The Los Angeles Sparks and head coach Curt Miller have parted ways after two seasons the franchise announced on Tuesday evening.
Sporting a 24-55 record across two WNBA campaigns with the club, LA and Miller labelled the split as a “mutual” decision.
“On behalf of our ownership group and franchise, I would like to thank Coach Miller for his passion and commitment to the Sparks organization these past two seasons,” Eric Holoman, governor and managing partner, said via a prepared statement. “We wish him well moving forward.”
“I want to thank the entire Sparks organization for the opportunity to lead and help rebuild the franchise,” said Miller. “I am proud of the culture created in our locker room and strongly believe the roots have been established for a bright future. The team is now positioned for success, and I wish the players the best heading into the 2025 season.”
The 11th winningest coach in WNBA history, Miller took home coach of the year honours in 2017 when he was a member of the Connecticut Sun franchise. The 55 year old helped guide the Sun to a finals appearance, as LA hoped that his ability to work with both veterans and rookies alike would translate to similar success on the west coast.
Unfortunately, the change from Derek Fisher to Miller did little to change the fortunes for the Sparks as they sputtered to a franchise worst 8-32 record this past season. As a result, the 3x WNBA champions have now failed to make the postseason for 4 consecutive years.
Granted, losing 2nd overall pick Cameron Brink to a knee injury early on didn’t help things, but it became evident down the stretch that Miller and his roster were on different wavelengths most evenings, resulting in more than a few lopsided scores.
The Sparks front office stated that they would be casting a wide net in their search for a new head coach, as they hope that a change in leadership, plus a high draft pick, can help end their playoff-less skid in 2025.
Photo: Lorie Shaull. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.