The Sparks were on the verge of a sweep in the waning seconds of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, when Sophia Young sank a 14-jumper at the buzzer to keep the Silver Stars alive in the series. San Antonio would go on to win the decisive Game 3 and put an end to an otherwise magical season for the Sparks.
After suffering through their worst season in franchise history in 2007 with a 10-24 record, the Sparks rebounded in 2008 behind the return of WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and the arrival of rookie phenom Candace Parker. Leslie returned from her season-long motherhood hiatus in 2007 and did not miss a beat, capturing her second Defensive Player of the Year award. Parker’s season was even more impressive, as she captured both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in her debut season.
The Sparks would have to wait nine months before they could step back on the court to try to avenge the loss to the Silver Stars and return to the WNBA Finals in search of the their third championship. A lot has happened during that time.
There is no doubt that Leslie and Cooper want to go out on top and finish their respective WNBA careers as champions. However, the road to a Sparks championship is covered with question marks.
First, there is the status of Parker, who gave birth to a healthy baby girl on May 13 and has said she plans to return to the Sparks this season. Just a week later at Sparks media day, Leslie said that she expects Parker to return by late June.
In the meantime, Cooper and the Sparks open the season on June 6 against the defending champion Detroit Shock and will walk onto the floor with a much different lineup from a year ago.
Aside from returning starters Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones, the Sparks will feature a new point guard with recently acquired Noelle Quinn replacing Temeka Johnson; a new shooting guard with the acquisition of Betty Lennox; and a new power forward with the addition of Thompson.
While the new players bring plenty of talent, there is also the natural learning curve associated with incorporating new players. Other newcomers for the Sparks in 2009 include Kristi Harrower and Vanessa Hayden, the return of Marta Fernandez (who played for the Sparks in 2007) as well as draftees Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Ashley Paris.
In addition to integrating a number of new players, Cooper will also have to deal with managing Parker’s return to the lineup at some point this season, which could prove to be a delicate matter.
Few players have had a child so close to the start of the season and come back to play during the same year. One of those players is Thompson, who had her son in May of 2005 and returned to play just nine weeks later in late July, missing the first 19 games of the season. In 15 games that season, Thompson averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds, while playing just over 29 minutes per game.
The fact that she was able to return to the court so quickly and play meaningful minutes is an amazing feat. But at the same time, you can’t help but notice that her production was nearly cut in half from what she did the year prior to having the baby. In 2004, Thompson averaged 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, while playing over 36 minutes per game.
Perhaps the biggest question leading into this season for the Sparks is what can they expect from the reigning MVP when she returns to the floor. She has overcome obstacles and exceeded expectations at every step of her young career, but now faces an entirely new challenge as a basketball player / mom.
Despite Parker’s absence for a portion of the season, the Sparks field a team that should challenge the best in the West for a berth in the WNBA Finals as Leslie and Cooper look for the storybook ending to their WNBA careers.
Thompson – who played alongside Leslie in high school, college and the Olympics, and has served as a mentor to Parker since the two were introduced in 2004 – was brought in to help ease the blow of losing Parker for a portion of the 2009 season.
The Sparks could not have found a better fit, as the veteran forward is coming off of another stellar year, having averaged 18.1 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Comets last season, and just finished playing alongside Leslie, Parker and Milton-Jones in the 2008 Olympics.
As great as Thompson has been during her 12-year WNBA career, asking her to step in for the reigning MVP, who brings such a unique skill set to the floor, is not easy. Thompson, who was the lone bright spot for the struggling Comets the past few seasons, now joins a Sparks team on the verge of a championship.
If she proves to be the missing piece, collecting her fifth WNBA title will be icing on what is already a Hall-of-Fame career.
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January 7, 2009: Parker announces that she is pregnant with her first child and will miss a portion of the upcoming season.
