{"id":675525,"date":"2026-05-31T06:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/675525\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T06:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T06:28:09","slug":"exclusive-erica-wheeler-has-established-her-voice-with-sparks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/675525\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Erica Wheeler has established her voice with Sparks"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Sparks<\/a>\u2019 win against the Washington Mystics this past Friday, Nneka Ogwumike couldn\u2019t help but gush over teammate Erica Wheeler and her importance as a veteran leader for the team.<\/p>\n

This is Ogwumike\u2019s third go-round with Wheeler. The pair were teammates back in 2021 during Wheeler\u2019s first stint with the Sparks. They became teammates again last season with the Seattle Storm and they both made the trek back to Los Angeles to rejoin the Sparks this offseason<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s anyone on the team who truly understands Wheeler\u2019s value, it\u2019s Ogwumike. Her journey to becoming one of the Sparks\u2019 key leaders is something that Ogwumike has seen grow over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cE is someone who how she presents is what you\u2019re going to get. She\u2019s up front, she\u2019s really intuitive when it comes to her teammates and one thing about her is she was undrafted so she came into this league hustling,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cBeing able to play with her in LA the first time, she adds an element of Hollywood to Los Angeles basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then in Seattle, I saw someone who was really selfless. Not to say that she wasn\u2019t always that way, but really selfless about the team, sacrificial, really trying to just do what she could to make the team better.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Sparks involved in a tight game against the Mystics, Wheeler hit several big shots down the stretch, finishing with a game-high 21 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and dishing out eight assists. She stepped up in the absence of Kelsey Plum who is sidelined due to an ankle injury, and one of the main things Ogwumike has sought to do this season is continually remind Wheeler of her importance to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been talking to her a bit about all those things, including her understanding her worth on the court, on both ends, and also her understanding the responsibility that she has with her voice,\u201d Ogwumike continued. \u201cIt really goes a long way and it\u2019s not just because she\u2019s the point guard, but she\u2019s someone who\u2019s very relatable and someone who listens but then also communicates effectively. That\u2019s something you really want in a point guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ogwumike mentioned, part of Erica Wheeler\u2019s role as one of the Sparks\u2019 veteran leaders is her ability to tell it like it is. Take for instance, her response to the Sparks\u2019 embarrassing home loss to the Las Vegas Aces<\/a> in their season opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, right now we all are too nice,\u201d Wheeler had told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview a couple of days after the loss. \u201cEverybody\u2019s trying to figure it out, nobody wants to overstep, everybody\u2019s a little too respectable. I think in certain moments, we just need to be ourselves and say what it is whether somebody likes it or not. Ultimately, the goal is to win. Being in that pocket of knowing when to really overstep and knowing when to really say something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think once we get over that hurdle of being able to just say whatever we need to say in real time or after, I think we\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erica Wheeler leadership role with Sparks
\"LosRick Scuteri-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Being that beacon of leadership is a major part of Wheeler\u2019s role as a point guard. By virtue of her position, she is an extension on the court of Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts. Throughout her career, she\u2019s mostly been able to establish herself as an outgoing voice on whatever team she\u2019s on.<\/p>\n

But measuring leadership isn\u2019t always that easy. It\u2019s not something that can always be quantified or explained with stats or a box score. It\u2019s measured more by word of mouth. Feedback coming from teammates such as Ogwumike.<\/p>\n

Through actions such as back during Sparks\u2019 media day when Cameron Brink was overcome with emotion when speaking about feeling like not living up to expectations and the mental process of coming back from a major injury.<\/p>\n

Wheeler was sitting with Brink at the podium and made sure to point out that the third-year center is not only on the right path in terms of succeeding in the WNBA, but is also one of the best teammates on the roster. That intuitive extrovert in her shining through. And sometimes that also means clashing with a teammate or two.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a talker. I don\u2019t mind hard conversations with my teammates. Ask KP [Kelsey Plum], we will get into it every now and then but it\u2019s healthy. It\u2019s not anything that goes on the court, it\u2019s all healthy, it\u2019s all respect. But also it\u2019s accountability. I can\u2019t tell KP to do something that I\u2019m not doing myself,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of my role, just being able to speak up in moments \u2026 I just find my little pockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m more so a person that will talk to you on the side versus out loud. Unless you\u2019re constantly doing something that you\u2019re not supposed to be doing, I\u2019m gonna call it out. But I\u2019m more so on the side, giving little nuggets to the rookies, encouraging players on the side, that\u2019s my role.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that extroverted style also manifests on the court. As Wheeler says, she is more of a one-on-one type of leader, but as the point guard, she is tasked with organizing everything in game. She began the season coming off the bench, but with the Sparks wanting Plum to be able to focus on getting herself going offensively, Wheeler was moved into the starting lineup as the primary ball-handler.<\/p>\n

