LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Sparks fired head coach Lynne Roberts on Friday morning, according to team officials.
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Roberts, who joined the Sparks after coaching the University of Utah for 10 seasons, went 37-51 in two seasons without making the playoffs.
She was let go less than 24 hours after the season ended with a 76-75 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. The Sparks finished the season 16-28 and missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive season, which is a franchise record.
“We are grateful to Lynne for the commitment and determination she brought to the role, which was evident all the way through our last game last night,” Sparks Special Advisor Farhan Zaidi said in a press release. “Lynne has cared deeply about our organization and for our players and their development. We sincerely thank her for everything she has invested in the Sparks and wish her and her family the best moving forward.”
After what ended up being her final game, Roberts openly evaluated her two seasons.
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“I’m proud of our culture in terms of these guys play their asses off, they do,” Roberts explained. “I think that’s the first sign of or the first thing you need to look at when you’re evaluating how you did as a coach is how did your team compete.”
“There was so much change and injuries and all the things but am I satisfied. No, but you can only control what you can control and that’s a tough lesson in life but I’ve learned it many times. And so myself and our coaching staff, we did everything we could to control what we can control and poured ourselves into this thing,” Roberts continued. “The players met us halfway, so I’ll have a better answer in time, in terms of perspective. Time kind of gives you a better perspective. There’s already things that I wish I could go back and change or tweak or whatever, but the moment I stop doing that I need to retire and I don’t want to retire.”
Before Thursday’s season finale, Roberts told reporters that she believed she had done enough to remain the team’s head coach next season.
“I think I have,” Roberts said. “I think again, we’ve had two tough years of injuries and I’m not trying to blame anything on that. It’s just the reality … and I think what this (organization) needs is some stability, a vision and direction, like a plan. Not that we haven’t had one, but I think now that we’ve got people in place, just give us a goal post and we’ll march down the field in that way.”
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