Los Angeles Sparks
The LA Sparks suffered through a rash of injuries to get back to the Playoffs under new head coach Derek Fisher. Finishing 22-12, Fisher became the ninth coach with 20+ wins in his first year. 22 wins is sixth-best for a first year coach in the league’s history.
The Sparks also became the first WNBA franchise with 450 regular season wins with their win over the Washington Mystics on July 7.
In terms of individual records:
- Chelsea Gray had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists on July 7, recording the ninth triple-double in WNBA history (eighth in the regular season).
- Riquna Williams put up 15 three-point attempts on August 31 against the Aces, establishing a new single-game mark for the Sparks. She averaged six three-point attempts per game, also a new Sparks record.
- Chelsea Gray made 66 of 72 free throws this season, good for a new Sparks record at 91.7%.
As a team, the Sparks established several records as well:
- They made 16 threes on 31 attempts on July 7 against the Mystics, both franchise records.
- The Sparks set new franchise highs with 2,388 field goal attempts (70.2 per game), 242 threes (7.1 per game), and 710 attempted threes (20.9 per game) this year.
- With their 15th winning season in the league, the Sparks separated from the Liberty and became the all-time leaders in that category.
As for milestones, the Sparks saw several:
- Candace Parker played her 300th game, made her 2,000th field goal, and grabbed her 400th steal, moving up to 8th in blocks (518), 9th in rebounds (2,688), 15th in assists (1,230), 15th in made field goals (2,012), and 17th in made free throws (1,096).
- Nneka Ogwumike scored her 4,000th point, becoming just the 38th player to do so.
- Chelsea Gray scored her 1,500th point and dished her 500th assist.
- Chiney Ogwumike scored her 1,500th point, played her 100th game, and recorded her 100th block.
- Tierra Ruffin-Pratt played in her 200th game.
- Riquna Williams recorded her 200th steal.