Los Angeles Sparks guards Zia Cooke, Odyssey Sims and Crystal Dangerfield smile and cheer from the bench.
Los Angeles Sparks guards Zia Cooke (left), Odyssey Sims (center) and Crystal Dangerfield cheer during a game against the Connecticut Sun at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on Aug. 20, 2024. (Photo credit: Chris Poss | The Next)

The Los Angeles Sparks couldn’t catch a break this year. That’s not a cop-out for their 8-32, last-place record; it’s a simple fact.

No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink tore her ACL early in the season. Guard Lexie Brown’s triumphant return to play after a season-ending illness in 2023 was cut short when her Crohn’s diagnosis took her out for the majority of the season. Veteran guard Layshia Clarendon missed the second half of the season for mental health reasons. And the Sparks lost close game after close game amid several other injuries and absences.


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Cameron Ruby is the Sparks reporter for The IX Basketball. She is a Bay Area native currently living in Los Angeles.