WNBA’s Nneka Ogwumike has unfinished business in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES — As Nneka Ogwumike‘s face flashed on the jumbotron, the gang inside Crypto.com Arena went wild. They gave a standing ovation, showering her with a thunderous applause as if she had hit a profitable shot. But the sport hadn’t even began.
The Los Angeles Sparks had been warming up for his or her season opener, and the followers had been welcoming Ogwumike again to town and crew the place she grew to become a WNBA star.
“I was feeling at home,” Ogwumike advised ESPN afterward. “It’s hard to ever feel nervous in that environment.”
Ogwumike spent the primary 12 years of her profession with the Sparks, profitable Rookie of the Year after they chose her No. 1 in 2012 after which MVP in 2016, the identical season she helped carry a title to Los Angeles.
“She is the prodigal child,” Sparks guard Kelsey Plum he stated.
Now a 15-year WNBA veteran, Ogwumike is likely one of the most revered gamers in the league. On the courtroom, she’s thought-about a future Hall of Famer and stays one of the best players in the WNBA. In the locker room, she’s a stabilizing presence coaches need their younger gamers to be taught from. And as president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, she led her friends via negotiations for a transformative collective bargaining settlement that introduced the primary million-dollar salaries in league historical past.
As she returns to the Sparks after two seasons with the Seattle StormOgwumike is tasked with guiding Los Angeles again to the playoffs for the primary time in six years. And she knew this was the place she wished to start out her subsequent chapter.
“I think it’s obvious that I have more years behind me than in front of me,” Ogwumike stated. “So at this stage in my career, it made the most sense for me to come back to LA”
FOR THE PAST 18 months, Ogwumike did not have time — or the psychological capability — to consider what her first season would appear like after the CBA was finalized. As negotiations continued into March, she was targeted on getting a deal that might carry a groundbreaking revenue-sharing mannequin and unprecedented advantages to her friends.
Once the deal was executed on March 18, her telephone blew up with messages from present and former gamers expressing thanks and disbelief for what she had helped accomplish.
“I garnered a lot of validation from that,” Ogwumike stated. “The relationships you build really do matter and go a long way. For us to be able to [recognize] some level of value for all of our players… it was a special moment.”
“She is the most respected person in our league for a reason,” Plum stated. “She is just steady. The boat got rocky a lot, and she was always steady… you can’t be that consistent as a player or as a leader if you are not that consistent as a person.”
But with just one month earlier than the beginning of coaching camp, free company choices needed to be made shortly. Ogwumike knew she was content material closing her chapter in Seattle, the place she signed as a free agent in 2024. As labor talks dragged on, gamers weren’t allowed to succeed in out to groups, however Ogwumike’s agent saved her knowledgeable on which franchises had been in her. The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles shortly rose to the highest of her listing.
The considered enjoying subsequent to Napheesa Collierthe MVP runner-up final season, was thrilling, and the Lynx had the No. 2 decide in the 2026 draft. Ogwumike visited the Lynx’s services and spoke with coach Cheryl Reeve, who guided the Lynx to the No. 1 seed in final yr’s playoffs.
But returning to LA was much more engaging. Under what Ogwumike described as a brand new “powerhouse” possession group — Mark Walter, a part of the group that purchased the Sparks in 2014, grew to become the brand new majority proprietor of the Los Angeles Lakers in October — she noticed what the group had deliberate for the long run, together with a $150 million observe facility.
“Of course I have a lot of history here, but I appreciate the changes they are making,” Ogwumike stated. “There is a palpable surge. … I feel strongly like we have building blocks for the standard we want to see here in Los Angeles.”
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts flew to Houston to satisfy with Ogwumike the day she returned from Minnesota to pitch the 10-time All-Star on coming again to LA
Ogwumike — who’s 9 factors shy of breaking into the WNBA’s prime 5 on the all-time scoring listing — known as Plum and Sparks ahead Dearica Hamby to get their tackle the crew and what she might carry if she returned. They advised her to return.
“Having Nneka is like being bought by Coca-Cola. It legitimizes your business,” Plum stated. “Her experience here, winning, being an MVP, being in a championship organization, the consistency that she brings over the course of a season… it’s so refreshing.”
