2023-12-09 19:00:00
The Los Angeles Sparks have the third-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in Sunday’s WNBA Draft Lottery. Who should LA take if they get the top spot?
By
Edwin Garcia
on December 9, 2023 2:00 pm
WNBA Draft Lottery 2024 will be held Sunday, Dec. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. In anticipation of the event, we’re analyzing what might happen if each of the four lottery teams—the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm—win the lottery and the No. 1 pick in a potentially-stacked 2024 WNBA Draft. Next up, the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Los Angeles Sparks have a 17.8 percent chance, or 178 of 1,000 chances, of winning the WNBA Draft Lottery, good for the third-best odds. Who should head coach Curt Miller and general manager Karen Bryant select if LA wins the lottery?
Caitlin Clark
Iowa senior Caitlin Clark.
Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images
The thought of Caitlin Clark donning purple and gold alongside Nneka Ogwumike is just too good to pass up. With Ogwumike still playing at an All-Star, or even MVP, level, adding Clark to the mix would give Los Angeles one of the best duos in the league on day one of the 2024 season—and that’s saying something!
Clark is averaging 29.6 points per game, more than any player in college basketball. She also averaging 6.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game. She’s one of the few players who will easily transition from college to the pros. She’s not only ready, she’s as close to a sure thing as you’ll find. If available, she can and will go No. 1 and Los Angeles has to be foaming at the mouth regarding the prospect of bringing her to the City of Angels.
Paige Bueckers
UConn redshirt junior Paige Bueckers.
Photo by Lance King/Getty Images
What if the Sparks don’t get the No. 1 pick? Or, what if they’re not as intrigued by the Ogwumike-Clark pairing and would instead bring in a different star guard to run Miller’s offense? If they end up in that scenario, Paige Bueckers is the way to go.
The guard situation in Los Angeles is still a bit of a mystery due Jordin Canda’s impending unrestricted free agency and Lexie Brown’s struggles with injury and illness last season. Bringing in Bueckers would establish her as the starting guard, allowing her to begin developing chemistry with Ogwumike immediately.
Kamilla Cardoso
South Carolina senior Kamilla Cardoso.
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Another option if LA misses the top spot is Kamilla Cardoso. The South Carolina center is having a great season, averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11.5 boards per game. Seeing how Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks have excelled in the WNBA has to relax any doubts a team would have of drafting her.
She may not be the most exciting prospect on the draft board, but whoever selects Cardoso will be very happy with her production in year one.
Closing thoughts
This season is huge for the Sparks. They’ve missed the playoffs three seasons in a row, the longest playoff drought in the franchise’s history. That has to change. The organization brought in Miller and Bryant to do just that. And while there were signs of promise last season, the results were the same: more losing than winning and no postseason action.
The time is now for fans’ patience to bear fruit. Curt Miller will be Los Angeles’ lottery representative and fans back in LA will be hoping the winning begins this Sunday with the Sparks and Miller being awarded the No. 1 pick in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory.
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