{"id":857231,"date":"2026-09-23T01:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857231\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T01:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T01:30:13","slug":"sparks-star-nneka-ogwumike-grateful-for-her-15-year-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/857231\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike ‘grateful’ for her 15-year career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nneka Ogwumike<\/a> answered the same question she\u2019s been facing for almost two months.<\/p>\n

Why now? Why leave the WNBA<\/a> when she still leads the Sparks in scoring and rebounding, has played a central role in helping the league negotiate a transformative new collective bargaining agreement and returned to the city where her pro career began?<\/p>\n

Ogwumike is at peace with her decision. And when she steps onto the court in a Sparks<\/a> jersey for the last time Thursday, she will do it without regrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mostly grateful,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cI haven\u2019t really been thinking much else besides just being grateful for the opportunity to have had a 15-year career in the WNBA and also to finish in a Sparks jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a lot for which to be grateful.<\/p>\n

Ogwumike entered the WNBA as the No. 1 overall pick of the Sparks in 2012. Now, 15 seasons later, she is leaving the league as one of its most accomplished players \u2014 and as the most prolific scorer in Sparks history<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Sparks <\/p>\n

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, left, tries to drive past Lynx forward Napheesa Collier during a game in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

(Matt Krohn \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels freeing,\u201d Ogwumike said of her decision to retire. \u201cIt feels like there\u2019s a level of autonomy that I\u2019m able to have, and I\u2019m very happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The numbers only begin to tell the story.<\/p>\n

Ogwumike was rookie of the year after averaging 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Four years later, she produced the best season of her career, averaging 19.7 points per game, winning MVP and leading the Sparks to their third WNBA championship.<\/p>\n

She spent 12 seasons with the Sparks before leaving for Seattle, then returned to Los Angeles this season to finish her career.<\/p>\n

Along the way, she established herself among the most productive players in league history. Ogwumike will finish her career fourth all-time in scoring with 8,013 points, behind Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and DeWanna Bonner. She is third all-time in rebounds with 3,571 and third in steals with 716.<\/p>\n

And on July 17, she added one more piece of history to the r\u00e9sum\u00e9, passing Lisa Leslie to become the Sparks\u2019 all-time leading scorer.<\/p>\n

\"Sisters <\/p>\n

Sisters Chiney, left, and Nneka Ogwumike pose for a photo at the Bird\u2019s Eye View After Party during WNBA All-Star weekend.<\/p>\n

(Daniel Boczarski \/ Getty Images for Vox Media)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where it all started [for me],\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cSo very happy to be able to share this time, both the beginning and the end of my career in L.A., and I had a majority of my career playing for this organization, so it really does mean a lot to be able to finish in it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The return, however, did not unfold quite the way Ogwumike or the Sparks had envisioned.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles entered the season with playoff expectations after bringing Ogwumike back, signing Erica Wheeler and trading for Ariel Atkins. The Sparks had not made the postseason since 2020, and the hope was that Ogwumike\u2019s return could help change that.<\/p>\n

Instead, the season became a struggle. The Sparks will finish 10 games out of a playoff spot, leaving Ogwumike\u2019s final games less about a postseason push and more about what she could leave behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe season is not at all what I expected, but it doesn\u2019t mean that I can\u2019t come out here to do my job and try and be great, and be great as a result,\u201d Ogwumike said. \u201cAnd as always, playing with my teammates as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

That has meant spending time with the young players who will carry the Sparks forward after she is gone.<\/p>\n

\"Sparks <\/p>\n

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts and Nneka Ogwumike talk on the sideline during a win over the Indiana Fever in July.<\/p>\n

(Katelyn Mulcahy \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ogwumike has particularly focused on Cameron Brink, the young forward who represents a significant part of the organization\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now I\u2019m really spending a lot of my time trying to pour into Cam as well,\u201d Ogwumike told reporters this week. \u201cI really do think that she\u2019s the future of the league. \u2026 I\u2019m happy to be able to leave whatever I can before I throw my feet up.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a fitting final role for a player whose career has stretched across generations of the WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s poured into me since I got into the league,\u201d Dream forward Angel Reese said in August. \u201cKind of like one of my first vets, always being there for me, always texting me, and also really like educating me on the things that were going on, knowing that it was a big CBA coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her final contribution might not be something that appears in a box score. It might be what she passes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll be missed,\u201d said Valkyries forward Gabby Williams, who played with Ogwumike in Seattle the previous two seasons. \u201cAs a friend, but also as a fan. I\u2019ll miss watching her in the W.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams knows what Ogwumike\u2019s career has meant to the league, but she also understands what comes next.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really happy for her,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHappy she gets to take that next step. I know what it means to her. I\u2019m glad her last year was pivotal for the CBA and she\u2019ll always have her name written on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ogwumike, though, isn\u2019t spending much time looking backward.<\/p>\n

She hasn\u2019t thought about what her final moments in the WNBA will feel like, only the gratefulness she feels to have had her 15-year career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t,\u201d Ogwumike said when asked if she has thought about her last moments in the league. \u201cStill just focused on playing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nneka Ogwumike answered the same question she\u2019s been facing for almost two months. Why now? Why leave the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[361969,4389,5460,6452,249826,4281,3591,4385,13544,5190,1839,31878,23629,99,434,2394],"class_list":["post-857231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-15-year-career","tag-gabby-williams","tag-game","tag-league","tag-league-history","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-lot","tag-nneka-ogwumike","tag-point","tag-season","tag-seattle","tag-spark","tag-sparks","tag-sports","tag-wnba","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857231","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=857231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}