Sparks face Aces on Ogwumike's last career WNBA road game
Rey Moralde
Host · Writer
LAS VEGAS — Two games left in the season for the Sparks.
And two games left in the WNBA career of Nneka Ogwumike.
The Sparks (16-26) are almost done for the 2026 campaign. Their last opponents on the road for this season? The Las Vegas Aces.
The Aces will go on and attempt to win their fourth championship in five years. The Sparks will attempt to play spoiler and continue to send Nneka Ogwumike out the right way. The team has won four of their last six games.
A lot of the younger players will see some action for Los Angeles. Of course, the team wants to see what they have as they enter the offseason but it's become a necessity as Dearica Hamby (left knee), Cameron Brink (right ankle), and Aaliyah Nye (left ankle) will all miss their second consecutive game. And as of this writing, Ariel Atkins (illness) and Monique Akoa Makani (left thigh) are both listed as probable. It's a familiar sight for the Sparks these last few years to have an extensive injury report but it could be a blessing in disguise for them in this case.
All available players played 11 or more minutes against the Fire on Sunday. It was encouraging to see Chance Gray (11 points) get her career high, Tonie Morgan dishing out (four assists), and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda get herself to the line (six free throws attempted). Shyanne Sellers will continue to show what she can do and Jihyun Park has proven to be a good rotation player. Of course, Rae Burrell has become that up-and-coming star; she scored her 11th 20-point game this season on Sunday. There's certainly something in this core of young players.
The rookies and the newbies, they're all my little babies," Sparks forward Emma Cannon said after their win on Sunday. "And it's something about just competing every day and showing up and putting your best foot forward. That's something that I've been trying to teach them and tell them that you're not going to get them all the minutes but you have to be ready when your number is called. So you definitely go out there every day and you practice and you play like you are a starter so that when your number is called, you go in and you compete and you do the best you can do. So, yeah, I'm proud of them. This is just a stepping stone from them. This is their foundation. They're just getting their feet wet so I'm excited for their future."
Ogwumike has mentioned she wanted to help the younger players on her way out.
"I've always thought it was important to ensure that anybody that you encounter, any player, any teammate, is someone that you can pour into but also someone that you can learn from," Ogwumike said. "And I think that's something that I've enjoyed along the last few years of my career is being able to still gain something from the younger players.
"But I'm just happy to serve as some type of resource along any player's journey."
As for the Aces (29-13), they've won their last five games. At the very least, they're still trying to fend off the Dream for the third seed in these upcoming playoffs. So A'ja Wilson, who could get her fifth MVP award and is on her way to her third straight scoring title, will do whatever she can to keep the momentum going. Jackie Young has been tremendous as always and everyone knows Chelsea Gray has eyes on the back of her eyes. It will certainly be quite the challenge for the Sparks, especially for their youngest players.
But with the way these Sparks have been playing as of late, it could be a challenge for the Aces, too. And for Nneka Ogwumike, who is down to her last two games of her WNBA career, she wouldn't have it any other way.
