2015 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2015 Los Angeles Sparks season was the franchise's 19th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the first full season under head coach Brian Agler. The season began on June 6, on the road against the Seattle Storm. The Sparks lost that game, and went on to lose all seven of their games in June. Their closest losses were on June 23 and June 26 against the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun. Both losses were by four points, but the Sun game went into overtime where the Sparks lost 80–76. The Sparks' first win of the season came on June 2 against the San Antonio Stars. The followed the win with a defeat of Tulsa. A five game losing streak followed the two wins. The streak started with an overtime loss against Phoenix. The Sparks ended the streak with a five-point win over Phoenix. The Sparks lost two games and won the final game of July to finish the month 4–7. The Sparks experienced a resurgence in August, winning their first three games of the month, which included an 83–61 victory over Minnesota. They would then lose to Minnesota and Seattle before winning four of their next five games. Their loss during this stretch was against Indiana. They achieved three of their five road wins during the streak. They lost to Tulsa and defeated San Antonio to end the month 8–4. They began September with home defeats of Washington and Tulsa and finished with road losses against Atlanta and Phoenix. The Sparks finished 2–2 in September to finish with a final record of 14–20.

Their 14–20 record earned them the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Therefore, they faced-off against first-seed Minnesota in the first round of the 2015 WNBA playoffs. During the regular season, the teams met four times, with Minnesota winning three match-ups. The first game was in Minnesota and the Sparks lost a close game 67–65. The series returned to Los Angeles, where the Sparks won 81–71 to force a third game. In the final game of the series, back in Minnesota, the Sparks were defeated 91–80 to end their season. Their fourteen total wins were their lowest since 2010, and this was their fourth straight playoff appearance.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Trades/Roster Changes

Roster

Source:

Game log

Preseason

|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 | May 27 | vs. Chicago | W 76–67 | Nneka Ogwumike (15) | Lavender, Ogwumike (10) | Erin Phillips (8) | Mohegan Sun Arena<br>3,947 | 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | May 28 | @ Connecticut | W 64–57 | Nneka Ogwumike (14) | Jantel Lavender (10) | Erin Phillips (7) | Mohegan Sun Arena<br>4,006 | 2–0

Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | June 6 | @ Seattle | L 61–86 | Alana Beard (20) | Jantel Lavender (12) | Erin Phillips (5) | KeyArena<br>9,686 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | June 14 | Seattle | L 54–60 | Jantel Lavender (12) | Jantel Lavender (9) | Erin Phillips (5) | Staples Center<br>12,148 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | June 16 | Minnesota | L 52–67 | Jantel Lavender (12) | Jantel Lavender (13) | Temeka Johnson (7) | Staples Center<br>6,968 | 0–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | June 21 | Connecticut | L 68–76 | Jantel Lavender (17) | Jantel Lavender (10) | Temeka Johnson (10) | Staples Center<br>6,875 | 0–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 5 | June 23 | @ Washington | L 80–84 | Jantel Lavender (18) | Jantel Lavender (9) | Temeka Johnson (10) | Capital One Arena<br>7,400 | 0–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | June 26 | @ Connecticut | L 76–80 (OT) | Jantel Lavender (22) | Jantel Lavender (12) | Temeka Johnson (4) | Mohegan Sun Arena<br>5,542 | 0–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | June 28 | @ New York | L 70–79 | Kristi Toliver (30) | Nneka Ogwumike (16) | Temeka Johnson (6) | Madison Square Garden<br>8,926 | 0–7

|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 8 | June 2 | San Antonio | W 86–81 | Nneka Ogwumike (27) | Jantel Lavender (10) | Temeka Johnson (5) | Staples Center<br>6,287 | 1–7 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 9 | June 3 | Tulsa | W 98–95 | Kristi Toliver (43) | Nneka Ogwumike (10) | Kristi Toliver (9) | Staples Center<br>6,358 | 2–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | June 5 | Phoenix | L 91–94 (OT) | Nneka Ogwumike (26) | Nneka Ogwumike (19) | Kristi Toliver (8) | Staples Center<br>9,069 | 2–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | June 8 | @ San Antonio | L 63–70 | Jantel Lavender (19) | Nneka Ogwumike (13) | Kristi Toliver (7) | Freeman Coliseum<br>3,100 | 2–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | June 11 | @ Tulsa | L 67–82 | Nneka Ogwumike (22) | Nneka Ogwumike (13) | Kristi Toliver (6) | BOK Center<br>6,144 | 2–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | June 15 | @ Seattle | L 61–68 | Nneka Ogwumike (12) | Nneka Ogwumike (7) | Temeka Johnson (6) | KeyArena<br>9,686 | 2–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 14 | June 16 | Atlanta | L 72–76 | Jantel Lavender (20) | Jantel Lavender (11) | Kristi Toliver (8) | Staples Center<br>14,510 | 2–12 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 15 | June 21 | Phoenix | W 70–65 | Jantel Lavender (19) | Jantel Lavender (11) | Dabović, Johnson (4) | Staples Center<br>7,146 | 3–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | June 22 | New York | L 53–59 | Kristi Toliver (16) | Nneka Ogwumike (8) | Erin Phillips (4) | Staples Center<br>7,354 | 3–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | June 29 | @ Minnesota | L 76–82 | Jantel Lavender (15) | Jantel Lavender (10) | Candace Parker (9) | Target Center<br>8,913 | 3–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 18 | June 31 | @ Chicago | W 88–77 | Candace Parker (31) | Candace Parker (9) | Johnson, Parker (4) | Allstate Arena<br>7,014 | 4–14

