When a coach claims “there’s no better person to have on your team,” the assumption might be that they’re referring to the player averaging 20-plus points per game, a perennial All-Star or a rookie with mountains of potential. But when Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said that at a Sparks practice in June, she was referring to reserve forward Emma Cannon.
“She’s an incredible person,” Roberts said at a practice in July. “I love coaching her. I love having her on the floor.”
Cannon, who Roberts referred to as “team-first,” has only played in eight games this season and is averaging fewer than five points per game. On paper, she’s an unlikely recipient of this compliment. But watching only a few minutes of a Sparks game, it’s evident why.
She leads the bench players’ pregame huddle, hyping up her teammates and doing a dance with a massive grin on her face. She’s the first player off the bench at a timeout or to celebrate a 3-pointer. She sits in the chair directly next to the coaches, a spot typically reserved for the most recent player to exit the game.
“Whenever Emma hangs up the high tops, she needs to coach, and she’ll be a phenomenal coach,” Roberts told reporters after the team’s July 8 win over the Indiana Fever. “She understands her role. She’s all about the Sparks and all about doing whatever she can to help us win, whether she plays or not. She’s the same, and every day in practice, she’s the same. The respect I have for her, I really can’t say it enough. … She’s definitely a huge part of the fabric of this team.”
Since going undrafted in 2011, Cannon has played on 23 different rosters, moving nearly every year. She has played internationally in Germany, Israel, Australia, Russia, Poland, Turkey, and China. She made her WNBA debut with the Phoenix Mercury in 2017 and has since played for the Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, and now Los Angeles.
Cannon’s journey in professional basketball has shaped her in a lot of ways. She previously published words of wisdom for undrafted players online, and now, as a key veteran leader for the Sparks, she’s sharing those in person.
“Adversity will hit at some point; it’s just about what you do when it happens, and how you attack it,” Cannon told The IX. “Losses are losses, but there are also positives in losses. You can always learn from your mistakes, so that you don’t make them again.”
During her first stint with the Mercury, Cannon became close with Diana Taurasi, whom she credits as one of the veterans who really made her feel at home and taught her what it meant to lead.
“Diana Taurasi was my number one vet when I came into the league,” Cannon said. “Just watching her work ethic, and how she just came in every day and put the work in, and even with her being who she was, she never missed a day.”
She says current teammate Kelsey Plum has a similar mentality.
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Cannon’s current presence on Los Angeles’ roster speaks volumes to her impact on the team. Although the season hasn’t gone the Sparks’ way, and they’ve faced injuries and roster instability, they’ve stood by a 37-year-old bench player despite only being allowed to roster 12 players.
When Cannon does get minutes, she makes the most of them. Roberts joked that Cannon has “never met a three she doesn’t like,” as evidenced by her numbers. In the 45 minutes Cannon has played this season, she’s taken 21 shots, 14 of them being threes. This averages out to 9.5 3-point attempts per 40 minutes. She’s making them at a 57% clip and, among all players, ranks ninth in the league in points per play with 1.28.
On the floor, Cannon has the calm presence of a veteran player who isn’t rattled by getting a few minutes at a time or only entering the game to give someone a quick breather.
Cannon’s opportunities for playing time have only increased in the last month. After Cameron Brink suffered an ankle injury in mid-June with an unclear timetable to return, Roberts noted that Cannon’s size and 3-point shooting would be useful for Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles’ first game after Brink was injured, Cannon scored 5 points in four minutes against the Minnesota Lynx on June 17. Roberts referred to her performance as one of the few “bright spots” of the evening.
“Emma came in ready,” Roberts said. “She talks on defense, she sets hard screens, she executes, so I think she earned opportunity,” she said. “That’s what you do: when you get a chance, make it count. And she did.”
In Friday night’s matchup against the Chicago Sky, Cannon entered a tie game in the third quarter and promptly hit a three to take the lead, much to the delight of the Sparks bench. A minute later, sporting her signature grin, she scored again. Then again, at the start of the fourth quarter, to bring the lead back to five. She finished the game with 9 points and four rebounds — three on the offensive end — in 13 minutes.
“Emma Cannon was great. So proud of her,” Roberts said after the game.
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Cannon isn’t taking the limited playing time to heart, but rather taking advantage of every moment she gets to be on the court, something she encourages other reserve players to do.
“I would just say, just always come in and do your work,” Cannon Said. “Work hard, because you really truly never know when your number is being called. You don’t always have to be a starter to make an impact on the team, and that’s something that I’m big on. I know that I’m a leader on this team, and I know a lot of people come to me if they need anything, but at the end of the day, I know I put the work in.”
Off the court, Cannon is a mom of three. Her twins, Sage and Suede, were born last April, right before the season kicked off. They joined her at media day, one in each arm, at one month old. Her older son, Dior, is four. To Cannon, being a mom is separate from her approach to being a valuable teammate. When it comes to her children, she tries to ensure they see “that Mommy is always happy.”
“I don’t think it’s necessarily changed me or anything,” Cannon said. “But it’s worth more, because I do have children that are watching me. They see me do everything, and they want to be like me, and I think that’s amazing.”
Her teammate Erica Wheeler, who also played with her in Indiana, disagrees, describing Cannon as a softie, who’s a good person to cry to.
“She’s very encouraging,” Wheeler told The IX. “She sees someone drop their head; she’ll be the first one to go pick them up because that’s just who she is. And also she’s a mom, so it’s just a natural thing when somebody is sad or anything or not even feeling good, her energy is always good, so she tries to pick you up.”
Cannon also said that her dad calls her a butterfly because of her ability to “communicate and get along with a lot of people.” She says she’s been like this her whole life, equating her leadership capabilities to her general aura of happiness.
“I know my teammates very well,” Cannon said. “I come in every day with a positive mindset, positive attitude. I love this game, so I try to put in everything that I can. … I don’t want to boost my ego. I believe I am a great person at the end of the day.”
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Wheeler agrees that Cannon is trusted by her teammates, building relationships through her ability to connect on a personal level.
“She has that human side, that feelings side that a lot of people just don’t get to show,” Wheeler said. “Emma is one of those people that you can cry, you can laugh with her, you can tell her your deepest secrets. She’s gonna, she’s gonna, she’s gonna hold it down.”
However, Wheeler also noted that Cannon’s work ethic helps her endear herself to teammates and coaches.
“If you’re putting in your work, you’re gonna gain my respect anyways because that means you love the game, you respect the game, and you’re trying to do whatever it is to be your best self to help the team,” Wheeler said. “And she’s doing that every day.”
Cannon acknowledges that she’s experienced her fair share of hardship in her career. The volatility of moving from overseas to the WNBA and back again (and again, and again). That whiplash requires an immense level of commitment, dedication, and mental fortitude. A few years ago, she also lost her mom, who she says was a major inspiration and resource for her.
“My mom passed away three years ago, and that’s something that she loved: me playing basketball,” Cannon said. “She loved watching me play, so anytime that I’m able to do it, I want to make sure that I’m making her proud.
No matter how her amount of playing time increases or decreases as the season progresses, Cannon is focused on accomplishing one goal: staying true to herself.
“Whether I play or I don’t play, [the goal] is that I never change,” she said. “That I’m still solid for every person that comes to me that needs me, and that I show up and make sure that today is the best day.”
