2016 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 15 at home, against the Seattle Storm.

The Sparks started the season well, winning all five of their games in May. Three of the five wins came by double-digits, and the closest was a five-point win over Connecticut on May 26th. The team continued its hot streak into June and did not lose until June 21. The three-point loss, which came at home against Minnesota, ended an eleven-game winning streak. The Sparks got revenge on Minnesota, winning three days later in Minnesota by a score of 94–76. The Sparks did not lose again in June and finished the month with a 10–1 record. The team went on a nine-game winning streak, which lasted until July 17. They then lost back-to-back games for the first time in the season, with losses coming on the road against Atlanta and Indiana. The team won its final game heading into the Olympic break to finish July 6–2. The return from the break was a rocky one with the Sparks losing both of their games in August. However, a trip to Texas to begin September saw the team return to its winning ways when they defeated San Antonio and Dallas. The Sparks lost three straight games from September 6 to September 11 before finishing the season with two wins. Their September record was 5–3 and they finished the season 26–8 overall.

The Sparks' 26–8 record earned them the second overall seed in the WNBA Playoffs and they finished two games behind top seed Minnesota. The Sparks earned a bye into the semifinals where they matched-up with fourth seed Chicago. The Sparks won the first two games at home, 95–75 and 99–84. When the series moved to Chicago, the Sparks lost Game 3 66–70. A return to Los Angeles wasn't needed as the Sparks won Game 4 95–75 to advance to the WNBA Finals and matched-up with first seed Minnesota. The series began in Minnesota and the Sparks won Game 1 78–76, but lost Game 2 60–79. The two teams again split Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles, with the Sparks winning Game 3 92–75 and losing Game 4 79–85. In the deciding Game 5, the Sparks won in Minnesota 77–76 to secure their third WNBA title.

WNBA draft
The Sparks made three selections in the 2016 WNBA Entry Draft in Uncasville, Connecticut:

Pre-season

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 * 1
 * May 7
 * Atlanta
 * W 88–80
 * Candace Parker (22)
 * Rebecca Tobin (10)
 * Gray, Dabović (4)
 * Pasadena College 460
 * 1–0
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 * 2
 * May 9
 * @ San Antonio
 * W 77–70
 * Chelsea Gray (18)
 * Chelsea Gray (6)
 * Ana Dabović (7)
 * AT&T Center 2,307
 * 2–0
 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 3
 * May 10
 * @ Atlanta
 * W 69–63
 * Essence Carson (11)
 * Parker, Wauters (6)
 * Chelsea Gray (3)
 * McCamish Pavillion 1,385
 * 3–0

Regular season

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 * 1 || May 15 || Seattle || W 96–66 || Candace Parker (34) || Nneka Ogwumike (7) || Parker, Toliver (4) || Staples Center 10,591 || 1–0
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 * 2 || May 20 || @ Washington || W 97–67 || Kristi Toliver (19) || Candace Parker (9) || Candace Parker (6) || Verizon Center 7,807 || 2–0
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 * 3 || May 21 || @ New York || W 79–72 || Nneka Ogwumike (25) || Nneka Ogwumike (15) || Dabović, Parker, Toliver (3) || Madison Square Garden 9,417 || 3–0
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 * 4 || May 24 || @ Chicago || W 93–80 || Candace Parker (26) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Kristi Toliver (10) || Allstate Arena 5,554 || 4–0
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 * 5 || May 26 || @ Connecticut || W 77–72 || Candace Parker (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Ogwumike, Parker, Toliver (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena 4,766 || 5–0


 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 6 || June 2 || San Antonio || W 68–61 || Nneka Ogwumike (21) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center 8,341 || 6–0
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 * 7 || June 4 || @ San Antonio || W 74–61 || Candace Parker (15) || Kristi Toliver (7) || Gray, Lavender (3) || AT&T Center 5,403 || 7–0
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 * 8 || June 7 || New York || W 100–77 || Jantel Lavender (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Chelsea Gray (6) || Staples Center 7,103 || 8–0
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 * 9 || June 11 || @ Dallas || W 97–73 || Nneka Ogwumike (32) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (6) || College Park Center 5,061 || 9–0
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 * 10 || June 14 || Chicago || W 98–85 || Nneka Ogwumike (27) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Alana Beard (6) || Staples Center 7,348 || 10–0
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 * 11 || June 17 || Phoenix || W 77–71 || Candace Parker (24) || Candace Parker (11) || Nneka Ogwumike (5) || Staples Center 8,964 || 11–0
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 * 12 || June 21 || Minnesota || L 69–72 || Kristi Toliver (20) || Candace Parker (8) || Candace Parker (6) || Staples Center 9,112 || 11–1
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 * 13 || June 24 || @ Minnesota || W 94–76 || Kristi Toliver (25) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Alana Beard (7) || Target Center 13,003 || 12–1
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 * 14 || June 26 || Connecticut || W 80–73 || Nneka Ogwumike (27) || Kristi Toliver (8) || Kristi Toliver (5) || Staples Center 9,441 || 13–1
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 * 15 || June 28 || Dallas || W 89–84 || Candace Parker (31) || Candace Parker (13) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center 7,823 || 14–1
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 * 16 || June 30 || Atlanta || W 84–75 || Nneka Ogwumike (38) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Kristi Toliver (8) || Staples Center 10,215 || 15–1


