The Los Angeles Sparks are facing the Portland Fire at Crypto.com Arena, with both teams already out of playoff contention and little at stake in terms of postseason hopes.
However, the game still carries significance for the standings, with Portland sitting ninth at 16-26 and Los Angeles one spot behind at 15-26.
A win would move the Sparks above their opponents in the standings, giving the hosts an added incentive to finish the season strongly. However, Los Angeles will be without a key player for the matchup.
Why isn’t Dearica Hamby playing?
The Sparks listed Hamby as out with a left knee injury, marking her first missed game of the season.
The Sparks forward had initially been listed as doubtful before her status was downgraded to confirmed out shortly before tipoff.
Hamby has dealt with knee issues earlier in her career as well. In 2022, she suffered a bone contusion to her right knee while playing for the Las Vegas Aces against the Atlanta Dream. She also sustained a right knee injury during the 2020 WNBA playoffs on September 24, 2020.
The 32-year-old had appeared in all 41 games for the Sparks this season before being ruled out of the latest matchup. She was averaging 14.4 points, seven rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, ranking fourth on Los Angeles’ scoring list, with Kelsey Plum leading the team.
Sparks injury report included other stars
However, Hamby was not the only Sparks player unavailable for Sunday’s game. Los Angeles had three players listed on its injury report, including Hamby and Cameron Brink.