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Look out, WNBA. Lisa Leslie is back, and now she has Candace Parker with her.
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The two have helped Los Angeles garner most of the preseason buzz, and the Sparks are the overwhelming favorites to win their third WNBA championship as the league opens its 12th season this weekend.
Leslie, a perennial All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, has returned after a one-year absence following the birth of her daughter last June. The Sparks were a league-worst 10-24 without her, won the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery and selected Parker -- a two-time All-American who led Tennessee to consecutive NCAA championships.
"I wasn't a part of the team last year," Leslie said. "I'm all about winning. I'm excited for us to pick up where I left off."
The Sparks won consecutive championships in 2001 and '02, and although they don't have any titles since then, they were 91-45 in the ensuing four seasons with Leslie -- reaching at least 24 wins three times.
"L.A. has the hype for a reason," Seattle Storm star Sue Bird said. "They have their all-time best player ever returning in Lisa Leslie. ... You have one of the best players right now playing, even though she hasn't played in a WNBA game, in Candace Parker. You can really put in anyone around them and they're supposed to be amazing. ... They're expected to do well."
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| Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker give the Sparks a formidable 1-2 punch. (AP) |
"We're going to really go full throttle because she's the one that can rebound and get our transition game going," Cooper said. "Our goal is to run our way to a championship."
The Sparks also reacquired two-time Olympian DeLisha Milton-Jones, who spent her first six seasons in Los Angeles and teamed with Leslie on the championship teams.
Los Angeles' biggest challenges in the West will come from defending champion Phoenix and veteran-laden Seattle.
The Mercury went 12-2 after the All-Star break, then swept Seattle and San Antonio in the playoffs before beating Detroit in five games to win their first championship.
Phoenix thrived under coach Paul Westhead's frenetic pace, averaging a league-best 89.0 points per game. Westhead, however, left to join the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, replaced by assistant and protege Corey Gaines. Also, second-leading scorer Penny Taylor (17.8 ppg) is training with the Australian national team and won't rejoin the Mercury until the stretch run after the Olympics.
Gaines has more than 20 years experience with Westhead's system, having played for him at Loyola Marymount in 1986-87. He knows his biggest challenge will be making up for Taylor's lost production.
