Nneka Ogwumike is back with the Los Angeles Sparks. The 2016 WNBA MVP re-signed with the team on a one-year deal.

The 32-year-old forward was drafted No. 1 overall by the Sparks in 2012, and she has spent the entirety of her 11-season career in Los Angeles. The one-year deal is worth $165,000, ESPN reported.

Ogwumike had been vocal about wanting to return, and she has been working with new coach Curt Miller and new general manager Karen Bryant on setting the direction for the team.

“I feel like I’m reaching a pivotal point my career and understanding what I want it to mean,” Ogwumike told ESPN. “I’m excited to see a lot of the enhancements that we’re making. I’m grateful to be surrounded by both players, coaches and staff that have a greater vision for the organization.

“I feel really good with where I’m at and how I’m progressing as an athlete. I want to be able to win and do that with some great people. I really do believe in this organization.”

Miller and Bryant both said that re-signing Ogwumike and getting her input on their offseason moves were top priorities. 

“She’s had a front-row seat in the franchise for many years for many years, and has seen the things that have worked and things that have not been as successful,” Bryant said. “Her global view, playing experience and credibility were hugely valuable to us.”

Ogwumike’s sister Chiney also has re-signed with the Sparks.

“We’re really two entities that are stronger together,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “It’s always something to be celebrated. And I really want to take that to another level in winning with my sister.”

Chiney Ogwumike is staying busy in between games for the Los Angeles Sparks.

After helping the Sparks to a 93-91 win over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, the forward was on the sidelines for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors less than 48 hours later.

Ogwumike is no stranger to the camera, having joined Malika Andrews on “NBA Today” and worked on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” She also served as an executive producer for “144,” a documentary detailing the 2020 WNBA season that was nominated for an Emmy in the long documentary category.

It’s Ogwumike’s first time working the NBA Finals. On Twitter, she said that she is “blessed” to have the opportunity in the midst of her WNBA season.

Los Angeles Sparks star Chiney Ogwumike spoke out Tuesday amid a flurry of roster cuts across the WNBA.

“In no circumstance should we have a league where top draft picks aren’t on a roster,” Ogwumike said.

The Sparks forward said the WNBA would benefit from a developmental league in the style of the NBA’s G League to hold the growing talent pool in women’s basketball.

With just 144 roster spots available, breaking into the WNBA and staying in the league is notoriously challenging.

The Las Vegas Aces announced Monday that the team had waived Mya Hollingshed, the No. 8 overall draft pick in this year’s WNBA draft. Elsewhere, Minnesota cut trusted guard Layshia Clarendon and 2020 Rookie of the Year Crystal Dangerfield in a move that made waves across the league.

Players and league onlookers have been clamoring for WNBA expansion to house the immense talent entering the league for some time.

“If we can move faster on transforming the economics of the league and our 12 teams, then we’ll feel comfortable that we have the right model to bring in new teams to thrive and not just survive,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told Just Women’s Sports in February. “That’ll definitely open up opportunities for us to move to the next step on expansion.”

Los Angeles Sparks forward and ESPN broadcaster Chiney Ogwumike has been nominated for a Sports Emmy as an executive producer of “144.”

The ESPN Films documentary on the 2020 WNBA season is nominated in the long documentary category alongside “LFG,” a documentary about the USWNT’s fight for equal pay.

In response to the nomination, Ogwumike tweeted that she was “blessed to have been able to tell the story.”

“Our stories MATTER,” she wrote. “The 2020 season not only transformed the landscape of sports, but also our country.”

The documentary details the story of that season, which took place in a pandemic bubble (also known as the “Wubble”) and featured league-wide social justice efforts. Ogwumike opted out of that season and did not travel to the bubble but had the idea for the documentary while speaking with sister Nneka, who also plays for the Sparks and did travel to the bubble in Florida.

Ogwumike made more history last year when she became the first Black woman to host a national, daily sports-talk radio show when she co-hosted the ESPN radio show Chiney and Golic Jr. She also joined Malika Andrews’ ESPN show “NBA Today” in September.

Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie and two-time WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike are set to host The Warm-Up, a Just Women’s Sports preview show ahead of Friday’s NCAA women’s basketball semifinal matchups.

The show, which debuted prior to the 2021 NWSL Championship game, will make its first foray into basketball, with Leslie and Ogwumike tipping off at 6 p.m. ET on the JWS TikTok channel.

The 45-minute program will provide fans with commentary and critical analysis on the semifinal games, which will feature South Carolina facing Louisville and UConn taking on Stanford.

The preview show will be held at the inaugural Just Women’s Sports Spot, the first in an event series that takes the classic sports bar experience and dedicates it entirely to women’s sports. The event, held in New York City, will also feature entertainment from four-time WNBA All-Star and DJ Elizabeth Cambage.

“I am so excited to join the Just Women’s Sports team for ‘The Warm-Up’ to talk about March Madness. The shooting display at this year’s tournament has been phenomenal,” Leslie said. “It’s awesome to be able to shine the spotlight on all these amazing women kicking butt in sport and I’m 100% loving the much-deserved attention women are receiving in sports at all levels. I’m here to support and help grow the game any way I can.”

Catch The Warm-Up streaming live on the JWS TikTok channel at 6 p.m. ET on Friday ahead of the NCAA tournament semifinals.