THE SPARKS FINISHED two video games out of the final playoff spot final season, what would have been their first journey to the playoffs since 2020. Instead, the Sparks went 21-23 and had been ninth in the standings — a step ahead from the earlier season after they had the worst document in the league. But it was nonetheless wanting the objective that they had set.
“When you come from perennial winning, you don’t understand what losing does to your psyche,” stated Plum, who received back-to-back titles with the Las Vegas Aces earlier than becoming a member of the Sparks forward of the 2025 season. “But I know transformation takes time. You have to be patient. … A lot of people bitch about problems, but what are you going to do to solve it?”
For Plum, problem-solving meant working to recruit gifted veterans to the Sparks. She known as free agent Erica Wheeler and consistently pitched LA to the All-Star guard throughout their time at Unrivaled. She reached out to Ariel Atkinsa guard who performed with Plum on the US Olympic crew. She advised Ogwumike how returning to the Sparks would change their ceiling.
“Having Nneka is like being bought by Coca-Cola. It legitimizes your business.”
Kelsey Plum on Sparks teammate Nneka Ogwumike
After Wheeler and Ogwumike signed with Los Angeles in free company, it grew to become clear that the Sparks rebuild of the previous two seasons was over. Rickea Jacksonthe No. 4 decide in the 2024 draft, was traded to the Chicago Sky for Atkins. The Sparks saved submit participant Cameron Brinkthe second decide in 2024, and hope that she will be able to be taught underneath Ogwumike. On draft night time, they bought a steal in Ta’Niya Latson — who led the NCAA in scoring throughout the 2024-25 season — with the twentieth decide.
The expectations stay excessive regardless of a gradual begin. The Sparks are 1-3 in 2026, together with a 27-point loss to the Aces on opening night time. And beginning Thursday, they start a four-game highway journey.
“We are as good as our work ethic and our discipline,” Ogwumike stated. “We have a lot of people who work hard, and when you have hard workers, that ceiling can be pushed up. I look forward to seeing the fruits of that labor over the course of the season, but especially in the first month.”
In Roberts’ second season with the Sparks, Los Angeles is emphasizing a free-flowing offense constructed round tempo and house. Last season, the Sparks had been fourth in the league in tempo (the variety of possessions per 48 minutes by a crew) and second in scoring at 85.7 factors per sport. Roberts stated season this’s roster was constructed for this fast model.
The downside for the Sparks was on the defensive finish, the place they allowed essentially the most factors per sport (88.2) in the league final yr. Ogwumike, a seven-time all-WNBA defensive crew honoree, is predicted to assist.
“When you put Nneka Ogwumike’s name on anything, you are bound to succeed,” Wheeler advised ESPN. “That’s why I tell her any time I get a chance to play with you, I’m coming. Because I know at some point, success is going to come with it. That’s what you breed.”
OGWUMIKE WON’T SAY Whether her return to Los Angeles is the beginning of her farewell tour, however she’s beginning to consider her legacy.
“I can tell you I definitely want to leave with people thinking I can play more,” Ogwumike stated. “I want to walk off healthily and proudly off the court. But I don’t feel like that’s right now.”
Ogwumike, who will flip 36 in July, has adopted a holistic wellness routine over time to stretch her profession. She’s aware of the place her meals comes from and the way it’s ready. While coaching and understanding is a part of her job, shifting her physique has grow to be part of her life. She swears by the hyperbaric chamber for restoration, and makes use of water actions and Pilates to reset, but in addition takes “lazing around” severely.
“Moderation is key,” Ogwumike stated. “I know what works for me and my well-being while also not depriving myself.”
Ogwumike has set the identical private objective for the previous few seasons: play in each sport. Last yr, she performed in all 44, the longest common season in WNBA historical past.
But for as a lot pleasure as she has in being on the courtroom, she needs to win. And Ogwumike is aware of it will likely be a storybook ending to complete enjoying in LA — one thing many have identified to her.
“[We] felt like it was meant to be that she comes back here,” Roberts stated.
And what about past this season? The WNBA will return to Houston, Ogwumike’s hometown, in 2027 because the Connecticut Sun relocate. She’s regularly requested if that is the place she would possibly need to play her final seasons.
“Right now, I don’t feel like the answer to that question is yes,” Ogwumike stated.
What has been determined is how she needs her profession to finish: together with her legacy intact and on her personal phrases.
“I want to be great,” Ogwumike stated. “It’s not enough to just be healthy. I want to win.”