LOS ANGELES — Nneka Ogwumike is not going down without a fight.
Even though she’s two games away from retiring from the WNBA, she’s averaging 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds, both above her career averages (16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds), for one of the best seasons in her illustrious 15-year career.
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The Sparks (16-26) will play their final road game of the season against the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday.
“I just want to be healthy, compete, play to win,” Ogwumike said. “We leave for Vegas (Monday), and I think that’s a really great team to play at the end of the season. I think it will be a really good barometer for the future.”
Ogwumike said her legacy, which includes being the President of Women’s National Basketball Player’s Association during two historic contract negotiations, is not yet etched in stone.
“I think because people ask me about it, especially since my announcement, I do reflect on it a bit, but I think the more I get asked about it, the more I think I can’t necessarily determine what that is,” Ogwumike said. “In the same way where we experienced Lisa (Sunday), we can come out and say this is Lisa’s legacy, but her legacy was all of us. All of us here. Everybody that was celebrating her. To me, that’s what legacy is. That’s the type of throughline, that type of bloodline really that withstands the test of time. So, maybe in another 15 years we’ll know what that is for me, but today I’m an LA Spark, and I’m playing to win.”
Los Angeles is coming off a convincing 105-84 home win over the Portland Fire Sunday, which coincidentally locked the franchise into the sixth- and seventh-best lottery odds in the 2027 WNBA Draft, when USC star and Los Angeles native JuJu Watkins will be the presumed No. 1 pick if she declares.
Ogwumike, an 11-time All-Star, became the fourth player in league history to score 8,000 career points. The Sparks’ all-time leading scorer recorded her 18th double-double of the season, her most in a single season, and finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Guard Rae Burrell also scored 20 points. Guard Ariel Atkins scored 14. Rookie guard Chance Gray scored a career-high 11. Veteran forward Emma Cannon, the team’s elder stateswoman at 37, scored a season-high 10 points in the first half and started in place of interior stalwart Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink, the team’s primary post reserve, who were both out with injuries. Hamby, Brink and guard Aaliyah Nye could also miss Tuesday’s game.
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The Sparks bench against the Fire was comprised of five rookies, Gray, Tonie Morgan, Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda, Jihun Park, Shyanne Sellers, and second-year guard Monique Akoa Makani.
“The rookies and the newbies, they’re all my little babies,” Cannon said, “and it’s something about just competing every day, showing up and putting your best foot forward. That’s something that I’ve been trying to teach them and tell them that you’re not going to get all the minutes, but you have to be ready when your number is called. So you definitely go out there every day, and you practice, and you play like you are a starter so that when your number is called, you go in and you compete, and you do the best you can do. So I’m proud of them. This is just a stepping stone for them. This is their foundation. They’re just getting their feet wet, so I’m excited for their future.”
The Sparks shot 53.2% from the field on 33-of-62 attempts, 48.3% from beyond the arc (14 made 3s), and 86.2% from the free-throw line (25 of 29).
Las Vegas (29-13) is coming off a 98-77 victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday. Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 30 points. All-Star Jackie Young scored 23 points. Former Spark Chelsea Gray added 15 points.
The Sparks will host the playoff-bound Golden State Valkyries in a season finale on Thursday, which will also serve as Ogwumike’s retirement celebration and the 2016 championship anniversary night, the season when the No. 1 pick in the 2012 Draft was named the league’s MVP.
“That last game is going to be a lot,” Ogwumike explained. “It’s not just about what I got going on, but we’re also going to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of our championship, so I’m very excited about that. It’s probably going to be crazy. I have like 200 family and friends coming, so you guys will meet a lot of people, but I just want to stay grateful and present.”
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SPARKS (16-26) AT LAS VEGAS (29-13)
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas
TV: ESPN