Azura Stevens is in the middle of a career season with the Los Angeles Sparks. She is averaging career highs all across the board with 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.
She has also come a long way as a 3-point shooter. Stevens was a solid 3-point shooter before, shooting 35.7 percent for her career. This season, she is shooting 42.3 percent on 4.4 attempts per game, marking a 10 percent increase compared to her last fully healthy season in 2023.
With those numbers, Stevens is one of the prime candidates for the Most Improved Player award.
Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts thinks Stevens still has another level to reach despite already improving drastically.
After a close 97-96 win over the Dallas Wings, Roberts said, “She [Azura Stevens] has gotten herself to another level and…it’s not the ceiling. There’s more there for her to get to.”
Azura Stevens is a huge part of the Sparks’ success
The Sparks are making a strong, late-season push for the playoffs. They have won eleven of their last fifteen games, beating New York, Seattle, and Indiana on the way. After some initial struggles, the Sparks’ offense has been firing on all cylinders.
Stevens has been a big part of that success. She is the team’s third-leading scorer behind Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby and leads all Sparks players in rebounds and blocks per game. Cameron Brink, who has only played seven games so far, is coming for the latter distinction, though.
Stevens is also the best volume 3-point shooter on the team. Five players are shooting at least 40 percent for the season. Stevens is the only one of those players who attempts more than three 3-pointers per game. Only Kelsey Plum takes more shots from long distance, but she only converts 36.5 percent.
Over the last fifteen games, Stevens scored 21 points three times and recorded three double-doubles. She also only shot fewer than 37 percent from three once over that stretch. Stevens’ improved 3-point shooting allows her to space the floor, creating room for Dearica Hamby to get to work in the paint and for Kelsey Plum and Rickea Jackson to attack the rim.
If the Sparks make the playoffs, Stevens will be a big reason why.
The Sparks should make sure that Stevens reaches the next level in Los Angeles
Like pretty much every veteran in the league, Azura Stevens will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Re-signing her, Plum, Hamby, and Allemand should be one of the team’s offseason priorities, especially if Roberts truly believes that Stevens can reach yet another level.
Stevens was already on the brink of being named an All-Star this season. If she continues to improve, like Roberts believes, seeing her at the All-Star Game will be inevitable. So, the Sparks should make sure that Stevens continues her development in Los Angeles.