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 * 17 || July 3 || New York || W 77–67 || Nneka Ogwumike (22) || Nneka Ogwumike (15) || Kristi Toliver (6) || Staples Center 10,003 || 16–1
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 * 18 || July 6 || Indiana || W 94–88 || Nneka Ogwumike (23) || Jantel Lavender (7) || Chelsea Gray (8) || Staples Center 8,224 || 17–1
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 * 19 || July 10 || Washington || W 93–82 || Candace Parker (26) || Candace Parker (11) || Candace Parker (9) || Staples Center 19,076 || 18–1
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 * 20 || July 13 || @ Chicago || W 77–67 || Nneka Ogwumike (20) || Nneka Ogwumike (11) || Candace Parker (9) || Allstate Arena 16,444 || 19–1
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 * 21 || July 15 || @ Connecticut || W 98–92 || Jantel Lavender (25) || Lavender, Ogwumike (10) || Candace Parker (7) || Mohegan Sun Arena 6,430 || 20–1
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 * 22 || July 17 || @ Atlanta || L 74–91 || Nneka Ogwumike (26) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Candace Parker (5) || Philips Arena 7,551 || 20–2
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 * 23 || July 19 || @ Indiana || L 82–92 || Kristi Toliver (18) || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Nneka Ogwumike (7) || Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,269 || 20–3
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 * 24 || July 22 || @ Washington || W 95–75 || Nneka Ogwumike (24) || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Candace Parker (6) || Verizon Center 5,455 || 21–3


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 * 25 || August 26 || @ Seattle || L 72–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (28) || Candace Parker (10) || Candace Parker (6) || KeyArena 9,481 || 21–4
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 * 26 || August 28 || @ Phoenix || L 66–70 || Candace Parker (25) || Candace Parker (13) || Candace Parker (7) || Talking Stick Resort Arena 11,905 || 21–5


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 * 27 || September 1 || @ San Antonio || W 70–61 || Kristi Toliver (21) || Beard, Ogwumike (9) || Parker, Toliver (6) || AT&T Center 3,992 || 22–5
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 * 28 || September 2 || @ Dallas || W 87–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (28) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Candace Parker (5) || College Park Center 5,176 || 23–5
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 * 29 || September 4 || Indiana || W 88–81 || Nneka Ogwumike (21) || Nneka Ogwumike (6) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Staples Center 11,332 || 24–5
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 * 30 || September 6 || Minnesota || L 74–77 || Nneka Ogwumike (19) || Ogwumike, Parker (8) || Candace Parker (7) || Staples Center 7,224 || 24–6
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 * 31 || September 8 || Atlanta || L 81–86 || Carson, Gray, Parker (16) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Ana Dabović (5) || Staples Center 6,152 || 24–7
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 * 32 || September 11 || @ Seattle || L 60–78 || Candace Parker (20) || Candace Parker (10) || Alana Beard (4) || KeyArena 9,348 || 24–8
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 * 33 || September 13 || Phoenix || W 90–85 || Nneka Ogwumike (24) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Kristi Toliver (7) || Staples Center 9,371 || 25–8
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 * 34 || September 16 || San Antonio || W 71–65 || Nneka Ogwumike (17) || Nneka Ogwumike (10) || Nneka Ogwumike (4) || Staples Center 13,519 || 26–8

Playoffs

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 * 1
 * September 28
 * Chicago
 * W 95–75
 * Candace Parker (30)
 * Nneka Ogwumike (10)
 * Nneka Ogwumike (6)
 * Walter Pyramid 3,894
 * 1–0
 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 2
 * September 30
 * Chicago
 * W 99–84
 * Lavender, Parker (20)
 * Candace Parker (12)
 * Candace Parker (8)
 * Staples Center 7,855
 * 2–0
 * - style="background:#fcc;"
 * 3
 * October 2
 * @ Chicago
 * L 66–70
 * Nneka Ogwumike (22)
 * Candace Parker (15)
 * Candace Parker (6)
 * Allstate Arena 5,018
 * 2–1
 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 4
 * October 4
 * @ Chicago
 * W 95–75
 * Candace Parker (29)
 * Nneka Ogwumike (9)
 * Chelsea Gray (7)
 * Allstate Arena 3,841
 * 3–1


 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 1 || October 9 || @ Minnesota || W 78–76 || Ogwumike, Toliver (19) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Chelsea Gray (4) || Target Center 12,113 || 1–0
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 * 2 || October 11 || @ Minnesota || L 60–79 || Nneka Ogwumike (14) || Nneka Ogwumike (12) || Beard, Carson, Parker (3) || Target Center 12,832 || 1–1
 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 3 || October 14 || Minnesota || W 92–75 || Candace Parker (24) || Ogwumike, Parker (9) || Alana Beard (7) || Galen Center 8,093 || 2–1
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 * 4 || October 16 || Minnesota || L 79–85 || Chelsea Gray (20) || Nneka Ogwumike (8) || Alana Beard (4) || Staples Center 12,885 || 2–2
 * - style="background:#bbffbb;"
 * 5 || October 20 || @ Minnesota || W 77–76 || Candace Parker (28) || Ogwumike, Parker (12) || Alana Beard (6) || Target Center 19,423 || 3–2

Playoffs
The Sparks qualified for the 2016 playoffs, and, as the team with the second-best regular season record in the WNBA, received two automatic byes, advancing straight to the best-of-five semifinal.