The Los Angeles Sparks decided to accelerate their timeline this offseason. They traded the number two pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft for Kelsey Plum, giving Dearica Hamby an All-Star teammate and adding a high-level guard to a roster filled with talented bigs and wings.
After finishing the 2024 regular season with the worst record in the league, the Sparks clearly want to be better. To do that, they will need big seasons from their young players. Cameron Brink, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, and Rickea Jackson already showed great potential early on in their careers. Particularly Jackson seems primed for a big breakout season.
She is not the only Sparks player ready to put the league on notice, though. Rae Burrell has big plans for her fourth season in the WNBA.
The Most Improved Player award could go to Los Angeles this year
Rae Burrell has been with the Sparks since 2022. Despite being the ninth overall pick in her draft class, Burrell only played three games in her rookie season because of an injury. After a rough rookie season, Burrell didn’t make the Sparks’ initial roster in 2023 but played her way onto the team on two hardship contracts.
2024 marked Burrell’s best season of her career. She averaged 5.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 15.6 minutes per game for the season. The numbers may not jump off the page, but Burrell finally found her footing in the WNBA.
Then, she showed out in Unrivaled. Burrell was an integral part of the Vinyl’s success, averaging 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in only 9.5 minutes per game. Playing in Unrivaled allowed Burrell to work on her game and make her name more universally known. She definitely improved and looks ready for a big WNBA season. Her teammate Cameron Brink agrees.
Burrell recently appeared on Brink’s podcast Straight to Cam and prompted her teammate to make a major awards prediction.
“Just improving in every area, honestly,” Burrell said when Brink’s co-host Sydel Curry-Lee asked about her goals for the new season. “Like you said, I hit big strides in Unrivaled and I was just happy I was able to show a little bit more of what I was capable of doing. And, so, I just want to try and translate that to the W because I feel like I can definitely bring it to the W the same way that I did in Unrivaled and maybe add even a little bit more. Shoot…Most Improved.”
Brink immediately jumped in, saying, “That’s completely within your reach.”
Last year, the Most Improved Player award went to DiJonai Carrington, who took on a bigger role with the Connecticut Sun and managed to noticeably improve her production.
While Burrell may not have the advantage of taking on a full-time starting role with the Sparks, she will have a chance to claim a bigger role and translate the growth she showed in Unrivaled to the WNBA. Burrell has already consistently upped her production over her first three seasons. If that trend continues and the Sparks find success as a team, Brink’s prediction could come true.