THERE ARE NO SPARKS IN THE CITY

THE LOS ANGELES SPARKS

It’s time we have a serious talk about the Los Angeles Sparks. From losing to the 9-25 Connecticut Sun, having SIX back-to-back losing seasons, making the mind-boggling Kelsey Plum trade, the absolute inability to fill seats in Crypto, moving games to college stadiums, failing to make playoffs with a stunning collection of talent – it is feeling VERY “Trust the Process” circa 2012-2013. And as someone who worked for the Sixers during that time, I assure you that is not something anyone should want to emulate. 

Crypto’s Empty

It seems unfathomable to me that in 2026, when interest in WNBA has skyrocketed to the point that the WNBA All-Star Game outdrew the NBA All-Star Game, a team that quite literally kicked off the entire WNBA in 1996, and has rich history of star players, cannot fill the seats in Crypto. As a season ticket holder for the last two years, it is depressing in that arena, and it’s not due to lack of talent on the team. This is an upper management issue, a front office that seems to place little value on the product in front of them. It is jarring to me that the Valkyries have sold out every home game from INAUGURAL season to date (which has been so impressive they are now hosting the 2027 WNBA All-Star Game for the first time), but during the 30 year anniversary of the League, the Sparks are averaging 12,778 fans per game in an arena that holds 19,067 fans and is still outsourcing at least one game a season to a local college arena to make room for “better” events. Meanwhile, the New York Liberty’s front office, a clear sister market to LA, has figured out the secret sauce (AKA investing in your team) to averaging nearly 16,500 fans per game. They got fresh uniform colors and a new logo in 2020, a mascot with her own Instagram following, and front office leadership who led the charge to get private flights for their team. So why isn’t the Sparks’ front office taking a page from the Liberty or even the Valkyries up north? Why would a team, in one of the largest markets in the world, with a rich history and exciting talent, during a time when the WNBA is on a generational run, continue to fail to invest in proper marketing and business strategies to grow? If their plan is truly a “Trust the Process” situation, I guess that worked out fine for the Sixers with getting Lebron and some actual playoff contention THIRTEEN YEARS LATER! 

Also, sorry to throw shade at you Sparky, but you are part of the problem. First, why is this mascot not a female? No shade to my fellow men who also love the WNBA (we are happy to have most of you) but the trend in the WNBA right now is female mascots and it seems to be catching like wildfire. Second, the name is “Sparky” when “Sparkle” was quite literally right there and LA is the home of Hollywood, the city of “Stars”. Not to mention a mascot that is exciting and sparkly opens the door wide open for better partnerships with every makeup and nail brand under the sun and Sephora has been making major waves in investing in women’s sports – just look at the entire Unrivaled Arena. But hey, just another thing for the front office to think about… if they felt like thinking.

Losing

Another “Trust the Process” vibe going for the Sparks is that they haven’t had a winning season since 2020!!!!! (Not to mention they are currently days away from being eliminated from yet another playoff berth). During this six year losing streak  the Sparks have had insane  talent consisting of Nneka Ogwumike (11x WNBA All-Star, WNBA MVP, and who has just announced her retirement – thank you for everything you’ve done for the League, Nneka!), Kelsey Plum (2x WNBA Champion, 5x WNBA All-Star), Cameron Brink (2024 Lisa Leslie Award Winner), Dearica Hamby (3x WNBA All-Star), Ariel Atkins (WNBA Champion, 2x WNBA All-Star) Kristi Toliver (2x WNBA Champion), Chiney Ogwumike (WNBA Rookie of the Year), Jordin Canada (2x WNBA Champion and Steals Leader), Kia Nurse (WNBA All Star), and this list does not include all the amazing players who do the intangibles that don’t always show up on a stat sheet (looking at Erica Wheeler & Rae Burrell, for example). So, again what is going on here? 

I truly believe all these issues (losing, lack of interest in the team, failure to fill seats) are tied together and start from the top down. But if the front office was interested in putting out a great product my number one question for them, amid everything stated above, is WHY IS LISA LESLIE NOT THE HEAD COACH?! It’s time for Lynne Roberts to go (it was really never her time, to be honest). No one is more qualified, nor understands the history and culture of the Los Angeles Sparks better than Lisa Leslie. The players respect her, and the city loves her. Getting Lisa would not only make this team better but would also put butts in seats because fans would come out for her alone. The front office should be doing everything in their power to make this happen. 

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

In the early morning hours of Sunday August 2nd, I woke up to gut wrenching news that the Sparks  traded Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury. On August 2nd the Sparks were still RIGHT on the cusp of a play-off berth and now will most certainly be eliminated this week. So why did the Sparks do this? The answer comes back to “Trust The Process”. The Sparks traded Plum for Monique Akoa Makani, a 2027 first round pick and a 2028 second round pick, which sounds good, if the Sparks weren’t literally about to make the playoffs this year. It is clear the Sparks are focused on a “rebuild” but that to me means we will probably lose Cameron Brink, and now Nneka has retired. Again, after living through a Sixers rebuild, I am not a fan of the “rebuild”. While sometimes a rebuild is a necessary evil, I do not think it should come at the expense of throwing away current good opportunities for what could maybe pan out in the future, but that’s just me. Trading one of your best players in the dead of night when you were in 9th out of an 8-team playoff berth in a soon to be 16 team league is sketchy to me. 

IN THE CITY

On to my next issue. If there’s “No Sparks in the City”, then Los Angeles isn’t the only City with a lack of sparks. Bravo’s In the City’s first season failed to provide the spark Summer House brings year after year, and proceeded to push an entire story line on the lack of sparks. 

We spent pretty much this entire season doing one of three things: (1) rehashing the Kyle, Amanda, West drama (West isn’t even ON this show); (2) listening to Whitney cry over the “no sparks” between her and Kenny rumor while Gavin told her she’s boring; and (3) watching Lindsay and Danielle battle it out over nonsense just to become off screen besties YET AGAIN. No wonder Kenny was worried about sparks, the audience was too.

The situation on ITC isn’t too far off from what is going on with the LA Sparks. ITC has a team of reality TV vets with a long list of experience and yet the show still failed to bring in any substantial interest.  The only thing “new” about this show was the season it took place in. The story lines were drab, the cast trip uninspiring, Amanda and West story line stolen from Summer House, and Danielle and Lindsay’s beef hit like reheated nachos. However, unlike the Sparks, ITC is in their Rookie season, so growing pains are to be expected, and ITC could actually benefit from a trade – perhaps dropping Amanda for Carl. 

If Whitney does some training this offseason and comes back with a stronger voice, Kyle figures out how get us invested again in Loverboy, Lindsay continues being Lindsay and lets the “Milkman” make a reappearance, and Bravo markets ITC as its own thing separate and distinct from Summer House (not just because it takes place in a different season, the fall), there is some hope. Hopefully ITC’s front office doesn’t spend the next 5 years in a “Trust The Process” phase.