The Los Angeles Sparks couldn’t believe their luck when they were on the clock with the No. 20 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, and South Carolina’s Taniya Latson was still available. Latson was projected to be a first round talent, but ended up slipping to the second round. And now the Sparks’ rookie guard figures to be in the team’s rotation this season.

Looking at the Sparks’ depth chart, Kelsey Plum and Ariel Atkins project to be the team’s starting backcourt, while as of right now veteran Erica Wheeler is the primary backup guard. That would seemingly leave minutes available for the Sparks’ new rookie guard. Ta’Niya Latson was primarily a shooting guard in college, but has the ability to play the one.

Latson played primarily off the ball last season at South Carolina, sharing the backcourt with experienced floor general Raven Johnson. But during her first three seasons at Florida State, she played mostly on ball and took on a larger playmaking role towards the end of her tenure with the Seminoles.

Now that she’s in the WNBA, Latson believes that her proficiency and experience in both roles prepared her well for what she’s going to be asked to do with the Sparks.

“That was something, going into South Carolina I knew I wasn’t gonna be on ball especially playing with Raven [Johnson] and Maddy [McDaniel]. I wanted to expand my game and not just be a ball dominant guard,” Latson said during a recent media availability session. “I wanted to be able to set flares, come off a flare and just expand my game. So I feel like that’s going to translate into the league especially playing around a lot of other talented players.

“Just finding my way, watching people like KP [Kelsey Plum], Erica Wheeler, Ariel Atkins. Just trying to mimic what they do out there is going to help me.”

Latson was solid during her first WNBA outing, a preseason win against the Nigerian national team last weekend. She came off the bench and finished with a well-rounded stat line of seven points, five rebounds, six assists and one blocked shot in 22 minutes.

Last year at South Carolina, Latson averaged the lowest scoring mark of her college career at 14.1 points. She was a solid 20-point scorer throughout her three seasons at Florida State. But her shooting efficiency was the highest it’s ever been at 48.6 percent.

During the early days of training camp, Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts isn’t putting any pressure on Latson as far as any major expectations.

“I can’t tell you what her role will be in a month. I think it depends on her and how well she continues to adjust. It’s a big adjustment to go from college to pro as that one, that lead guard. So she’s getting a thrown a ton of things at her,” Roberts said following Sparks’ practice on Wednesday. “Right now her role is to absorb and learn as much as she can from KP [Kelsey Plum] and Erica Wheeler, two greats that have done a long time at that lead guard spot.”

The Sparks begin the 2026 season on May 10 at home against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. That gives Latson roughly a week and a half to continue absorbing, learning and getting acclimated to the WNBA.

“We believe in her potential. I think she’s going to be a really good W player,” Roberts continued. “What her role is this year as a rookie, I don’t know yet … We believe in her and we’re better if she’s playing, but she’s got to be ready and earn it.”

The Los Angeles Sparks couldn’t believe their luck when they were on the clock with the No. 20 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, and South Carolina’s Taniya Latson was still available. Latson was projected to be a first round talent, but ended up slipping to the second round. And now the Sparks’ rookie guard figures to be in the team’s rotation this season.