Since moving into the starting lineup<\/a>, Wheeler has been averaging 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists through five games. She\u2019s shooting close to 44 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the 3-point line. Equally important has been the way Plum has been unlocked since Wheeler joined her in the backcourt.<\/p>\n

Plum has surged to top of the WNBA\u2019s scoring leaders with a career-high 26.8 points. With Wheeler shifting over to the being the primary ball-handler and facilitator, Plum has been able to do what she does best, put the ball in the basket.<\/p>\n

Helping open up the floor for her teammates is no problem for the self-proclaimed, \u2018connector-in-chief,\u2019 as Wheeler refers to herself, even if means sometimes switching up plays drawn up by Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts. Just like the respect she has from her teammates, Wheeler has a healthy understanding with Roberts when it comes to improvising on the fly. She knows how important it is to get the entire team in rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being able to be a point guard that\u2019s unselfish. I don\u2019t want to say I\u2019m a pass-first point guard, but I also see the game. For example, if Triple-A [Ariel Atkins] hasn\u2019t hit two threes and coach calls a play for somebody else, I\u2019d probably wave coach off and be like, \u2018we\u2019re going back to Triple-A,\u2019\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cI think me and coach, she has a respect level for me to trust that that\u2019s the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erica Wheeler\u2019s decision to return to Sparks
\"LosJayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

A lot has changed since Wheeler last played for the Sparks. It was back in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020-21 NBA season had a very late start amid the league trying to navigate the virus and its toll on team rosters.<\/p>\n

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers made playoff runs, coinciding with the start of the WNBA season. As has been the case when conflicting scheduling has occurred, the Sparks got the short end of the stick. With the Lakers and Clippers taking priority at Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks were relegated to playing home games at the adjacent Convention Center in what amounted to a glorified AAU setup.<\/p>\n

The makeup of the organization was much different too. Derek Fisher was the dual head coach and general manager. The roster was almost like a bunch of parts thrown together with no real vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was completely different,\u201d Wheeler remembered. \u201cThe dynamic of everything, even the time that we are in for women\u2019s sports is completely different from 2021. And then the team, we have a bunch of girls that really like each other. We have a good time with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wheeler was sure she was never going to come back to Los Angeles after that stint. It was Plum who initially began recruiting her to sign with the Sparks and she was direct about not wanting to come back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, KP, I\u2019m not going back to f**king LA,\u201d Wheeler recalled. \u201cThe taxes are too high over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Plum was persistent in her pursuit of Wheeler. She had identified the guard she wanted as her backcourt mate and she was in Wheeler\u2019s ear during their time together at Unrivaled. As the offseason continued and a few other pieces fell into place for the Sparks, her return became more of a reality than a long shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cKP was on it early. We had a couple of conversations, she always made jokes about how I\u2019ll be back in LA,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cWe kept in communication with that, and Lynne [Roberts] came after me. And then when Nneka got on board to say she was coming, it was a no-brainer after that. Then it was just about getting it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for Ogwumike, she never envisioned that she and Wheeler were going to be recurring teammates this many times, but she\u2019s grateful that their paths have continued to cross.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy to be able to see her come into her own. I didn\u2019t expect to play with E this many times which is kind of cool,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cWhen we both came to LA, there\u2019s a level of familiarity that hopefully is infused into the sisterhood that we have in this locker room.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 win against the Washington Mystics this past Friday, Nneka Ogwumike couldn\u2019t help but gush over teammate Erica Wheeler and her importance as a veteran leader for the team. This is Ogwumike\u2019s third go-round with Wheeler. The pair were teammates back in 2021 during Wheeler\u2019s first stint with the Sparks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Sparks\u2019 win against the Washington Mystics this past Friday, Nneka Ogwumike…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[186,3029,581,99,434],"class_list":["post-675525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-exclusive","tag-los-angeles-sparks","tag-reporting","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}