Last-place Sparks stun Liberty, rip talk of tanking

The Los Angeles Sparks are in last place in the WNBA standings. But as they showed with a 94-88 victory over the first-place New York Liberty on Wednesday, they haven’t thrown in the towel on this season to simply look ahead to 2025.

“If I have to read the word ‘tank’ one more time,” Los Angeles coach Curt Miller said, referring to speculation that the 7-24 Sparks were tanking to improve their 2025 draft position. “I mean, we are trying to get better, and we’re building something special. No team in this league is going to quit. With the two-year aggregate record [for draft lottery purposes], it’s silly to even talk about it.”

Miller was referring to the the WNBA’s draft lottery odds, which are are based on teams’ records over the last two seasons, not just one.

Also, because eight of the league’s 12 teams make the postseason, it’s not uncommon for all teams to at least theoretically be in the playoff mix until late in the season.

New York, which was without starting forward Jonquel Jones (illness), is still 26-6 but has lost two of its last three games. Before that, the Liberty had won eight in a row and 13 of their last 14.

The Sparks lost longtime star Nneka Ogwumike to free agency before the season. Then 2024 No. 2 overall draft pick Cameron Brink suffered a season-ending knee injury in June. Los Angeles wasn’t expected to be a playoff team and has missed the playoffs the last three years.

Still, Miller said the progress of No. 4 pick Rickea Jackson, who had 19 points Wednesday for the Sparks, and the positive attitude of his team are things on which to build.

Los Angeles had lost seven in a row before Wednesday and was coming off a game Sunday in which it scored 110 points but still fell to Dallas, which had 113. Dallas and Washington, the other WNBA teams besides the Sparks that have single-digit victory totals, all have beaten teams in playoff position in the last two days.

“It’s such a fine line between winning and losing in this league,” Miller said, “There are tremendous players top to bottom. Anyone can beat anyone.”