2008 Los Angeles Sparks Season
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2008 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 12th season for the
Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
. The Sparks returned to the postseason for the first time since 2006.


Offseason

The following player was selected in the Expansion Draft: * LaToya Thomas Los Angeles Sparks


WNBA Draft

* On October 23, 2007. The WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick for the upcoming 2008 WNBA Draft.


Transactions

*April 24, The Sparks waived DeTrina White. *April 23 The Sparks waived Layla Schwarz due to injury. *April 22, The Sparks traded
Taj McWilliams-Franklin Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is a former American professional women's basketball player. A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has ...
and a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the
Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...
for
DeLisha Milton-Jones DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American a ...
. *April 21 The Sparks signed Tiina Sten to a training camp contract. *April 17 The Sparks signed Vaida Sipaviciute to a training camp contract. *April 15 The Sparks signed Lady Comfort to a training camp contract. *April 2 The Sparks signed
Olympia Scott Olympia Scott, formerly known under her married name of Olympia Scott-Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player in the WNBA, and a former college coach. She is also co-founder of an online parenting education company ...
to a training camp contract. *March 6, The Sparks signed Layla Schwarz, Liron Cohen and Brisa Silva to training camp contracts. *February 22 The Sparks signed free agent Marie Ferdinand-Harris. *February 21 The Sparks signed Jessica Moore and Raffaella Masciadri to training camp contracts.


Preseason


Regular season


Candace Parker

*Candace Parker scored 34 points, and set a league record for the most points in a WNBA debut. Parker added 12 rebounds to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the defending champion Phoenix Mercury 99–94 on Saturday 17. Parker, narrowly missed a triple-double with 12 rebounds and eight assists. The previous high in a WNBA debut was 25 points by Cynthia Cooper in 1997. *On May 29 against the Indiana Fever, Parker tallied the first-ever "5x5" performance in WNBA history, posting 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists and five steals. Parker had a career-best 40-point performance on July 9 against the Houston Comets. *On June 22, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks finished a breakaway late in a game against the Indiana Fever with a one handed slam. This marked just the second time that a player in the history of the WNBA had a slam dunk.


Malice at the Palace

*The Sparks–Shock brawl (also known as The Malice at the Palace II) was an altercation that occurred in a game between the
Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...
and
Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
on July 21, 2008, at
The Palace of Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena built in 1988 and located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shoc ...
. With 4.2 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
after
Plenette Pierson Plenette Michelle Pierson (born August 31, 1981) is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In the 2007 season, Pierson won the first ever S ...
made a hard block out after a
free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
on
Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...
. This was the second brawl to occur at the Palace, the other being the
Pacers–Pistons brawl The Malice at the Palace (also known as the Pacers–Pistons brawl) occurred during a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on Friday, November 19, 2004, at The Palace ...
.


Season standings


Season schedule


Player stats

''Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average''


Roster


Playoffs


Awards and honors

*
Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on F ...
, All WNBA First Team * Lisa Leslie, Led WNBA, Blocks (2.9 per game) * Lisa Leslie, All-WNBA Defensive First Team *
Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...
, WNBA Rookie of the Year *Candace Parker, WNBA MVP * Candace Parker, Forward, All-WNBA Rookie Team *Candace Parker, Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month award in May ''(For the month of May, she averaged 19.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in four games)'' *Candace Parker, Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month award in July ''(In the 12 games played in July she averaged 20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds per game and collected eight double-doubles)'' *Candace Parker, Led WNBA in double-doubles (17) *Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Points per game (18.5) Sports Illustrated, October 6, 2008, p.80) *Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Blocks per game (2.3) *Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Minutes per game (33.6) *Candace Parker, Led WNBA, Rebounds per game (9.5)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Los Angeles Sparks Season Los Angeles Sparks seasons
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...