Los Angeles Sparks Franchise History
From Hoopedia
Established in 1997 as one eight original teams in the WNBA, the Los Angeles Sparks tipped off the WNBA Inaugural season on June 21, 1997 versus the New York Liberty at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. A crowd of 14,284 watched as Sparks guard Penny Toler scored the first basket in WNBA history enroute to a 67-57 victory over 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, and McWilliams-Franklin, the Sparks went on to tie a League record and franchise best 28 wins in the 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 point (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. 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 All-Star Chamique Holdsclaw. Holdsclaw lead the 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 blocked shots. 1 2005 All-Star, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk in a WNBA All-Star game. The Sparks 2005 season saw a struggle to get good momentum under head coach Henry Bibby. With 13 wins and 16 losses under Bibby's direction,, the Sparks needed a final push through the end of the season for playoff contention. Assistant coach Jo "Jellybean" Bryant took the head coaching reigns from Bibby and finished 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 they played the Monarchs. The 2005 team ended its tireless efforts in a defeat by the Monarch's for the second straight year.
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