Established in 1997 as one of eight original teams in the WNBA, Los Angeles tipped off the WNBA Inaugural season on June 21, 1997 versus the New York Liberty at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, CA. A crowd of 14,284 watched as Sparks guard Penny Toler scored the first basket in WNBA history enroute to a 67-57 victory for the Liberty. The League concluded the inaugural season with a league-wide attendance average of 10,207 fans per game. Los Angeles compiled an impressive 74-48 record in four seasons at the Great Western Forum before following their NBA counterparts, the Los Angeles Lakers, to STAPLES Center, located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
Led by former WNBA Coach of the Year, Michael Cooper, the Sparks went on to tie a League record and franchise best 28 wins in their WNBA debut at STAPLES Center in 2001. Posting a record-breaking 9-0 start to the 2001 campaign, Los Angeles completed the regular season undefeated at home with a WNBA best 16-0 mark. The Sparks also topped the League at No. 1 in points (76.3), defensive rebounds (.720), total rebounds (.39) and assists (18.3) per game and captured their first ever WNBA championship – sweeping the Eastern Conference Champion Charlotte Sting in the championship series. Former team point guard, Penny Toler retired from basketball in November 1999 to become the first WNBA player in the league’s history to go from the hardwood to the executive suite as General Manager of Player Personnel. She is also the fastest player-turned-manager in any men’s or women’s league to assemble a championship team (two years).
In 2002, the Sparks became the second team in WNBA history to repeat as Champions – going undefeated (6-0) through the playoffs en route to a sweep of the Eastern Conference Champion New York Liberty. The Los Angeles Sparks held an impressive 12-1 playoff record during their back-to-back championship seasons.
The 2003 season proved to be an injury riddled one for the Los Angeles Sparks. Resiliently, the Sparks overcame their injuries and went on to win the Western Conference Championship for a third consecutive season. The Sparks had a convincing Game 1 victory over the Detroit Shock 75-63. They were then faced with the scenario of trying to become the first team in WNBA history to win the Championship on the road. This feat nearly came to fruition as the Sparks overcame a 19 point deficit in Game 2 at Detroit; however, the Shock pulled out the nail-biter 62-61 to force a deciding Game 3. The championship game, held at The Palace at Auburn Hills, proved to be a historic event as it was home to the largest crowd in WNBA history – 22,076. The Detroit Shock’s victory was sealed by Deanna Nolan's three-point basket with 53 seconds remaining and perfect free throw shooting down the stretch.
The 2004 Sparks continued their impressive streak of playoff appearances by making it to postseason play for the sixth-straight year with a 25-9 regular-season record. However, the Sacramento Monarchs ended the Sparks’ chances of repeating as Western Conference Champions with a first-round series victory over Los Angeles. 2004 WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie led the league in rebounds per game and was third in scoring. Leslie and teammate Nikki Teasley each received All-WNBA recognition.
2005 introduced Los Angeles to 6-time WNBA All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw, who led the ’05 Sparks in points, free throws made and consistently ranked in the top three in the league for points, minutes, and field goals. Sparks veteran Lisa Leslie continued to impress fans in Los Angeles with her 15.2 points per game and 71 total blocked shots. A 2005 All-Star, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk in a WNBA All-Star game. With 13 wins and 16 losses under head coach Henry Bibby, assistant coach Joe “Jellybean” Bryant took over for the final five games (4-1) allowing the team to finish squarely at .500 (17-17). With a perfectly split record, the Sparks caught a glimpse of the postseason as their tireless efforts were outmatched by the Monarch’s for the second straight year.
2006 proved to be a historical year for the Sparks as players reached career milestones and as the organization changed ownership. Lisa Leslie became the first WNBA player to reach 5,000 career points and was named the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player for a career three times. Leslie’s copious career was honored in an on-court celebration in which then-team president Johnny Buss dedicated the court to the record-breaking center. Milestones by the Sparks did not cease there. In a historical presentation, Penny Toler’s decade of involvement with the Sparks as an exceptional player and as a dedicated General Manager, was recognized when her No. 11 jersey was retired during a Sparks game, marking the first female jersey to be retired at STAPLES Center. With Coach Bryant at the helm, the 2006 Sparks boasted a 25-9 regular season record and came back to beat the Seattle Storm after a first game loss in the Western Conference Semi-finals. The Sparks concluded the ’06 season when they were defeated at the Honda Center, formerly the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, when the Sacramento Monarchs came to visit in a battle to advance to the WNBA Finals.
After a decade of commitment, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Buss family sold the Sparks to a group of investors led by Carla Christofferson and Katherine Goodman. Fans themselves, Christofferson and Goodman are tenaciously focused on captivating Sparks fans through new and exclusive experiences. First order of business for the new owners was bringing back dynamic coach Michael Cooper to the Sparks. The Sparks are now one of seven WNBA teams to be owned and operated independently of NBA teams.
The 2007 season had its share of ups-and-downs. With Coach Cooper in place but star center and team captain Lisa Leslie not with the team, other players worked to fill the void. The team was hit by another surprise when star forward Chamique Holdsclaw announced her abrupt retirement from the WNBA just five games into the season. The 2007 season ended with the Sparks finishing with the worst regular-season record in the league and franchise history at 10-24 and for the first time in nine seasons the team failed to make the playoffs. One bright spot in the 2007 season was the spectacular play of rookie Sidney Spencer who led the Sparks in points (327), led WNBA rookies in free-throw percentage (88.1%), and in double-doubles (2).
The 2008 season brought excitement back to Los Angeles. After a disappointing season in 2007, the Sparks looked on paper like the best team in the WNBA with the return of three-time MVP Lisa Leslie and all-star forward DeLisha Milton-Jones. The addition of rookie sensation Candace Parker had Sparks fans seeing their third WNBA Championship coming in the fall of 2008. The Sparks were lead all season long by the big three as Parker led the team in scoring (18.5ppg) and rebounds (9.5rpg), Leslie chipped in 15.5 ppg and led the team in blocked shots (3.1bpg), Milton-Jones was also solid averaging 13.9 ppg and 6.3 rebounds. The Sparks finished the regular season in third place in the Western Conference and had returned to the playoffs. The Sparks took on the Seattle Storm in the first round and won the series 2-1 and were back in the Western Conference Finals. Fate had a different plan for the Sparks as it seemed they were only 1.3 seconds away from returning to the WNBA Finals when the San Antonio Silver Stars converted on a game winning basket. The Sparks lost game three in San Antonio and just like that, the season was over. Although the Sparks did not win their third WNBA Championship, they did take home three of the most prestigious individual league awards. Lisa Leslie won the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year award and Candace Parker became the first player in WNBA history to win both the Rookie of the Year award and the league MVP award in the same year. The Sparks finished 2008 with a 20-14 regular season record and look to next year with one goal in mind, bringing a WNBA Championship back to Los Angeles.
