The Los Angeles Sparks have been going through some tough times. They have not been to the playoffs since 2020, marking the franchise‘s longest playoff drought as well as the currently longest one in the WNBA. After the 2024 draft things seemed to improve in Los Angeles.
The Sparks may have lost out on the number-one pick, but they got Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson—two incredibly talented players. Then, Brink tore her ACL and ended up only playing 15 games in her rookie season. The Sparks were quickly back at the bottom of the league, winning only eight games.
Losing like that is rough, but there is a silver lining. Losing for several seasons in a row dramatically increases a team‘s chance to win the draft lottery. Winning the lottery is the one thing that can make losing more bearable, and the Sparks had excellent chances to come out on top this time around. Only the Dallas Wings, who missed the playoffs and owned the right to swap picks with the Chicago Sky, had slightly better odds.
The Sparks were not granted the relief of winning the lottery. Dallas got the number one pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and with that, dibs on Paige Bueckers if she enters the draft.
Sparks narrowly lose out on number one pick once again
Calling the team with the second overall pick the biggest losers of the draft lottery may seem odd, and to be clear, this has nothing to do with the players who will be available when the Sparks make their selection. They will still land a great young prospect. It simply is because this is already the second year in a row the Sparks had their eyes on the number one pick only to have it snatched away at the last second. And this time, it happened after the team put together the worst regular season record in franchise history.
In 2024, the Sparks got great players but missed out on the chance to draft a generational talent who dramatically increased the Indiana Fever‘s popularity. Paige Bueckers could potentially have a similar impact to Caitlin Clark and the Sparks narrowly missed out on her as well.
Losing out on Bueckers may hurt even more than not landing Clark because of the players already on the roster this time around. Bueckers would have been the perfect fit with Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, giving the Sparks a big three and the perfect foundation for future success.
Several Sparks players were visibly shocked when they officially got the number two pick, and understandably so. Getting this close to winning the lottery twice only to miss out must hurt.
Drafting Bueckers could have catapulted the Sparks from the bottom of the league to one of the more popular teams in the W and given them a clear vision for the future.
With the second overall pick, that vision is not as clear. Most outlets project Kiki Iriafen to be the number two pick. She is a talented player and has chemistry with Brink from their days playing together at Stanford, but would be another forward on a team that needs strong guard play.