Former head coach Curt Miller and the Sparks have parted ways after two seasons marked by injuries.
Magic Johnson, who is part of the franchise’s group of six owners, promised increased attention to help get Los Angeles back to championship contention after finishing last season with an 8-32 record — the worst in the league.
And on Sunday afternoon, instead of receiving the good news Johnson and Co. might have expected, the luck of the draw left Sparks representative Rickea Jackson gasping in disbelief instead of cheering of joy.
The Sparks, who hold the highest odds in the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery with a 44.2% chance of being selected first after finishing 25-55 over the past two seasons, will be drafted second overall in April .
The Dallas Wings, who had a 22.7% chance of landing the No. 1 pick, moved ahead of the Sparks and will select first. The Chicago Sky will pick third, while the Washington Mystics will pick fourth.
The Sparks are no strangers to the No. 2 pick.
Los Angeles has selected Stanford forward Cameron Brink with the second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. The 6-foot-4 star post provided the team with length in his 15 starts, averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game before suffering a season-ending ACL tear.
The Sparks, who last won a WNBA title in 2016, will need to move away from potential No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers — Connecticut’s star guard — and focus their attention on other options.
These other options, however, could retain local talent in Los Angeles.
USC graduate forward Kiki Iriafen – Brink’s former teammate at Stanford – is currently projected by ESPN as the likely second pick. Iriafen, a former Harvard-Westlake High star, averages 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game when playing alongside JuJu Watkins.
UCLA’s Lauren Betts — who holds at least one more year of college eligibility — and Janiah Barker, are also draft eligible if the Sparks go with the local connection.
Other prospects likely available at No. 2 overall include Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd, Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles and Louisiana State forward Aneesah Morrow.
The second pick will potentially join a roster that includes Brink, Jackson and Dearica Hamby, last season’s leading scorer, healthy.
Before the draft call-up was revealed on ESPN, Jackson explained how she adjusted to the WNBA during her first year with the team.
“I was so grateful to have the coaches and teammates that I had,” Jackson said. “They kept pushing me. They stayed on me. But I was a rookie…(Cameron Brink) and I – unfortunately, she fell – but just having that support system that I had, to keep pushing every day, it meant a lot.
Miller, who joined the No. 1 Dallas Wings as general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations, has free rein in his first draft in the Lone Star State.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, is still without a coach, figuring out who will lead the franchise into its new era and have a say in the draft.
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
