The 2008 Los Angeles Sparks season was the 12th season for the Los Angeles Sparks . The Sparks returned to the postseason for the first time since 2006.
Offseason [ edit ]
The following player was selected in the Expansion Draft:
LaToya Thomas Los Angeles Sparks
[ 1]
WNBA Draft [ edit ]
On October 23, 2007. The WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick for the upcoming 2008 WNBA Draft.
[ 2]
Transactions [ edit ]
April 24, The Sparks waived DeTrina White.
April 23 The Sparks waived Layla Schwarz.
April 22, The Sparks traded Taj McWilliams-Franklin and a first-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics for DeLisha Milton-Jones .
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 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.
[ 3]
Preseason [ edit ]
Date
Opponent
Score
Result
Record
May 3
@ Atlanta
86-80
Win
1-0
May 8
@ Chicago
84-68
Win
2-0
May 11
@ Minnesota
106-105 (2OT)
Win
3-0
[ 4]
Regular season [ edit ]
Candace Parker [ edit ]
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.[ 5]
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.[ 6] 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 [ edit ]
Season standings [ edit ]
Season Schedule [ edit ]
Date
Opponent
Score
Result
Record
May 17
@ Phoenix
99-94
Win
1-0
May 25
@ Atlanta
74-56
Win
2-0
May 29
@ Indiana
78-82 (2OT)
Loss
2-1
May 31
@ Washington
70-59
Win
3-1
June 3
@ Chicago
81-77 (OT)
Win
4-1
June 6
vs. Phoenix
79-85
Loss
4-2
June 11
vs. Detroit
80-73
Win
5-2
June 13
vs. Connecticut
98-93 (OT)
Win
6-2
June 14
@ Sacramento
74-66
Win
7-2
June 18
vs. Chicago
80-67
Win
8-2
June 20
@ San Antonio
75-77
Loss
8-3
June 22
vs. Indiana
77-63
Win
9-3
June 24
vs. Seattle
76-62
Win
10-3
June 26
vs. Washington
74-77 (OT)
Loss
10-4
July 1
vs. New York
78-89
Loss
10-5
July 3
vs. Minnesota
70-88
Loss
10-6
July 6
vs. Phoenix
91-80
Win
11-6
July 9
vs. Houston
82-74(OT)
Win
12-6
July 10
@ Sacramento
69-87
Loss
12-7
July 12
@ Seattle
52-70
Loss
12-8
July 14
vs. San Antonio
75-62
Win
13-8
July 17
@ Phoenix
92-99
Loss
13-9
July 19
@ Houston
72-75(OT)
Loss
13-10
July 22
@ Detroit
84-81
Win
14-10
July 24
@ Connecticut
61-87
Loss
14-11
July 25
@ New York
68-69
Loss
14-12
July 27
@ Minnesota
92-84(OT)
Win
15-12
August 28
vs. Sacramento
78-63
Win
16-12
August 30
vs. San Antonio
58-53
Win
17-12
September 1
vs. Minnesota
82-58
Win
18-12
September 5
@ San Antonio
58-76
Loss
18-13
September 6
@ Houston
84-66
Win
19-13
September 11
vs. Atlanta
72-83
Loss
19-14
September 14
vs. Seattle
65-48
Win
20-14
[ 7]
Player stats [ edit ]
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
Player
GP
MPG
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
APG
Shannon Bobbitt
Lisa Leslie[ 8]
33
32.1
8.9
2.4
1.5
2.9
15.1
Marie Ferdinand-Harris[ 9]
33
20.6
2.6
1.3
0.8
0.1
8.4
DeLisha Milton-Jones
7
230
50
15
7
5
Raffaella Masciardi
5
102
11
6
1
0
Muriel Page
Candace Parker[ 10]
33
33.6
9.5
3.4
1.3
2.3
18.5
Sidney Spencer[ 11]
33
13.7
1.9
0.6
0.4
0.1
5.3
[ 12]
Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
From
1.0 ! PG
6
USA !
Bobbitt, Shannon
62 ! 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
130 lb (59 kg)
Tennessee
1.0 ! PG
4
USA !
Brown, Kiesha
70 ! 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
134 lb (61 kg)
Georgia
6.0 ! C
12
POL !
Dydek, Margo
86 ! 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
223 lb (101 kg)
Poland
2.0 ! SG
24
USA !
Ferdinand-Harris, Marie
69 ! 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
153 lb (69 kg)
LSU
1.0 ! PG
2
USA !
Johnson, Temeka
63 ! 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)
132 lb (60 kg)
LSU
6.0 ! C
9
USA !
Leslie, Lisa (C)
77 ! 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Southern California
2.5 ! G/F
33
ITA !
Masciadri, Raffaella
72 ! 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
169 lb (77 kg)
Italy
3.0 ! SF
8
USA !
Milton-Jones, DeLisha
73 ! 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Florida
4.5 ! PF
31
USA !
Moore, Jessica
75 ! 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Connecticut
4.5 ! PF
00
USA !
Page, Murriel
74 ! 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Florida
5.5 ! F/C
3
USA !
Parker, Candace
76 ! 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Tennessee
2.5 ! G/F
1
USA !
Spencer, Sidney
75 ! 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
Tennessee
6.0 ! C
32
USA !
Thomas, Christi
75 ! 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
Playoffs [ edit ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Score
Result
Record
Western Conference Semi
September 19
vs. Seattle
77-69
Win
1-0
September 21
@ Seattle
50-64
Loss
1-1
September 23
@ Seattle
71-64
Win
2-1
Western Conference Final
September 25
vs. San Antonio
85-70
Win
1-0 (3-1)
September 27
@ San Antonio
66-67
Loss
1-1 (3-2)
September 28
@ San Antonio
72-76
Loss
1-2 (3-3)
Awards and honors [ edit ]
Lisa Leslie , All WNBA First Team
Lisa Leslie, Led WNBA, Blocks (2.9 per game)
Lisa Leslie, All-WNBA Defensive First Team
Candace Parker , WNBA Rookie of the Year[ 6]
Candace Parker, WNBA MVP[ 13]
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) [ 6]
Candace Parker, Led WNBA in double-doubles (17)
Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Points per game (18.5) [ 14]
Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Blocks per game (2.3) [ 14]
Candace Parker, Led WNBA Rookies, Minutes per game (33.6) [ 14]
Candace Parker, Led WNBA, Rebounds per game (9.5) [ 14]
References [ edit ]
The Franchise
Arenas
Head Coaches
Administration
All-Stars
Seasons
Playoff Appearances
Conference Titles
WNBA Titles
Rivals
Media