Nothing about Ariel Atkins’ fresh start with the Sparks has gone as planned.
Not one thing.
Kelsey Plum, the superstar guard she was supposed to pair with in the backcourt? Traded to the Mercury at the deadline.
Raegan Pebley, the general manager who took the big bet on Atkins? Fired weeks earlier.
And the team that talked about championship aspirations during training camp? Dropped to 10th place after losing to the Sky on Wednesday night.
Ownership now says they’re open to taking a step backward to move forward.
Atkins understands that uncertainty is part of the business. She also believes everything happens for a reason.
“It is what it is,” Atkins told the Sun-Times at shootaround Wednesday. “People move. I could not be here next year. I could have been a part of the [Plum] trade. You just never know with sports.
“Happy to still be here, just where my feet are and locking into who I want to be, not only as a basketball player but as a person. Just staying focused on that. Staying prayed up. Not being upset or angry.”
Atkins’ transition to the Sparks hasn’t been easy. Her scoring is down, and she is shooting a career-low 30.1% from three.
But everyone around the Sparks describes Atkins the same way her coaches and teammates did in Chicago: steady, coachable and too valuable defensively to take off the floor, even as she struggled to find her offense.
That offense began to come when she faced the Sky in late June, finishing with 17 points and six assists. Over the next seven games, Atkins averaged 11.7 points and four assists while shooting 35.1% from three on 5.3 attempts per game — numbers much closer to what she has produced throughout her career.
“I finally calmed down and started finding my way,” Atkins said.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts can see the difference in the way Atkins moves.
“It’s been fun to see her figure it out,” Roberts said. “You can physically see the burden off her shoulders in terms of trying so hard. Now she’s relaxing and playing in a much more efficient way.”
Atkins said at the start of the season that she considered re-signing with the Sky. But after a short stint in Chicago that also did not go as planned, she decided she needed a fresh start.
The Sparks believed her experience and defense could help push them toward contention. Now, nearly every Sparks player has to be wondering: Will this be a long-term home?
Atkins is the Sparks’ second-highest-paid player, with a $3.41 million deal that runs through 2028. But the person who signed her is gone.
Farhan Zaidi, special adviser to Sparks owner Mark Walter, recently told the Los Angeles Times that the organization has “to be open for anything” and that “everything has to be on the table.”
“We pushed in a lot of chips this year, and we had good reason to do that, but the reality is it hasn’t gone as we’d hoped or expected,” Zaidi said.
While the front office plots its next moves, Atkins is staying in the present. She is learning more about her new teammates — apparently they are Marvel crazy, so they went to see the new Spider-Man together. The day before facing the Sky, the team toured the Obama Presidential Center.
None of them doubted Atkins would find her footing.
“It just takes a little time to get your feet wet, chemistry with the girls and everything,” Sparks guard Rae Burrell told the Sun-Times. “We’ve been patient with her and believed in her from the jump.”