The 2003 WNBA season was the seventh season for the Los Angeles Sparks franchise. The Sparks reached the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive season, but fell to the Detroit Shock in three games.
| 2003 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Michael Cooper |
| Arena | Staples Center |
| Attendance | 9,290 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 24–10 (.706) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Lost WNBA Finals (2-1) to Detroit Shock |
Offseason
editDispersal Draft
edit| Pick | Player | Nationality | Former Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Jackie Stiles (G) |  United States
|
Portland Fire |
WNBA draft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 27 | Schuye LaRue (F) | United States
|
Virginia |
| 3 | 42 | Mary Jo Noon (C) | United States
|
Purdue |
Regular season
editSeason standings
edit| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 24 | 10 | .706 | – | 11–6 | 13–4 | 17–7 |
| Houston Comets x | 20 | 14 | .588 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 6–11 | 14–10 |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 7–10 | 13–11 |
| Minnesota Lynx x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 14–10 |
| Seattle Storm o | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars o | 12 | 22 | .353 | 12.0 | 9–8 | 3–14 | 10–14 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 8 | 26 | .235 | 16.0 | 6–11 | 2–15 | 5–19 |
Season schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24 | @ Connecticut | 82-73 | Win | 1-0 |
| May 27 | @ Cleveland | 79-71 | Win | 2-0 |
| May 28 | @ Minnesota | 83-80 | Win | 3-0 |
| May 30 | @ Seattle | 77-74 (OT) | Win | 4-0 |
| June 5 | Sacramento | 63-61 | Win | 5-0 |
| June 7 | @ Sacramento | 79-61 | Win | 6-0 |
| June 10 | Minnesota | 76-75 | Win | 7-0 |
| June 12 | Indiana | 74-66 | Win | 8-0 |
| June 14 | @ New York | 67-60 | Win | 9-0 |
| June 17 | @ Detroit | 78-87 (OT) | Loss | 9-1 |
| June 19 | Seattle | 67-69 | Loss | 9-2 |
| June 21 | @ Phoenix | 54-48 | Win | 10-2 |
| June 24 | @ Houston | 71-62 | Win | 11-2 |
| June 26 | @ San Antonio | 67-58 | Win | 12-2 |
| June 28 | Sacramento | 60-69 | Loss | 12-3 |
| July 5 | Seattle | 84-75 | Win | 13-3 |
| July 7 | Cleveland | 81-75 | Win | 14-3 |
| July 9 | @ Washington | 97-91 | Win | 15-3 |
| July 15 | Phoenix | 80-77 (OT) | Win | 16-3 |
| July 18 | Houston | 74-79 | Loss | 16-4 |
| July 20 | Connecticut | 73-76 | Loss | 16-5 |
| July 22 | Washington | 77-73 | Win | 17-5 |
| July 24 | Phoenix | 82-65 | Win | 18-5 |
| July 30 | San Antonio | 62-70 | Loss | 18-6 |
| July 31 | @ Sacramento | 75-83 | Loss | 18-7 |
| August 2 | Charlotte | 73-84 | Loss | 18-8 |
| August 6 | @ Seattle | 56-92 | Loss | 18-9 |
| August 8 | @ Phoenix | 67-64 | Win | 19-9 |
| August 9 | @ San Antonio | 52-69 | Loss | 19-10 |
| August 14 | @ Minnesota | 87-83 | Win | 20-10 |
| August 16 | @ Houston | 64-63 | Win | 21-10 |
| August 21 | Minnesota | 88-65 | Win | 22-10 |
| August 23 | San Antonio | 83-70 | Win | 23-10 |
| August 25 | Houston | 67-64 | Win | 24-10 |
| August 28 1st Round, G1 |
@ Minnesota | 72-74 | Loss | 0-1 |
| August 30 1st Round, G2 |
Minnesota | 80-69 | Win | 1-1 |
| September 1 1st Round, G3 |
Minnesota | 74-64 | Win | 2-1 |
| September 5 West Finals, G1 |
@ Sacramento | 69-77 | Loss | 2-2 |
| September 7 West Finals, G2 |
Sacramento | 79-54 | Win | 3-2 |
| September 8 West Finals, G3 |
Sacramento | 66-63 | Win | 4-2 |
| September 12 WNBA Finals, G1 |
Detroit | 75-63 | Win | 5-2 |
| September 14 WNBA Finals, G2 |
@ Detroit | 61-62 | Loss | 5-3 |
| September 16 WNBA Finals, G3 |
@ Detroit | 78-83 | Loss | 5-4 |
Player stats
edit| Player | Games Played | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mwadi Mabika | 32 | 141 | 82 | 30 | 18 | 441 |
| Lisa Leslie | 23 | 231 | 46 | 31 | 63 | 424 |
| DeLisha Milton-Jones | 31 | 220 | 64 | 49 | 41 | 416 |
| Tamecka Dixon | 30 | 126 | 89 | 35 | 10 | 412 |
| Nikki Teasley | 34 | 175 | 214 | 39 | 15 | 392 |
| Jennifer Gillom | 33 | 55 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 103 |
| Nicky McCrimmon | 33 | 29 | 32 | 19 | 1 | 68 |
| Rhonda Mapp | 24 | 68 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 62 |
| Sophia Witherspoon | 23 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 56 |
| Shaquala Williams | 25 | 32 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 49 |
| Vanessa Nygaard | 11 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 41 |
| Latasha Byears | 5 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| Chandra Johnson | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Lynn Pride | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jenny Mowe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |