1999 Los Angeles Sparks season

The 1999 WNBA season was the third for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but they fell in the Conference Finals to eventual champion Houston Comets.

1999 Los Angeles Sparks season
CoachOrlando Woolridge
ArenaGreat Western Forum
Attendance7,625 per game
Results
Record20–12 (.625)
Place2nd (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals (2-1) to Houston Comets

Transactions

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Minnesota Lynx expansion draft

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The following player was selected in the Minnesota Lynx expansion draft from the Los Angeles Sparks:

Player Nationality School/Team/Country
Octavia Blue   United States Miami (FL)

WNBA draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 4 DeLisha Milton-Jones   United States Portland Power
2 16 Clarisse Machanguana   Mozambique San Jose Lasers
3 28 Ukari Figgs   United States Purdue
4 40 La'Keshia Frett   United States Philadelphia Rage

Transactions

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Date Transaction
April 6, 1999 Lost Octavia Blue to the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA expansion draft[1]
May 4, 1999 Drafted DeLisha Milton-Jones, Clarisse Machanguana, Ukari Figgs and La'Keshia Frett in the 1999 WNBA Draft[1]
May 6, 1999 Waived Michelle Reed[1]
May 15, 1999 Signed Gordana Grubin and Nina Bjedov[1]
June 21, 1999 Traded Jamila Wideman to the Cleveland Rockers in exchange for Jennifer Howard[1]
June 22, 1999 Waived Sandra Van Embricqs[1]

Roster

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1999 Los Angeles Sparks roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 45   Bjedov, Nina 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1972-05-18 R
G 21   Dixon, Tamecka 5' 9" (1.75m) 148 lb (67kg) 1975-12-14 Kansas 2
F 5   Feaster, Allison 5' 11" (1.8m) 168 lb (76kg) 1976-02-11 Harvard 1
G 15   Figgs, Ukari 5' 9" (1.75m) 142 lb (64kg) 1977-03-31 Purdue R
F 0   Frett, La'Keshia 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1975-06-12 Georgia R
G 6   Grubin, Gordana 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1972-08-20 R
C 9   Leslie, Lisa 6' 5" (1.96m) 170 lb (77kg) 1972-07-07 USC 2
G 4   Mabika, Mwadi 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 1976-07-27 2
F/C 33   Machanguana, Clarisse 6' 5" (1.96m) 180 lb (82kg) 1976-10-04 Old Dominion R
F 8   Milton-Jones, DeLisha 6' 1" (1.85m) 175 lb (79kg) 1974-09-11 Florida R
G 11   Toler, Penny 5' 8" (1.73m) 132 lb (60kg) 1966-03-24 Long Beach State 2
Head coach
  Orlando Woolridge (Notre Dame)
Assistant coaches
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Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Schedule

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Regular season

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1999 game log
Total: 12–18 (Home: 8–8; Road: 4–10)
June: 5–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 3–3)
July: 6–7 (Home: 5–5; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
10 July 1 @ Minnesota W 81–77 (2OT) Gordana Grubin (20) DeLisha Milton-Jones (9) Grubin
Mabika (5)
Target Center 6–4
11 July 2 @ Detroit W 91–81 Lisa Leslie (18) Lisa Leslie (10) Penny Toler (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 7–4
12 July 5 Cleveland W 74–72 Nina Bjedov (14) Lisa Leslie (11) Frett
Leslie
Toler (5)
Great Western Forum 8–4
13 July 7 @ Phoenix W 67–61 Mwadi Mabika (16) Lisa Leslie (8) Penny Toler (4) America West Arena 9–4
14 July 9 Sacramento L 72–77 Leslie
Mabika (16)
Lisa Leslie (9) Feaster
Toler (3)
Great Western Forum 9–5
15 July 11 Phoenix W 68–57 DeLisha Milton-Jones (14) DeLisha Milton-Jones (8) La'Keshia Frett (5) Great Western Forum 10–5
16 July 17 @ Phoenix L 76–84 Lisa Leslie (21) Lisa Leslie (8) Mwadi Mabika (7) America West Arena 10–6
17 July 18 Houston W 78–65 Lisa Leslie (20) Lisa Leslie (12) Gordana Grubin (6) Great Western Forum 11–6
18 July 21 Phoenix W 84–63 Lisa Leslie (18) Nina Bjedov (8) Tamecka Dixon (6) Great Western Forum 12–6
19 July 24 New York W 75–72 (OT) Lisa Leslie (22) Mwadi Mabika (11) Grubin
Leslie (4)
Great Western Forum 13–6
20 July 27 Orlando W 81–60 Lisa Leslie (19) Leslie
Milton-Jones (10)
Lisa Leslie (5) Great Western Forum 14–6
21 July 30 Utah W 87–77 Lisa Leslie (24) Leslie
Mabika (10)
Mwadi Mabika (7) Great Western Forum 15–6
22 July 31 Washington W 81–64 Lisa Leslie (15) Mwadi Mabika (11) Mwadi Mabika (5) Great Western Forum 16–6
August: 4–5 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–4)
1999 season schedule

Playoffs

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1999 playoff game log
First round vs. Sacramento Monarchs
Won Series: 1–0
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 August 24 Sacramento W 71–58 Lisa Leslie (22) Lisa Leslie (12) Gordana Grubin (9) Great Western Forum 1–0
Conference Finals vs. Houston Comets
Lost Series: 1–2
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 August 26 Houston W 75–60 Lisa Leslie (23) Frett
Leslie (7)
Gordana Grubin (7) Great Western Forum 1–0
2 August 29 @ Houston L 55–83 Lisa Leslie (11) Lisa Leslie (8) Lisa Leslie (4) Compaq Center 1–1
3 August 30 @ Houston L 62–72 Lisa Leslie (20) Leslie
Mabika (7)
Mwadi Mabika (5) Compaq Center 1–2
1999 playoff schedule

Season standings

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Western Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Houston Comets x 26 6 .813 16–4
Los Angeles Sparks x 20 12 .625 12–8 6.0
Sacramento Monarchs x 19 13 .594 9–11 7.0
Phoenix Mercury o 15 17 .469 7–13 11.0
Minnesota Lynx o 15 17 .469 8–12 11.0
Utah Starzz o 15 17 .469 8–12 11.0

Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular Season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Mwadi Mabika 32 28 29.3 .372 .281 .718 4.8 3.5 1.4 0.5 10.8
Lisa Leslie 32 32 29.1 .467 .423 .731 7.8 1.8 1.1 1.5 15.6
DeLisha Milton-Jones 32 32 26.1 .530 .000 .791 5.5 1.6 1.5 0.5 9.9
Gordana Grubin 32 18 22.1 .405 .430 .765 2.2 2.8 0.8 0.1 8.9
La'Keshia Frett 31 18 21.2 .478 N/A .791 3.0 2.1 0.3 0.2 6.1
Tamecka Dixon 32 14 17.6 .378 .313 .738 2.1 1.7 0.5 0.1 6.8
Nina Bjedov 27 0 16.0 .520 .421 .500 2.6 0.6 0.3 0.8 4.5
Ukari Figgs 22 10 15.0 .366 .298 .875 1.6 1.5 0.7 0.0 4.3
Penny Toler 30 4 14.2 .340 .154 .867 1.4 2.2 0.4 0.0 4.8
Allison Feaster 32 4 12.8 .495 .368 .684 1.8 1.0 0.5 0.2 5.1
Clarisse Machanguana 28 0 8.8 .490 N/A .722 1.8 0.4 0.3 0.1 2.6


Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "1999 Los Angeles Sparks Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
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