The Los Angeles Sparks have gone all-in on winning now. The two biggest moves they’ve made this offseason—trading away Rickea Jackson for Ariel Atkins and bringing back Nneka Ogwumike—signal their winning intentions.
These actions have done two things. First, they’ve made the Sparks significantly older, adding nine-year vet Atkins and 15-year player Ogwumike, and secondly, they’ve bolstered their upside, putting them in a prime position to end their five-year playoff drought.
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While reaching the postseason will take an all-hands-on-deck approach, along with a combination of skill, luck and avoiding the injury bug, one player will most decide how good or bad 2026 for LA: Ogwumike.
Nneka’s back in LA to a lead a playoff return, not enjoy a retirement tour
Simply put, Ogwumike is the key difference between this year’s team and last season. We already know Kelsey Plum is an All-Star guard. We’ve seen Dearica Hamby flirting with double-doubles on a nightly basis. And we saw that not be enough.
While Atkins should help with backcourt play, Ogwumike is here not just for a retirement tour, but to have an impact on winning.
That would be a lot of pressure for most, but Ogwumike’s resume signals that this won’t be a problem. She is a 10-time All-Star, an eight-time All-WNBA player and a former MVP. That production isn’t a relic of a time now passed; it’s her present.
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In 2025, as a member of the Seattle Storm, Ogwumike averaged 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, made the All-Star team and was Second Team All-WNBA. Seattle finished 23-21, made the playoffs before losing to the Aces in the first round.
Ogwumike was at the center of that success, helping guide a team that included youth like Dominque Malonga and veterans like Skylar Diggins. If she could lead and teach in the Pacific Northwest, she most certainly can do it again in California.
The Sparks must optimize the Ogwumike-Hamby pairing
For the Sparks to maximize their year, they have to solidify the bond between Hamby and Ogwumike. They aren’t exactly starting from scratch, as the two played together in LA during the 2023 season.
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Back then, Ogwumike and Hamby shared the floor for 557 minutes, and as a duo, they had an offensive rating of 98.6 and a net rating of +3.5. Those numbers aren’t exactly gaudy, but they do show that the two can find success on the court.
In those days, Ogwumike was her typical self, but Hamby had just joined the Sparks and was coming off the bench, starting in only 19 games. Now, Hamby is a bona-fide starter and an All-Star caliber player. Ogwumike has yet to make her preseason debut with the Sparks, but it’s safe to assume she’ll start in the frontcourt alongside Hamby.
If LA plays their cards right, they’ll have even more time together in 2026, and it will lead to even better production.
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To accomplish this will take a team effort. Head coach Lynne Roberts will have to create offensive options for both players working together in the high post, as a duo in the low post and with one on one side of the floor and the other on the opposite.
There will probably be a ton of Horns actions where Kelsey Plum has both players on the high post and can begin a play by passing to one of them before then going through the progression of reads. Also, expect a ton of pick-and-roll actions, with Plum using either of them to get switches, create space and get the ball moving downhill.
Maximizing Ogwumike and Hamby requires knowing what they do best and highlighting those skills while minimizing their weaknesses.
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Hamby loves the paint. Last season, her most frequent shot was a layup, and 276 of her 566 field goal attempts were at the rim. Hamby didn’t take many long 2s and she shot just 27 percent on 3-pointers, so the key for her offensively is to stay inside.
Ogwumike has a more balanced shot diet. The 3-point shot was her most frequent last season, and she converted on 38.7 percent of her shots from deep. After that, it’s a mix of shots at the rim in the paint and plenty of midrange looks.
These images from Basketball Reference showcase the stark contrast in Hamby and Ogwumike’s shot options.
If Hamby is used more inside and Ogwumike stretches the floor, these two can be one of the best froncourt duos in the WNBA.
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How Nneka can help Cameron Brink reach her potential
While Ogwumike was brought back to and win, she also needs to lead. This is something that suits her well, doing so as a veteran mentor, through her play and as president of the WNBPA.
A player who could learn and absorb information from Ogwumike like a sponge is Cameron Brink.
Brink has shown promise in her short time in the WNBA, but has not played much since suffering an injury during her rookie campaign in 2024. Now, she is healthy and has begun to turn promise into production. Brink has elite defensive tools, but her offense is still a bit raw. She is shooting 41.1 percent from the field throughout her career and needs to raise her efficiency if she wants to be a starting big in the WNBA.
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Ogwumike is the kind of versatile three-level scorer every WNBA team desires. Can Brink can take some pages from her game and apply it to her own book? If so, then a great career is in store for the three-year player.
Leadership in this department will take many forms for Ogwumike. There’ll be a ton of work done at practice, in the film room, in games, on the sidelines and whenever they share the floor. If Ogwumike excels at this, her arrival won’t mean Brink is relegated to the bench. Instead, it’ll elevate her game, help her grow as a player—and raise LA’s ceiling to win now.
The time is fast approaching for the Sparks organization—from the players to coaches to Nneka herself—to prove that circling back and reinvesting in this relationship was the right choice, not just a nostalgia pull or a desire to return to what’s familiar, rather than trying the unknown with younger, less proven players.
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So far, betting on Nneka has proven to be as safe as investing in the S&P 500. So, expect the Sparks to do more winning than losing and be one the teams that decide who will win it all in the WNBA, with Ogwumike at the forefront of a revitalization in Los Angeles.
Sparks fan, let us know how you’re feeling about Nneka’s return, the team’s forecast and anything else that might determine LA’s upside (or downside) during the 2026 season.
