Former head coach Curt Miller and the Sparks parted ways after two injury-riddled seasons.
Magic Johnson, part of the six-person franchise group, promised more attention to help get Los Angeles back to championship level after finishing last season with an 8-32 record – the worst in the league.
And on Sunday afternoon, instead of receiving the good news that Johnson and Co. might have expected, the luck of the draw left Sparks representative Rickea Jackson gasping in disbelief instead of cheering with joy.
The Sparks, who have the highest odds in the 2025 WNBA draft lottery with a 44.2% chance of being selected first after finishing 25-55 the past two seasons, will go second overall in April.
The Dallas Wings, who had a 22.7% chance of being the No. 1 pick, jumped the Sparks and will select first. The Chicago Sky will finish third, while the Washington Mystics will finish fourth.
The Sparks are no strangers to the No. 2 pick.
Los Angeles selected Stanford forward Cameron Brink with the second selection in the 2024 WNBA draft. The 6-foot-1 star post provided team height in her 15 starts, averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per match, before suffering a season-ending torn ACL.
The Sparks, who last won a WNBA title in 2016, will have to move on from scouting potential No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers — Connecticut’s star guard — and turn their attention to other options.
Those other options, however, could keep local talent in Los Angeles.
USC graduate forward Kiki Iriafen – Brink’s former teammate at Stanford – is currently projected by ESPN as the likely second choice. Iriafen, a former Harvard-Westlake High star, is averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while playing alongside JuJu Watkins.
Lauren Betts of UCLA – who has at least one year of additional college credit – and Janiah Barker are also eligible if the Sparks opt for the local connection.
Other candidates likely in second place include Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd, Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles and Louisiana State forward Aneesah Morrow.
The second pick may be part of a roster that includes a healthy Brink, Jackson and Dearica Hamby, last season’s leading scorer.
Before the draft order was revealed on ESPN, Jackson talked about how she adjusted to the WNBA in her first year with the team.
“I was so grateful to have the coaches and teammates that I had,” Jackson said. “They kept pushing me. They stayed with me. But I was a rookie… [Cameron Brink] and I – unfortunately she passed away – but just the support system that I had, to keep pushing every day, meant a lot.
Miller, who joined the No. 1 overall pick Dallas Wings as general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations, will be given free rein in his first draft in the Lone Star State.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, is still without a coach and is looking for who will lead the franchise into a new era and have a say in the draft.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
