Clinching a playoff spot Sunday, Los Angeles extended its winning streak to nine games. And while the Sparks lost on Monday to Minnesota, the nine-game winning streak was enough to cement their status as championship contenders.

At times, the Sparks have looked dominant. During others, the team has looked mortal. That is, until the last five minutes.

Against an 11th-ranked Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles went down to the wire. If not for some clutch play from Candace Parker, Chelsea Gray, and Britney Sykes, Los Angeles easily could have had its streak snapped. But they didn’t, and it never really felt like the outcome was in doubt. Not only because those players are all elite veterans, or that on paper the Sparks were the better team, or even that their five-time NBA champion head coach Derek Fisher was himself known for his clutch factor. Simply, Los Angeles has dominated clutch time all season.

The WNBA defines clutch time as the last five minutes with the point differential within five. In those games, Los Angeles is 6-2, which is tied with Minnesota for best in the league.

Gray, the Point Gawd, is known for being at her best in clutch moments throughout her career. This season, her usage rate has jumped from 24.5% to 29.9% in clutch time. She is also perfect on three attempts from behind the arc and the team’s leading scorer in clutch time.

The last four games of the streak all required clutch heroics for the Sparks to pull out victories.

First, Parker had to score as time expired to answer a Courtney Williams jumper that put the Dream ahead by two with 3.7 seconds in the teams’ first meeting on August 21st. Then in overtime, Los Angeles outscored Atlanta 12-4 to sneak out with the win. Gray accounted for 10 of those points, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. That close call, though, was just the beginning.

Jhsgrjkahqjdjshkajehbsnsn https://t.co/UfaNJ1Ym49 pic.twitter.com/KcYhiiWMpJ

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) August 22, 2020

In the next game against Dallas, Sykes made a jumper with 4:30 on the clock to give the Sparks their first lead since late in the second quarter. A 25-15 fourth quarter allowed Los Angeles to escape with an 84-81 win.

The story was remarkably similar against Connecticut, who had a fourth quarter lead but were outscored 21-13 in the final period and lost by four. Gray gave her team its first second half lead with a 3-pointer at 5:01, then doubled down on the next trip down the court. The Sun only made one field goal in the last two minutes as the Sparks put on the clamps.

Oh my! Chelsea Gray beats the shot clock for the 3️⃣ pic.twitter.com/3iyAiGSunr

— CBS Sports WNBA (@CBSSportsWNBA) August 29, 2020

On Sunday, in a rematch with the Dream, