The Sparks enter every season with championship expectations. The fact that they’re playing in a bubble, navigating basketball during a pandemic, and down two of their most prominent offseason acquisitions from the past two years doesn’t change that mindset.
But in the absence of Kristi Toliver and Chiney Ogwumike, the Sparks will need production from unexpected sources. L.A. signed rookie point guard Te’a Cooper and former Liberty big Reshanda Gray to sub in for Toliver and Ogwumike, though they don’t expect either to completely fill the roles of the All-Stars who opted out, particularly in the case of Cooper.