How Liz Cambage leaving the Los Angeles Sparks impacts the WNBA playoff race
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Alexa Philippou
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Kevin Pelton
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ESPN Senior Writer- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
The Los Angeles Sparks have had their share of chaos during the 2022 WNBA season, but more disarray ensued this week when four-time All-Star center Liz Cambage asked to leave the team. The organization announced a contract divorce Tuesday, meaning the Sparks will be without their prized free agent acquisition as they fight to secure a playoff spot after missing the postseason last year for the first time in a decade.
If the season ended today, the Sparks would be the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, but the Dallas Wings, Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury are all within a half-game. The top eight teams in the WNBA standings advance to the postseason.
Cambage’s stint with the Sparks seemed preordained: Ever since she was drafted in 2011, she made it clear she wanted to play in Los Angeles, a place she admired growing up in Australia. Her time with the organization that drafted her, Tulsa/Dallas, ended when she requested a trade ahead of the 2019 season. She spent two seasons with the Las Vegas Aces before signing with the Sparks in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
Ahead of the 2022 campaign, Cambage seemed high on the Sparks’ chances to make some noise in the WNBA this season.
“It’s going to be the most wild summer the WNBA has ever seen,” Cambage said in April, “and we’re going to have a ring at the end of it.”
It was a wild summer indeed. The Sparks lost five consecutive games in the first 2½ weeks of the season, and fired then-head coach and general manager Derek Fisher in early June. Now Cambage…
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Source : espn
