The Los Angeles Sparks started the new WNBA season on Friday with an 84-67 win over the expansion Golden State Valkyries. However, they then lost on Sunday to the Minnesota Lynx, the defending Western Conference champions, by a final score of 89-75.
A bright spot in both games was the play of veteran forward Dearica Hamby. On Friday, she scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while adding three steals, and versus Minnesota, she notched 20 points and 10 rebounds.
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The Sparks took to their official X account to give Hamby her flowers for posting back-to-back double-doubles while giving her a new nickname.
“Double Double D,” the caption read.
This is Hamby’s third season with the Sparks. She arrived in a 2023 trade from the Las Vegas Aces, a team she won the WNBA championship with in 2022.
Last year, she earned her third All-Star game nod with averages of 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals a game while shooting 51.2% from the field.
Jul 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) shoots the ball against Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena.© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles is looking to become competitive this season while also building for the future with a number of its young prospects. The team is hoping that veterans such as Hamby and guard Kelsey Plum, whom it acquired in a February trade, will give it a shot at making the playoffs this year.
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Plum scored 37 points on 11-of-19 shooting, to go along with six assists and five steals, in Friday’s season opener. She had 18 points and five assists on Sunday, but she shot just 5-of-14 from the field.
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