Preview

In perhaps one of the most emotional moments in the WNBA last season, Candace Parker walked off the court during the Playoffs in tears last October, seeking comfort on the shoulder of her mother.

The Los Angeles Sparks had held a 10-point fourth-quarter lead over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, looking just minutes away from forcing a Game 3. The Lynx closed the gap, but a Parker 3-pointer with 1:31 left put the Sparks up two. They wouldn’t score again, however, and Minnesota edged L.A. with an 80-79 win, thus keeping Parker from her first trip to the WNBA Finals — a gut-wrenching blow for a team that could have conceivably won a WNBA title.

“We’re going to take that and let that be a motivational factor as we move into this season,” Los Angeles coach Carol Ross said. “Clearly we will use all of our experiences, both good and bad, and try to be a better team moving forward. Those moments break your heart, but you love coaching players that take winning and losing so much to heart.”

The Sparks had one of the toughest cores in the league last year with Parker and 2012 Rookie of the Year Nneka Ogwumike dominating inside and with clutch shooter Kristi Toliver burning the nets from the wing. This season, that core is about to get even stronger after the team signed guard Lindsey Harding from the Atlanta Dream. Ross, last year’s WNBA Coach of the Year, is no stranger to Harding, having coached her during her time with the Dream before she came to Los Angeles.

“She’s going to bring some speed to the floor on both ends,” Ross said. “She’s going to open up shots and make them easier for all of her teammates. She’s extroverted – an energy type player – and typically teammates love playing with those kinds of players.”

Ross said adding Harding will give the team some much-needed depth in their backcourt. Harding’s speed complements the team’s centerpiece offensive strategy of scoring baskets on transition, she said.

“When we’re in transition, it’s going to be just ‘whoever gets the ball, lets go,’” Ross said. “That way we can move faster and have multiple options to kick the play into overdrive.”

Expectations are always high in Los Angeles, and the team expects to make a legitimate run for the title once again this season. But the way the landscape will change this season as a result of the influx of megastar draft picks, injuries to key players, and game-changing roster moves makes this season a difficult one to predict, Ross said.

“We’ve got our fair share of talent, a lot of other teams are excited about their teams as well,” Ross said. “It’s going to be hard to predict. You couldn’t predict last year that Indiana was going to win it but they put a run together at the right time. Every team has talent and it’s going to be fun to watch it all play out.”

Continue Reading… (WNBA.com)

LOS ANGELES — Candace Parker is ready to resume her pursuit of the only major title to elude the basketball star in her career.

She wants a WNBA championship to add to her two Olympic gold medals and two NCAA championships at Tennessee. She even won a title with her Russian pro team during the offseason.

Parker thought the Los Angeles Sparks had the makings of a title team last year, but they came up short, getting swept in the Western Conference finals by Minnesota.

Parker begins her sixth season with the Sparks on Sunday when they host Seattle in the season opener.

“This year, I hope we hit the ground running,” she said. “We haven’t changed too much. We’re going to continue to base it on defense and running.”

Last season, the Sparks finished 24-10, including a 16-1 mark at Staples Center, under first-year coach Carol Ross. She was named the league’s coach of the year and Nneka Ogwumike won rookie of the year honors. Kristi Toliver, the league’s most improved player, re-signed during the offseason. The Sparks added former All-Star guard Lindsey Harding, who played with Atlanta the last two seasons.

The win total was the team’s highest since going 25-9 in 2006. Ross guided them to the conference finals for the first time since 2009, but the franchise hasn’t been to the WNBA finals since winning consecutive titles in 2001 and ‘02 — the last time a team won back-to-back championships.

“We got our heart broken last year. It stings and stays with you,” Ross said. “I would like to think we are extremely motivated. Candace is always very focused and driven. Championships are something that all these players want.”

Like Parker, Ogwumike won a title with her offseason team in Poland and she was part of a perennial contender at Stanford.

“I worked more on my outside game and improved on my inside game,” she said. “Last year, we came so close after throwing it together. Now we got Lindsey and that’s going to make a huge difference.”

A year ago, the Sparks needed time to adjust to Ross’ coaching style while integrating Ogwumike. Other than Harding and Swedish addition Farhiya Abdi, the core roster is the same.

“When you know everybody that chemistry you develop transfers to the court,” Ogwumike said.

Ross figures that familiarity gives the Sparks a built-in advantage.

“We throw in Harding who comes out of an exciting defensive club in Atlanta. She will give us a lot of energy,” she said. “We’re going to be able to score in a lot of ways. The separator between great teams and championship teams is on the defensive end.”

Los Angeles returns a dominant lineup, with only DeLisha Milton-Jones gone from the starting five. Toliver was the leading scorer with a 17.5-point average to go with 4.9 assists last season.

“In my mind, we will the championship,” Toliver said. “There is no other thought going on.”

Parker averaged 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds while healthy the entire season for the first time since 2008. She led the league with 76 blocked shots. Ogwumike averaged 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds; and Alana Beard averaged 11.4 points.

Continue Reading… (Washington Post)

Los Angeles Sparks star Candace Parker talks about her improvement in the offseason, the competitive nature of the WNBA and what it will take for the Sparks to contend for a championship.

Watch Full Interview  (TW Cable Sportsnet)

Check out photos of Candace from 2013 LA Sparks Media Day

Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird give an all-access look at their lives on and off the court in Russia, where they were teammates for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason.

While living in Russia as a member of UMMC Ekaterinburg, Candace Parker allows a glimpse into her life as a mom to her 4 year old daughter, Lailaa.