Sparks is led by Nneka Ogwumike, but Los Angeles falls short against Sky.
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Nneka Ogwumike might have been preoccupied with her own pregame ritual. Instead, the 11-year veteran was coaching youngster Olivia Nelson-Ododa before the Sparks' game against the Chicago Sky on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
Candace Parker sat in the locker room, waiting. Ogwumike taught the rookie low post plays and helped her improve her footwork.
"That's why she's an All-Star," interim coach Fred Williams joked.
The Sparks forward was selected an All-Star starter for the first time in her 11-year career on Wednesday, earning her sixth All-Star selection overall. Parker, though, dominated the duel of seven-time All-Stars, producing a 10-point, 10-assist, 14-rebound triple double in three quarters of the 82-59 thrashing in her first game back in Los Angeles since departing as a free agency in 2021. After accomplishing the milestone on May 22, she became the first player in WNBA history to have three triple-doubles, and the first to have two in the same season.
Ogwumike led the Sparks (6-10) with 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists in their fourth defeat in five games.
Ogwumike broke down in front of reporters around ten months ago, reliving the difficulties of her 2021 season. Not only did she suffer her first big injury of her career, missing 14 games due to a sprained knee, but she was also omitted off the Olympic squad for the third time in a row.
Following the Olympics, Ogwumike said that she felt "unvaluable or undeserving."
Back at full strength, Ogwumike is demonstrating how vital she is to not just the Sparks, but the whole WNBA. This season, she was featured in a WNBA Sports Illustrated bikini spread and led the Sparks with 18 points and 7.7 rebounds before Thursday's game. Ogwumike is trusted by her teammates to make clutch baskets on the field, and she always has the answers off the court.
"The entire building might be on fire, and she would be able to keep us calm and tell us what to do," said forward Katie Lou Samuelson, whose elder sister Bonnie played one year at Stanford alongside Ogwumike.
With a 17-point deficit early in the second quarter, the Sparks went to Ogwumike once again. Six of the team's next eight unanswered scores came from her.
Ogwumike's consistent presence, though, was no match for Chicago (12-5).
Parker had 12 rebounds and nine assists in the first half on her old home stadium. Parker's ninth and tenth points came on a left-handed layup with 5.2 seconds left in the third quarter, making her just the second player in league history to record a triple-double in three quarters.
The free-agent departure of the 36-year-old was a big blow to the organisation that picked her in 2008, foreshadowing the Sparks' ongoing decline from the league's top.
While Parker led her hometown Sky to their first WNBA title, Ogwumike was left to carry the Sparks franchise on her own.
As president of the WNBA Players Association, she has served as a mother figure to all of the league's players.
But the added duties dragged on Ogwumike, so after last year's setback, he did something unusual. She put herself first.
"I constantly remind myself, 'You can't pour from an empty cup,'" Ogwumike said after the shootaround on Thursday. "It'll be better for everyone if I assist myself first and then help everyone else."
Ogwumike praised her teammates after learning she will be an All-Star again. Ogwumike, who is known for putting others first, warned her teammates that such accomplishments do not happen on their own.
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