In just a few weeks, the Olympics will get underway, and the WNBA will have about a month off before returning to play in mid-August of 2024. As of Tuesday, Kia Nurse, a guard for the Los Angeles Sparks, will be competing in the Olympics for Team Canada in basketball. A number of WNBA players will represent other nations in this competition. To commemorate the announcement, the Sparks squad gave Nurse a surprise present during practice on Tuesday.
To inform Kia Nurse of their choice to go to the Olympics, Team Canada sent the Sparks a unique jersey. A suitcase with a variety of goods was also included in the gift.
Nurse will compete in the Olympics for the second time with the Canadian national team. She was a member of the 2016 Olympic team. However, she represented Canada in a number of FIBA competitions, including the Pan American Games in 2015, the FIBA Americas Women’s Championship in 2015, the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, and the 2014 FIBA World Championship.
After being acquired in an offseason trade with the Seattle Storm, Nurse is in her first season with the Sparks. As part of the deal, the Sparks also received the No. 4 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Rickea Jackson was selected by the Sparks with that choice.
This season, Nurse has played in all 18 games, averaging just over 22 minutes per contest. With 37.2 percent shooting from the field, 32.2 percent from three-point range, and 77.8 percent from the free-throw line, she has been averaging 9.1 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.
Nurse, a six-year WNBA veteran, fully recovered from an ACL injury she sustained in the 2021 postseason. She missed the whole 2022 season due to the injury. Nurse has previously played for the Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty in addition to the Sparks and Storm. She was selected by the Liberty with the 10th overall choice in the 2018 WNBA Draft, and she was named an All-Star for the 2019 campaign.
The Sparks are back at Crypto.com Arena after a losing seven games on their road tour. They will play five of their next six games at home before the Olympic break, starting on Tuesday against the Washington Mystics. With a current record of 4-15, the Mystics and Dallas Wings share the poorest record in the WNBA. At 4-14, the Sparks are directly behind them.
With most teams getting close to playing 20 games, the WNBA season is almost halfway gone. If the Sparks keep going in this direction, the 2025 WNBA Draft should take center stage. But shortly, as striker Azurá Stevens is expected to return to the starting lineup before the Olympic break, the squad could receive a little lift.
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