It was never actually in doubt. Dearica Hamby was going to stay a member of the Sparks. That was just how she worked.
Even when Nneka Ogwumike came into the fold and the frontcourt became crowded, Hamby didn’t doubt her decision to return to the organization that traded for her four years ago.
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Loyalty mattered more than anything else.
“That’s who I am,” she said. “I don’t run away from things. I wanted to stay here and help L.A. get back to where it was and is capable of being.”
In a loaded frontcourt, the 32-year-old Hamby has still found ways to shine. Hamby has led the Sparks in scoring four times and led or tied for rebounding 16 times this season after signing a three-year, $3.5-million contract.
She ranks in the top 20 in the league in rebounds and field-goal percentage (plus 25th in scoring) and is eighth in offensive rebounds in establishing herself as an essential piece to the Sparks’ “win now” attempt.
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Read more: Nneka Ogwumike’s double-double lifts shorthanded Sparks to victory over Sky
“I think it’s the challenge, because we are so good and we have so much talent,” said Hamby, who is averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 52.8% from the field. “You’re forced to produce, but it’s also a blessing. I know it’s probably hard for coach to manage the three’s playing time and stuff like that, but it’s a beautiful problem.”
Hamby was in the headlines when the Aces traded her after she was pregnant. In September of that year, she filed a federal discrimination complaint against the team and league, claiming she was traded because she was pregnant. The two sides resolved matters before trial.
The new CBA this year created a new rule that requires a pregnant player’s consent to be traded.
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“I feel like she’s such an anomaly,” said forward Rae Burrell. “I remember when she had her son, and it was crazy because everybody was saying she was coming back so early, I thought that was insane, but now being her teammate, I see it, she’s just kind of a freak of nature, like she’s so athletic, she can do all types of things on the court that you think looks unorthodox, but she makes it happen, but also just love being her teammate. She’s just good people.”
Since that trade, she has been a regular in the Sparks’ starting lineup while averaging double-digit scoring and around eight rebounds per game. She’s one of the most efficient scorers in the league, too.
But Hamby’s games have been all over the board. Against the Aces, she missed all seven of her shots. Against Dallas and Indiana, she made six of eight shots. She’s had eight games with a shooting percentage above 60% and four games under 40%.
Having the three frontcourt players has been an adjustment for coach Lynne Roberts to find how to implement them all in the offense.
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“I’m trying to implement the new offense, we’re plugging pieces into play, and things that I may have been able to do last year as freely I’m not as able to do this year,” Hamby said. “So just adjusting for sure, but I think that’s across the board for everybody.”
Before the season, Roberts said that Cameron Brink would come off the bench and Hamby would start. Brink, the only natural center on the team, averages just 17.5 minutes per game primarily because of her 3.7 fouls.
“She’s my vet,” Brink said of Hamby. “I think she’s just such a grounding force for us, and she’s someone that does everything, so I just really feel like I learn from her every day, and I’m just very thankful to be in her presence.”
Hamby averages 3.2 fouls per game and has expressed frustration about the new officiating norms this season, but has avoided true foul trouble. She and Ogwumike work as two fours instead of a team with a traditional five.
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“She has a lot of energy,” Ogwumike said. “I think she does a really good job of just having a high motor and going out there and kind of like doing the dirty work. I feel like it’s beneficial to have a loaded frontcourt, to be able to have so many different types of players and a depth where anytime one of us is in, there’s no letdown.”
The Sparks have been the worst defensive team in the league this season and struggled to score when point guard Kelsey Plum was out of the lineup with an ankle injury. Ogwumike might be the other veteran leader, but Hamby has stayed with this Sparks team the past two seasons while Ogwumike was in Seattle.
Read more: Nneka Ogwumike’s double-double lifts shorthanded Sparks to victory over Sky
Now her role has changed, even with that loyalty. She’s playing just over a minute less and they’re asking for better defense and efficiency.
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Hamby chose to come back. Now she’s choosing to help build the Sparks up.
“I know my usage is a lot lower,” Hamby said. “A goal of mine the last two seasons was to have those numbers, so to have the same numbers just at a more efficient rate, and so I mean offensively, but with like two fewer shots a game, that’s pretty impressive.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
