more pleasant to watch, and that second-half push appears to have helped new head coach Lynne Roberts keep her job, but it still leaves the franchise with plenty of questions about their plans for the future.
Offensively, especially after that midseason inflection point, LA were comfortably good enough to be a playoff team. Dearica Hamby had another strong season inside, Kelsey Plum gave them the perimeter weapon the franchise had lacked for years, Rickea Jackson had another promising year on the wing and Azurá Stevens had the most productive offensive season of her career. The problem was that they gave it all back (plus a little bit extra) on the other end of the floor. Even once Cameron Brink returned to offer her presence and length in the paint, LA never found the cohesion and competence to stop anybody. Only Connecticut and Dallas allowed a higher opposing field-goal percentage, and that was ultimately their downfall. It made their games entertaining, because you were always likely to see plenty of scoring, but it prevented them from even sneaking into the postseason.
Offseason finances: Those who’ve read previous entries in this series will know where this is going — the Sparks have a few players on rookie-scale contracts, and then a whole host of free agents and presumptive cap space. Given what they gave up to get her and statements at the time, they’ll likely use a chunk of that space to core Kelsey Plum (assuming coring continues to exist under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement), but there will still be plenty of room for chasing other possibilities.
Offseason priorities: It appears that Roberts is going to get at least one more season, which is an understandable decision given the uptick in performance in the second half of the year. That crosses one item off the list, but they still have some important decisions to make. The primary one is whether they want to try to retain this core. Obviously, considering the number of unrestricted free agents involved, the players will have a hand in these choices as well. But assuming their core players are all interested in returning, should they want them all back? Plum, Jackson, Hamby, Brink and Stevens likely all view themselves as WNBA starters at this point in their careers. Most of them would even be viewed as good starters. But apart from the games Brink missed recovering from her knee injury, that group was largely available and intact this season. And they weren’t even good enough to make the playoffs, never mind contend for a championship. Do they really think continuity and the development of Brink and Jackson, plus maybe an upgrade on Allemand at the point, would be enough to propel this squad into contention? It would take a pretty optimistic outlook to see that fixing the defense they offered in 2025. So in that case, is it time to make significant changes instead?
They have two young building blocks in Brink and Jackson, and while maybe past her absolute peak, Plum still has plenty in the tank. It’s also hard to see them intentionally moving on from Hamby, who’s been their most consistent and reliable player for the last couple of years. But beyond that group, maybe they try to reload in free agency, with the eternal appeal of Los Angeles and the recently-announced new $150m practice facility as a draw. They obviously need defensive help, and maybe a shooter or two to take some of the load off their stars. Their future is also clearly tied into how well Jackson and Brink develop. Brink is already a menace defensively but needs to offer more than an occasional 3-pointer on the offensive end. Jackson is already a skilled scorer on multiple levels but has to improve her defense and could offer a lot more in areas beyond putting the ball in the hoop. There’s plenty of talent on this roster — which will also help attract free agents — but as 2025 illustrated, they still have some way to go to become a real contender.
Future assets: Unlike some teams that have lots of players’ draft rights or suspended players from previous years that might return, the Sparks are pretty barren beyond their roster at the end of the 2025 season. They do still have all their own 2027 draft picks and an extra second-rounder from Seattle via the Lexie Brown trade, but that’s about it for future assets.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.