A sensational SoCal silencer from Nneka Ogwumike allowed the Los Angeles Sparks to steal an exciting victory on a landmark day for the WNBA.
The Los Angeles Sparks generated a Hollywood ending for the opening act of the WNBA’s subsequent 30 years.
Precisely three a long time after they every tipped off WNBA historical past in 1997, the Sparks prevailed in a rematch with the New York Liberty by taking a slender 98-97 choice at Crypto.com Area on Sunday evening. A buzzer-beating three-pointer from Nneka Ogwumike served because the completion of a comeback from as a lot as 17 factors down and a implausible finale on the league’s thirtieth birthday.
„It is emotional seeing all these legends within the constructing,“ a visibly emotional Ogwumike mentioned in her postgame interview with Angel Grey of ESPN. „[They’re] individuals that did not receives a commission their worth and so they’re nonetheless right here supporting us. I am so grateful.“
NNEKA WINS THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY GAME AT THE BUZZER FOR THE SPARKS ⚡😱 pic.twitter.com/3NMxj79RKO
— ESPN (@espn) June 22, 2026
That is 30
Even when LA lacked the theatrics, Sunday was at all times destined to be probably the most anticipated and remembered dates on the 2026 WNBA calendar.
The cross-coast conflict featured two of the WNBA’s three authentic franchises nonetheless stationed of their authentic locales (Phoenix is the opposite). Every crew wore throwback uniforms paying homage to the threads they wore within the pilot episode. New York received that authentic sport by a 67-57 remaining at The Nice Western Discussion board.
The ghosts of Los Angeles/New York previous engaged in a cheerful haunting of the festivities: the Sparks honored the unique 1997 crew in a halftime ceremony overseen by franchise icon Lisa Leslie whereas Rebecca Lobo known as the sport for ESPN. Leslie additionally joined the ESPN broadcast for a heartfelt reunion with Lobo, who additionally granted a headset to her former teammate Teresa Weatherspoon.
Thirty years later ✨
Lisa Leslie and Kym Hampton run it again with a recreation of the ceremonial tip from the WNBA’s inaugural sport.
📺 NYL-LAS | ESPN | Courtroom Origins pic.twitter.com/TGfECCVsHd
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 22, 2026
New York’s pregame prep featured particular friends, as Liberty legends who took the ground in that authentic sport addressed the crew throughout their West Coast keep. Ahead Jonquel Jones, one of many Liberty’s main scorers with 18 factors, appreciated the „fiery conversations“ that the previous and current New Yorkers engaged in. The Sparks had the same set-up, with Erica Wheeler recalling the recommendation to „benefit from the second,“ an endeavor little question made a bit simpler by SoCal vengeance.
„I feel that basically carried over into us enjoying into that first half. However we simply need to go on the market, win as many video games as potential, and finally convey one other championship again to New York,“ Jones mentioned of the assembly. „It is about enjoying with grit, having that resiliency, and simply enjoying within the New York manner. So each time we step on the court docket, we actually attempt to simply make them proud and perceive that we symbolize one thing that is not simply us, however greater than us as effectively.“
„This franchise has a variety of legacy. It comes with a stage of strain, however they mentioned no strain,“ Wheeler, she of 15 factors and the game-winning help of the Ogwumike winner, mentioned of the Pacific pleasantries. „[They said] on the finish of the day, take pleasure in it and be blessed to be in Hollywood and the Sparks. There’s a variety of historical past right here that we have to proceed to construct. So, you understand what, once they mentioned that, I used to be like ‚that is all proper.‘
The published carried an equally applicable retro tone: Hannah Storm, who served because the play-by-play lady for NBC within the authentic sport, served because the studio host subsequent to Ogwumike’s overjoyed sister Chiney Ogwumike.
Revenge of the Swish
Pacific revenge was a standard theme of Sunday’s showdown: Leslie, for instance, defended her historic mark within the tip-off circle, prevailing in a ceremonial recreation of the opening toss-up in opposition to Kym Hampton.
The sport was additionally eager to supply indicators of the league’s stable footing for the current and future: the 2 sides united for 22 three-pointers (the unique sport featured however three profitable sinks), and worldwide skills like Jones, Pauline Astier, and Satou Sabally helped New York (11-6) construct its early lead. Laura Ziegler grew to become the most recent title added to the WNBA scoring ledgers, hitting each of her area objectives in her league debut with the Sparks.
However essentially the most sensible little bit of dramatic irony got here from the arms of Ogwumike, the de facto co-author of the league’s new collective bargaining settlement because the Gamers‘ Affiliation’s President.
Ogwumike proved to be simply as lethal within the clutch as she was within the boardroom, scoring half of her 24 factors within the remaining interval. Even earlier than the fateful fling, Ogwumike’s fastbreak double off a feed from a struggling Kelsey Plum gave Los Angeles its first lead with 3:50 remaining. It was the beginning of an ideal 4-of-4 stretch to shut issues out, and the bookended pictures in between allowed LA to keep up a tied rating that finally yielded the game-clinching triple led to by break up free throws from Breanna Stewart.
“We have been tremendous grateful for the truth that we have been considered, as a result of it’s simple to be forgotten, and you may actually take into consideration your self within the second that you just’re in, however they went past that,” authentic Spark DeLisha Milton-Jones mentioned of the Ogwumike-led WNBPA, per Joaquin Ruiz of The LA Occasions. “That simply exhibits who [Ogwumike] is as an individual. She is an envoy. She is somebody that thinks past herself. … And I feel that she’s finished an excellent job of representing all gamers, from all walks of life, in each era.“
„I feel everybody in our locker room would not have picked one other particular person to hit that shot,“ Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts mentioned. „What she’s finished for this league, she’s one in all one. So on an evening like tonight, the place we’re honoring the legacy of not solely the Sparks however the league and Nneka has finished for this league, particularly not too long ago … it is highly effective when you concentrate on it. It is actually cool, and that is what sports activities can do, is convey out these moments. You could not have scripted it any higher.“
New York will likely be again in Los Angeles on July 28. Within the meantime, an anticipated showdown with the Las Vegas Aces looms on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, USA) whereas the Sparks face one other signal of league development, the growth membership from Toronto, on Thursday (4 p.m. PT, Prime Video).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
