LOS ANGELES — The Sparks know what is at stake with 10 games remaining in the regular season. The franchise, which is aiming to make the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, will begin a four-game homestand against the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Sparks, at 16-18, are currently one win out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the 13-team WNBA.
“We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?” first-year Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said after Tuesday’s practice. “And I love that we’re in that spot, but we’ll see how competitive we are. We’ll see how tough we are. We’ll see how present-minded we can be. This is the fun stuff, that’s why we get into it.”
LA Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said her team is hungry to make the playoffs.
Going into the last 10 games of the regular season, Coach Roberts said her team controls their own destiny.
Coach Roberts also talked about Kelsey Plum’s leadership role and Rae Burrell’s defense. pic.twitter.com/5qldN4BDjt
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) August 19, 2025
The Sparks are 2-0 against the Wings this season, including a less-than-comfortable 97-96 road victory last Friday when Sparks All-Star guard Kelsey Plum had a team-high 28 points. Dearica Hamby had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
At 9-26 overall, the Wings are the third-worst team in the league. Rookie All-Star guard Paige Bueckers is averaging 18.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft, scored a career-high 29 points in last week’s game against the Sparks.
Hamby shared her assessment of the Sparks going into the home stretch of their regular season. The Sparks started 5-13 before finding their recent groove, going 11-5 since July 5, which included winning eight of nine games between July 13 and Aug. 7.
“Obviously we feel like there’s some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on but can’t change the past,” Hamby said. “We have good momentum right now still. We’re still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time.”
The homestand continues against the Phoenix Mercury on Aug. 26, the Indiana Fever on Aug. 29 and the Washington Mystics on Aug. 31.
“It’s going to come down to intensity and defense,” Hamby said. “We said we’ve struggled with that through this season so we’re going to have to dial in on that.”
Dearica Hamby shared her assessment of the Sparks heading into the final 10 games of the regular season. @dearicamarie told me her team has to do what they have to do if they want to make the playoffs.
Sparks are 16-18 and one win out of the eighth and final playoff spot. pic.twitter.com/9MRPK6zX82
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) August 19, 2025
The Sparks are coming off a disappointing 95-86 loss to the Washington Mystics, in which a win would have moved them into sole possession of the league’s final playoff spot, which is currently occupied by the slumping Seattle Storm. Hamby had a team-high 26 points and seven assists in the defeat. Plum scored 25 points and forward Rickea Jackson added 17 points.
Guard/forward Rae Burrell, the team’s 2022 first-round draft pick, scored all 10 of the team’s bench points.
“Definitely just getting in and bringing that energy,” Burrell said. “I feel like everybody kind of knows I try to come in and bring that spark. Whatever that looks like, knocking down a (3-pointer) or getting some defensive stops. Wherever I can fit in where I feel like we’re lacking a little bit.”
Burrell, who is the Sparks’ longest-tenured player dating to 2022, said earning her first trip to the postseason would be amazing.
“It would mean so much,” Burrell continued. “I’ve obviously been wanting to make the playoffs since I got in the league so just being able to be a part of that with the top teams, just to experience that in the W, it would be amazing.”
WINGS (9-26) AT SPARKS (16-18)
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Rae Burrell, the Sparks’ longest tenured player dating back to 2022, shared her assessment of the team’s playoff push going into the final 10 games of the regular season.
Burrell also said her aggressive playing style comes from playing youth soccer. pic.twitter.com/QK0ua0w5RM
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) August 19, 2025