Los Angeles Sparks are the only WNBA team from California. Sparks have won a total of 3 championships till 2023.
Women's National Basketball Association was founded on the 22nd of April 1996. The Association was primarily composed of 8 members during its inaugural season.
There are a total of 12 franchises in the competition divided equally into Eastern and Western conferences.
Through the constant relocation and expansions of the teams, there has been a total of 18 franchises that have been a part of the WNBA at one time or another. However, only 5 of 8 pioneer clubs are still in the league
Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storms have the highest number of championships under their name. All the franchises have won the title a total of 4 times.
Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks is the only team located in California among the WNBA teams and is part of the Western Conference.
The club's home ground is Crypto.com Arena which was previously called Staples Center.
Curt Miller is the current head coach for the franchise. He has a crew of Chris Koclanes, Steve Smith and Danielle Viglione for his assistance. Karen Bryant is the General Manager for the team.
Los Angeles WNBA team has been a pioneer of the league since its establishment in 1997. They have appeared in the playoffs for 20 seasons in the last 24 years.
Players like Candance Parker and Nikki Teasley are on the list. Parker was even the MVP of the 2016 WNBA championship.
Additionally, they have won 3 league titles in 2001, 2002, and 2016 and three conference titles in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2016.
Sparks experienced some of their successful years from 2001 until 2003. Hiring the former Lakers player Michae Cooper as their head coach was one of the best decisions they ever made.
The roster led by Cooper managed to grab two consecutive titles in the year. The team breezed through their conference and playoff games of 2001.
The Sparks managed to win the championship by defeating Charlotte Sting by 2-0.
Later, in 2002, the roster successfully climbed through the playoffs to the finals by defeating Utah Starzz. A late 3-pointer in the second game of the league finals helped the team secure their consecutive championship title.
Eventually, in 2003 the franchise seemed unstoppable and was continuing its winning streak and managed to clear the playoffs in their winning campaign for 3 consecutive years. However, they were defeated by Detroit Shocks by 2-1.
The WNBA team in Los Angeles has faced many ups and downs from their establishments till their journey to the present. However, the club has always been seen stepping up to these challenges.
WNBA Team In Las Vegas
Las Vegas Aces is the only WNBA team in Las Vegas. They were crowned the WNBA 2022 Champions for the first time in the franchise's history.
It is one of the eight pioneer members of the WNBA. Michelob Ultra Arena has been serving as the home venue for the Aces.
Established in 1997, the club was primarily named The Utah Starzz. The franchise was located in Utah and was a female counterpart of the Utah Jazz in the NBA.
However, the owners of the Utah Jazz were no longer interested in retaining the Starzz. So, the team relocated to San Antonio in 2002 under the San Antonio Spurs.
The club was renamed San Antonio Stars after their relocation. Stars played for a total of 14 years where they managed to qualify for 7 WNBA playoffs. They even managed to win a conference title during their venture here.
Eventually, after being located in San Antonio for 14 years, the club was put up for auction by Spurs in 2017.
MGM Resorts was approved for the sales and the team was again relocated before the 2018 season. On the 11th of December 2017, they were ultimately named the Las Vegas Aces.
Mark Davis later purchased the lineup from MGM and was the sole owner of the organization. Later, in 2021 the franchise made the biggest deal In the WNBA by hiring Becky Hammon as their head coach. The deal was more than a million a year.
Hammon led the roster to their second conference title and their only championship title in 2022. After their successful 2022, Tom Brady, former NFL quarterback also purchased a minority share of the franchise.
Defunct California Women Teams
Defunct California women's teams are San Francisco Pioneers and California Dreams. They were a part of the WBL until the league's demise.
WBL was a Women's Professional Basketball League that operated for a total of three seasons. It was the first professional Basketball league for women in the country and was operating from 1978 to 1981.
There were 14 members in the short history of the league. Two of them were from California.
San Francisco Pioneers
Pioneers were a club located in San Francisco. Founded in 1979 the team was a part of WBL until 1981.
In their debut season, they managed to defeat the defending champions Houston Angels in the quarterfinals.
Ultimately, they reached the semifinals where they were defeated by the New York Stars. Marshal Geller was even awarded the owner of the year title that season.
The following season did not start on a high note for the franchise. The then-head coach and manager of the club were fired during the start of the season.
Later, the former head coach of the Stars was appointed by the Pioneers. Following the coach's appointment, action only 4 of the players from the opening night roster had stayed.
Molly Bolin was later added to the roster to fill the remaining open space for the team. The club managed to enter the playoffs in the latter half of the season.
However, in the 1981 season, the roster could not even qualify for the season playoffs. This defeat ultimately led to the demise of the franchise in 1981 without any formal announcements.
California Dreams
Dreams was another club in the same league. They played for only one season that too partially.
The franchise was established in 1979 and dismantled in 1980. Even before the end of the regular season, the club was revoked.
Their weak financial situations and their unusual game cancellations compelled the league to invalidate them. Even the players walked out of the team because of their unpaid wages.
Other Women's Basketball Team To Watch In California
Other Women's basketball teams in California include Stanford Cardinal, Sierra Canyon Trailblazers, and UCLA Bruins.
Here is the list of other women's basketball teams to watch out for in California
- Stanford Cardinal
- UCLA Bruins
- La Maples
- Sierra Canyon Trailblazers
- San Francisco Dons
- Etiwanda Eagles
- La Jolla Country Day Torreys
Stanford Cardinal
Cardinal is a part of the NCAA and competes in the pac-12 conference. Stanford is a 3 times NCAA champion.
The university won the championship in 1990,1992 and 2021. In addition to that, they have won the conference title 27 times.
They were even ranked the first among the colleges of pac-12 in 2023.
UCLA Bruins
Bruins is another college female team from the same state and is part of the Pac-12 conference.
The university has not won any NCAA tournament till now but has won 6 regular-season conference titles and even a conference tournament in 2006.
LA Maples
La Maples is a franchise based in California and a part of the WABA league.
WABA stands for Women's American Basketball Association. The federation is formed of 18 members and was founded in 2017.
It is one of the professional summer leagues in the country. However, the Maples are yet to win a title in this league.
They are semi-professional female teams from California and haven't won a single title to date.
Sierra Canyon Trailblazers
Canyon is also the team located in Los Angeles and is five times State Champions.
They were the back-to-back winners of the championship from 2013 to 2015 while the remaining two championships were from 2019 and 2022.
The team is full of new athletes and the school is highly focused on producing calibered athletes for the WNBA. They have produced some high-quality athletes like Juju Warkins and Amari Bailey.
In an interview with GQ Sports, the coaching staff of the school seemed confident in their program.
