{"id":747824,"date":"2026-07-07T04:47:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/747824\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:47:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:47:12","slug":"pili-returns-to-la-la-land-signs-with-sparks-to-continue-wnba-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/747824\/","title":{"rendered":"Pili returns to La La Land, signs with Sparks to continue WNBA journey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65966\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/G0H1jRgWoAAvB_U.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"954\" height=\"955\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65966\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-65966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alissa Pili has played in 19 of her 41 career WNBA games last summer. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Sparks<\/p>\n<p>The WNBA ain\u2019t done with Alissa Pili.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old moved closer to getting back on the court in the world\u2019s greatest women\u2019s basketball league on Sunday, when the Los Angeles Sparks announced they have signed Pili to a player development contract.<\/p>\n<p>This will be her second stint with the Sparks after finishing last season with the team and reuniting with bench boss Lynne Roberts, who coached her at the University of Utah, where Pili was a two-time All-American in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlissa has a unique combination of strength, skill and touch that makes her an intriguing player to continue developing,\u201d Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx has appeared in 41 career WNBA games, including five with Los Angeles. In those first two seasons, she piled up totals of 96 points, 46 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals.<\/p>\n<p>WNBA teams can carry two developmental roster spots, and these players practice, receive stipends and benefits, and can be activated for up to 12 games, giving Pili a chance to move up Alaska\u2019s all-time list for WNBA appearances.<\/p>\n<p>WNBA<\/p>\n<p>Most games by Alaskan CAREER<br \/>222 \u2013 Jessica Moore 2005-2013<br \/>164 \u2013 Kelsey Griffin 2010-2014<br \/>95 \u2013 Ruthy Hebard 2020-2023<br \/>46 \u2013 Andrea Lloyd 1999-2000<br \/>41 \u2013 Alissa Pili 2024-2025<br \/>3 \u2013 Molly Tuter 1997<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe can score inside and out, has a tremendous feel for the game and already has familiarity with our organization,\u201d Pebley said. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to continue investing in her growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 5-foot-11 power forward has averaged 5.8 minutes per game in her career, but when she logs double digits in minutes \u2013 like she has done 10 times \u2013 her scoring average jumps to 5.8 points per game, including a career-high 20 points.<\/p>\n<p>Pili, of Dimond High fame, played in Australia\u2019s WNBL over the winter and missed two months with an ankle injury. She averaged 13 points in eight games for the Geelong Venom, highlighted by her 28-point performance.<\/p>\n<p>The Alaskan has also played in Athletes Unlimited, averaging 11.1 points in 21 games against some of the best players in the world, another sign that Pili has a place in pro hoops.<\/p>\n<p>She also has a good track record in Los Angeles, where she played her first three seasons of college basketball with the USC Trojans and was the 2020 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HMgOb26XQAApN2n-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-77050\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alissa Pili has played in 19 of her 41 career WNBA games last summer. Photo courtesy of the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747825,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[320909,99,434],"class_list":["post-747824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-dimond-high","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747824","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=747824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747824\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}