|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 19 | August 2 | @ San Antonio | W 80–78 | Jantel Lavender (20) | Candace Parker (11) | Alana Beard (7) | Freeman Coliseum<br>5,416 | 5–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 20 | August 4 | Minnesota | W 83–61 | Candace Parker (18) | Lavender, Parker (13) | Alana Beard (7) | Staples Center<br>8,746 | 6–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 21 | August 6 | Tulsa | W 84–57 | Nneka Ogwumike (26) | Candace Parker (12) | Candace Parker (6) | Staples Center<br>8,056 | 7–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 | August 9 | @ Minnesota | L 64–72 | Nneka Ogwumike (18) | Lavender, Parker (8) | Parker, Toliver (6) | Target Center<br>9,021 | 7–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | August 11 | Seattle | L 77–85 | Jantel Lavender(22) | Candace Parker (10) | Candace Parker (9) | Staples Center<br>8,068 | 7–16 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 24 | August 16 | Chicago | W 76–64 | Candace Parker (21) | Lavender, Parker (8) | Candace Parker (10) | Staples Center<br>9,053 | 8–16 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 25 | August 18 | Indiana | L 68–79 | Candace Parker (25) | Candace Parker (10) | Candace Parker (6) | Staples Center<br>7,046 | 8–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 26 | August 21 | @ Phoenix | W 78–68 | Candace Parker (26) | Jantel Lavender (11) | Lavender, Parker, Toliver (3) | US Airways Center<br>11,237 | 9–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 | August 23 | @ San Antonio | W 90–59 | Jantel Lavender (22) | Candace Parker (12) | Candace Parker (9) | Freeman Coliseum<br>3,972 | 10–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 28 | August 26 | @ Indiana | W 81–79 | Ana Dabović (18) | Candace Parker (10) | Candace Parker (9) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse<br>6,822 | 11–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 29 | August 28 | @ Tulsa | L 66–76 | Candace Parker (24) | Candace Parker (11) | Johnson, Parker, Toliver (4) | BOK Center<br>4,776 | 11–18 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 30 | August 30 | San Antonio | W 60–52 | Jantel Lavender (24) | Candace Parker (11) | Ana Dabović (6) | Staples Center<br>19,076 | 12–18

|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 31 | September 3 | Washington | W 93–91 | Candace Parker (26) | Candace Parker (11) | Candace Parker (6) | Staples Center<br>7,223 | 13–18 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 32 | September 6 | Tulsa | W 92–73 | Candace Parker (33) | Lavender, Ogwumike (9) | Kristi Toliver (6) | Staples Center<br>10,114 | 14–18 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | September 9 | @ Atlanta | L 60–90 | Jantel Lavender (14) | Abdi, Lavender (6) | Ana Dabović (8) | Philips Arena<br>3,856 | 14–19 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 34 | September 11 | @ Phoenix | L 65–70 | Jennifer Hamson (12) | Jennfier Hamson (7) | Ana Dabović (7) | US Airways Center<br>12,296 | 14–20

Playoffs

|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | September 18 | @ Minnesota | L 65–67 | Candace Parker (16) | Candace Parker (9) | Candace Parker (4) | Target Center<br>8,333 | 0–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | September 20 | Minnesota | W 81–71 | Candace Parker (25) | Candace Parker (10) | Ana Dabović (7) | Walter Pyramid<br>3,112 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | September 22 | @ Minnesota | L 80–91 | Candace Parker (28) | Candace Parker (13) | Ogwumike, Parker (4) | Target Center<br>9,014 | 1–2

Standings

Playoffs

Statistics

Source:

Regular season

Playoffs

Awards and honors

References

External links

• THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE LOS ANGELES SPARKS