We’ve reached the final quarter of the 2025 regular season. The dust is starting to settle as we get closer to finding out which eight teams will participate in the playoffs.
The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx are seen as two of the top teams in the league, and it would not be a surprise to see these two teams face off in the WNBA Finals for a second consecutive year. Then, there are teams like the Atlanta Dream, Phoenix Mercury, and Las Vegas Aces that could play spoiler and challenge the Liberty and Lynx.
But, there is another team that can be a potential sleeper in the playoffs: the Los Angeles Sparks.
That may have been a shock to say in early July, but they have been arguably the biggest surprise in the second half of the season, turning into one of the best teams in the league during that span.
Turning Things Around
On July 10, after a 91-82 home loss to the Lynx, the Sparks dropped to 6-14 on the season. The team was in 11th place in the standings and still stuck searching for success since the end of the Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike era. At this point, the team could have simply folded and called the season another wasted year.
But then, they started to gain some momentum heading into the All-Star break. They proceeded to go on a five-game winning streak, which started right before the All-Star break and continued afterward.
In July, Los Angeles finished with a record of 6-3, and led the league in points per game (90.0 PPG), field goal percentage (48.9 percent), and three-point percentage (38.2 percent). Now, a month later, they have been able to carry their July success into August.
Since the 6-14 start to the season, the Los Angeles Sparks have won 11 out of the last 16 games, and scored at least 90 points in 11 of those games with a 10-1 record. This winning stretch includes two hard-fought road victories in two of their best games of the season: July 26 against the Liberty and August 1 against the Seattle Storm.
In that game against the New York, Breanna Stewart exited the game in the opening minutes due to a knee injury, and Sabrina Ionescu dropped 30 points on them, but the Sparks had five players score in double figures, and capped the game with a buzzer-beating bucket from Rickea Jackson, as they won 101-99.
Rickea Jackson hits wild game-winner to hold off Liberty 😳 pic.twitter.com/2EbDMJbQtg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 27, 2025
Six days later, in the game against the Storm, the Sparks overcame a 37-point, 12-rebound performance from Ogwumike to win 108-106 in double overtime. Four players—Jackson, Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, and Azurá Stevens—each scored at least 20 points, combining for 91 of the team’s 108 points. With seconds left in the second overtime period, Hamby scored the game-winning basket, resulting in the Sparks escaping Seattle with a victory.
DEARICA HAMBY THE FINISHER 🤫
Hamby caps off the win for the @LASparks in double over time with this bucket
Sparks defeat the Storm 108-106! pic.twitter.com/aOP0EVw58g
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 2, 2025
Reasons for the Turnaround
Los Angeles’ turnaround can be attributed to the four constant and consistent player presences: Hamby, Jackson, Stevens, and Plum. These four are the only players on the Sparks averaging double-digit points and who have played at least 30 games for the team in 2025.
Stevens, in particular, is in the midst of the best season of her WNBA career. She is averaging a career-high 13.8 PPG and a career-high 7.8 rebounds per game (RPG), while shooting a career-high 41.0 percent from three-point range. As a result, her name is in the conversation for this year’s Most Improved Player award.
The Los Angeles Sparks have a roster that has now come together and is fully healthy. Rae Burrell injured her knee in the team’s season opener on the road against the Golden State Valkyries and had to miss multiple weeks. Cameron Brink missed the first 25 games of the season due to a torn ACL she suffered last year. Both players returned in July and have provided depth and positive contributions from the bench.
Julie Allemand was one of the multiple players in the league who stepped away to represent their country in EuroBasket. Upon her return, Allemand was inserted into the starting lineup and has played very productively for the team.
Los Angeles did waive Odyssey Sims and Mercedes Russell during this season, but picked up Julie Vanloo—Allemand’s teammate on the Belgian national team—after she was let go by the Valkyries upon her return from EuroBasket. The Belgian duo of Vanloo and Allemand has helped take the pressure off of Plum’s shoulders when it comes to ball-handling and general production from the guard position.
Continuing to Fight
After Los Angeles’ rough start to the year, some questioned the direction and state of the franchise. Despite the big offseason acquisition of Plum, the season did not start off as planned due to injuries and poor team performances. In the process of getting Plum, the Sparks gave up the second overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and they also do not have a 2026 first-round pick.
But, under the leadership of the veteran players and head coach Lynne Roberts, the Los Angeles Sparks continued to fight.
Things started to click for Los Angeles, especially as the team got healthier. And now, the addition of Plum’s talent and championship experience is paying dividends for them. The franchise is in a better place than it was last season, when it finished with the worst record in the league at 8-32. Plum has been an assertive and committed leader for the Sparks, which was on display in their first game of the regular season when she scored 37 points on the road against the Valkyries.
It was also on display on August 20, when Plum hit a walkoff shot to beat the Dallas Wings 81-80 and spoil a historic 44-point performance by Paige Bueckers.
KELSEY PLUM BUZZER BEATER FOR THE WIN 🚨 pic.twitter.com/wvlsIjhDsn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 21, 2025
Who knows how high a seed the team could potentially get, especially with questions and concerns with the other teams around them in the standings. After starting 14-9—and at the time in fourth place in the standings—the Storm are 7-10 since the All-Star break and are now suddenly fighting to keep a playoff spot. The Valkyries lost Kayla Thornton, the team’s lone All-Star, for the rest of the year due to a knee injury, and the Fever have dealt with a plethora of injuries, particularly with Caitlin Clark and their guards.
But a key struggle for the Sparks has been defense; how will they hold up defensively? They have given up an average of 88.6 PPG this season, which is the most in the league. After their 6-14 start, they have allowed 90.4 PPG (also leading the league during this timeframe). The team has a potent offense, but they need to find a way to get more stops.
Also, going forward, how will the franchise approach the continued development of its two rookies, Sarah Ashlee Barker and Sania Feagin? Feagin has not played a lot this season, and Barker started the season as a regular member of the rotation before seeing her playing time significantly dwindle. While the Sparks will look to build on their 2025 resurgence for 2026 and beyond, an eye will also be kept on how impactful Barker and Feagin will be for the franchise in the future.
Now, in late August, Los Angeles is right there in contention for a playoff spot. Regardless of how their year ends, the Sparks have given themselves a chance to compete beyond the regular season. Playoffs or no playoffs, and with a wonderful blend of veterans and youth, the Los Angeles Sparks have shown that they have a bright future ahead and the potential to be a playoff threat for years to come.
Stats as of August 28. Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of WNBA.com.
