MA VoepelESPN.com11:49 AM ET4 Minute Read
The latest free-agent signing for the Los Angeles Sparks is also the biggest. Forward Nneka Ogwumike, the 2016 league MVP who has spent her 11-year WNBA career with the Sparks since being drafted No. 1 in 2012, has officially signed a new contract with the team.
Terms were not disclosed by the Sparks, but a source confirmed that Ogwumike, 32, has a one-year, $165,000 contract. It’s considerably less than the $234,936 supermax, but Ogwumike was willing to do so to help the Sparks juggle salary cap issues.
They currently have two pregnant players in their squad, forwards Dearica Hamby and Katie Lou Samuelson. Hamby, who is due in March, is expected to play in 2023 while Samuelson, who is due in August, is not. Los Angeles also recently lost Stephanie Talbot, who was signed by Free Agent, for the season to a knee injury she sustained while playing overseas.
Ogwumike’s signing came as no surprise as she had previously spoken of her intention to return. But the timing was strategic as she has worked with Sparks general manager Karen Bryant, assistant GM Eli Horowitz and coach Curt Miller on a new direction for the Sparks and has remained flexible due to the salary cap.
Ogwumike, a five-time first-team or second-team All-WNBA and five-time defensive all, has averaged 16.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in her WNBA career.
“I feel like I’m reaching a turning point in my career and I understand what I’m trying to say,” Ogwumike told ESPN. “I’m excited to see many of the improvements we’re making. I’m grateful to be surrounded by players, coaches and staff who have a bigger vision for the organization.
“I feel really good about where I am and how I’m progressing as an athlete. I want to be able to win and do it with some great people. I really believe in this organization.”
The Sparks, an original WNBA franchise dating back to the league’s start in 1997, have won three championships, most recently in 2016. But the team has won 12-20 and 13-23 in the last two seasons and the playoffs in back-to-back Years missed the first time since 1997-1998.
Coach/GM Derek Fisher was fired last June, center Liz Cambage – who signed as a free agent earlier in the year – left the team in July, and the Sparks finished the season under interim coach Fred Williams.
Miller, who has served as the Connecticut Sun’s head coach for the past seven years and led them to the 2019 and 2022 WNBA Finals, joined the Sparks last October. Bryant, a longtime former Seattle Storm executive, joined Sparks in 2021 as a strategic advisor and became chief administrative officer and GM in January.
Both said Ogwumike’s input was essential to the offseason moves.
“She’s had a front-row seat in the franchise for many years and seen the things that worked and the things that didn’t,” Bryant said. “Their global perspective, gaming experience and credibility have been tremendously valuable to us.”
Miller said that Ogwumike’s presence with the Sparks was a big reason he joined the franchise. He previously worked with her as an assistant coach in Los Angeles in 2015.
“The discussions with Nneka and the collaboration that we’ve had — we wanted to do this with players who really want to be in the Sparks,” Miller said. “This is a fun new era and Nneka is at the heart of what we’re going to try. Your communication throughout this free agency has been an incredible partnership.
“And she’s an outstanding, all-round player. She probably doesn’t get the recognition she deserves for being so versatile.”
In January, the Sparks received veteran guard Jasmine Thomas and the No. 10 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft in a Connecticut trade. They also made a trade with the Las Vegas Aces for Hamby and a 2024 first round pick. Hamby was part of the Aces championship roster last year.
The Sparks signed free agents Azurá Stevens, Talbot and Chiney Ogwumike, Nneka’s sister. The Sparks then signed China guard Yang Liwei to a rookie deal following Talbot’s injury. Jordin Canada, Reshanda Gray and Katie Lou’s sister Karlie Samuelson have signed training camp contracts.
Chiney Ogwumike previously played for Miller in Connecticut. The Ogwumike sisters played two seasons together for the Stanford Cardinal, and both have been with the Sparks since 2019.
“We really are two entities that are stronger together,” Nneka said. “It’s always something that needs to be celebrated. And I really want to take that to another level by winning with my sister.”
Nneka Ogwumike has been a key figure not only for the Sparks, but also for the WNBA as President of the Players’ Union Executive Committee. She was involved in the negotiations for the 2020 collective agreement, which has initiated much more active, free design periods over the past three years.
This year’s free-agent moves, such as Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot to the New York Liberty and Candace Parker to the Aces, kickstarted discussion of the recent era of WNBA super teams. Ogwumike said she approached the free hand differently: instead of looking at where else she could go, she focused on helping the Sparks be a target team again.
“It was really a breath of fresh air, a revelation in many ways,” she said of the organizational changes. “I consider myself a student of many things and love to surround myself with people who challenge me and are committed to critical thinking and strategic development.
“I almost feel like part of me went dormant for a while, and now I’m reawakening that visionary part of me.”