Sparks miss out on No. 1 draft pick, landing again at second

Former head coach Curt Miller and the Sparks parted ways after two, injury-ridden seasons.

Magic Johnson, part of the franchise’s six-person ownership group, promised increased attention to help bring Los Angeles back to championship level after ending the year last season with an 8-32 record — the worst in the league.

And on Sunday afternoon, instead of receiving the good news that Johnson and Co. might have expected, the luck of the draw left Sparks representative Rickea Jackson gasping in disbelief instead of cheering in glee.

The Sparks, holding the highest odds in the 2025 WNBA draft lottery with a 44.2% chance of selecting first after finishing 25-55 across the last two seasons, will draft second overall in April.

The Dallas Wings, who held a 22.7% chance of landing the No. 1 pick, jumped the Sparks and will select first. The Chicago Sky will draft third, while the Washington Mystics will pick fourth.

The Sparks are no stranger to the No. 2 pick.

Los Angeles selected Stanford forward Cameron Brink as the second selection in the 2024 WNBA draft. The 6-foot-4 star post provided the team length in her 15 starts, averaging 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game before suffering a season-ending torn ACL.

The Sparks, who last won a WNBA title in 2016, will have to shift away from scouting potential No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers — the Connecticut star guard — and focus their attention on other options.

Those other options, however, could keep local talent in Los Angeles.

USC graduate forward Kiki Iriafen — Brink’s former teammate at Stanford — is currently projected by ESPN as the likely second pick. Iriafen, a former Harvard-Westlake High star, is averaging 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while playing alongside JuJu Watkins.

UCLA’s Lauren Betts — who holds at least one extra year of college eligibility — and Janiah Barker, are also draft-eligible should the Sparks opt for the local connection.

Other prospects likely available at second overall include Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd, Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles and Louisiana State forward Aneesah Morrow.

The second pick will potentially join a roster that includes a healthy Brink, Jackson and Dearica Hamby, the leading scorer last season.

Before the draft order was revealed on ESPN, Jackson spoke about how she adjusted to the WNBA in her first year on the team.

“I was so grateful to have the coaches and the teammates that I had,� Jackson said. “They continued to push me. They stayed on me. But I was a rookie … [Cameron Brink] and I — unfortunately, she went down — but just having that support system that I had, to keep pushing each and every day, it meant a lot.�

Miller, who joined the No. 1 overall-selecting Dallas Wings as their general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations, gets free reign on his first draft in the Lone Star State.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, is still coachless, searching for who will lead the franchise into its new era and have a say at the draft.