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Nneka Ogwumike’s career highs may be attribute to carrying a lighter load with Sparks

July 5, 2023

TORRANCE — In her 12th season in the WNBA, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike did not expect to be putting up career highs in points, rebounds, and assists.

The 8-time All-Star, who celebrated her 33rd birthday on Sunday, July 2, knew what she could bring to the Sparks. However, she did not anticipate that would be nearly averaging a double-double with career-high 19.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in her first 16 games this season. Ogwumike, who prides herself on efficiency, is shooting 52% from the field and 89.8 from the free throw line.

“To be honest, I feel like I’m doing more than I thought I was going to do,” Ogwumike said before flashing a big smile and letting out a hearty laugh after Sparks practice at the team’s training facility at El Camino College in Torrance Tuesday. “I’m blessed to be healthy and to be out here at 33 and still being productive. I pride my game on efficiency and being productive so I’m very grateful to be out here doing that and I want to be able to empty the tank every time in that way to help my team.”

Sparks 8x All-Star Nneka Ogwumike on exceeding her own expectations this season. This is Year 12 for @nnekaogwumike. pic.twitter.com/xSoXDPe0Ui

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) July 4, 2023

It’s safe to say Ogwumike, who was recently selected as an All-Star starter for the second consecutive year, is exceeding her own expectations but she can’t exactly pinpoint why. But the Sparks team captain can say she is doing better a job this season of managing how much of herself she gives to the team and organization, which has allowed her to concentrate on being the best basketball player she can be.

“I think it’s a lot better,” Ogwumike said. “It’s a lot lighter. I think that we have a lot of great pieces that we’ve added that doesn’t put a strain on the aspects of my role that extended outside of me just playing and being a teammate so I feel a lot better about it.”

Meanwhile, Sparks head coach Curt Miller believes Ogwumike’s success is rooted in balance and not having to help with behind-the-scenes management issues.

“I think she’s got as good of balance in her life on the court, off the court that she’s had,” Miller said. “She doesn’t have to shoulder so much, trying to keep the team together… There’s a new coach with a long contract so I think she can go be herself and play. We’re trying really hard to put her in positions to be successful.”

Ogwumike’s stats are a carbon copy from her 2016 MVP season when the Sparks won the franchise’s third WNBA title. However, the Sparks are 7-10 overall and have struggled lately, losing seven of the team’s last ten games. All three wins were against the Dallas Wings.

“I think it’s seasons within seasons,” Ogwumike said. “We started off trying to figure ourselves out and then as you’re trying to do that you end up having bodies go down and so trying to manage our identity in the middle of that and understanding what our intention is, what our purpose is, what our goals are while we’re out there and really finishing strong in the first half of the season.”

The Sparks will host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena, hoping to break a three-game losing streak and avenge Sunday’s blowout 112-84 loss at Atlanta, in which 2022 WNBA Rookie of Year and All-Star forward Rhyne Howard scored a career-high 43 points on 6 of 12 shooting from 3-point range.

“While we did good things in stretches against Atlanta, we didn’t play hard enough to have success in this league and then it snowballs, Miller said. “From our opening day roster, we were four starters down, and with all our injuries, I don’t care what five we have on the floor. I want a desire and an attitude that it doesn’t matter, we just have to keep playing hard.”

Miller said the Sparks are nearing 50 missed games by players on the team’s active roster, not including Steph Talbot (ACL) and Katie Lou Samuelson (pregnancy), who will both miss the 2023 season.

“We aren’t tanking,” Miller said. “Most people are like you have the playbook for tanking right now and it’s like no, it’s just one of those uncanny years with injuries and illness. We are not tanking. These people have injuries (Layshia Clarendon, Nia Clouden, Chiney Ogwumike) and these people have illness (Lexie Brown) and we’re still trying to be as competitive as we can.”

Meanwhile, Dearica Hamby, Karlie Samuelson, and Zia Cooke are the only three players who have played in all 17 games this season for the Sparks.

“I think for us a lot of it is about playing hard, playing through fatigue, playing with purpose,” shared Ogwumike, who finished with a team-high 25 points in 24 minutes against Atlanta Sunday. “We have a great group of coaches that keep us very much prepared so understanding what it means to take that preparation to execute the game plan and it’s not necessarily always X’s and O’s, a lot of times it’s about how you play, how you feel when you’re out there, how you’re encouraging, how you’re communicating and trying to translate that in the middle of adversity.”

The Sparks will play three games before a much-needed break during the WNBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas on July 14-15. Ogwumike wants to go into the halfway point of the 40-game regular season on a positive note, rooted in clarity about her team’s identity.

“What is our passion, what is our identity and how can we collectively bring that night in and night out,” Ogwumike said. “That’s something that is very much top of mind and the subject of conversation lately.”

Meanwhile, the Sparks believe they have unlocked Azurá Stevens by playing her primarily at power forward, instead of small forward. Despite the team’s three-game losing streak during their recent road trip, the subtle change has Stevens, the team’s prized acquisition during free agency, trending in the right direction. The 6-foot-6 sixth-year forward averaged 14 points and seven rebounds while playing 25.5 minutes in the last two games.

“I’m happy for Azurá, that she’s stuck with it and may be through the early season bumps,” Miller said.

ATLANTA AT SPARKS

When: Wednesday 7 p.m. PT

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: Spectrum SportsNet, CBS Sports

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