Derailed by injuries, the Sparks’ 2025 season has been anything but impressive. With an 8-14 record, the Sparks sit firmly outside the playoff picture and will face an uphill battle to beat out the Fever, Mystics, Aces, and Valkyries for one of the last postseason spots.
The Sparks suffered another blow when The Athletic’s future franchise rankings came out and Los Angeles finished eleventh in the overall ranking despite having All-Star-level veterans and two young players to build around.
The Sparks largely ranked so low because of their draft capital, poor performances from the ownership, and lacklustre facilities and amenities. However, if the Sparks can overcome those issues and convince Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby to re-sign after the season, they could still build a championship roster around the two veterans, Cameron Brink, and Rickea Jackson.
If the Sparks can’t retain Plum and Hamby, they have little going for them
The Sparks play in a massive market. They should be a destination for free agents. However, players increasingly prefer to play for teams with modern facilities and owners willing to spend money on the team. So, until the Sparks have that, they will have to work extra hard to keep around the top talent on their roster.
With second-year players Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, they have two young players to build around. Veteran All-Stars Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby are just as important to the Sparks’ future success, though. They are the Sparks’ two leading scorers and playmakers. Their championship experience will be invaluable when the Sparks get back to playoff contention.
However, both will be unrestricted free agents after the season and could leave LA. Replacing them would be incredibly difficult, especially considering that the Sparks gave up the second-overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to get Plum and don’t have a ton of high-end young talent outside of Brink and Jackson. The Sparks also don’t own their 2026 first-round pick. Seattle acquired that pick in 2024 in exchange for the fourth pick in that year’s draft and Kia Nurse.
Investing more money could easily make the Sparks a free-agent destination
One particular comment from The Athletic’s future franchise rankings should give the Sparks pause. In the front office/ ownership rankings, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman noted, “Owners have transformed other sports franchises, haven’t spent on Sparks.”
In recent years, the Sparks haven’t landed any top free agents. The best player they signed in free agency lately is Azura Stevens who joined the team in 2023. Plum and Hamby were both traded to the Sparks, and Brink and Jackson were drafted by LA.
Investing more money in the team could easily change that. The Sparks are fortunately planning to build a new practice facility, marking an important step in the right direction.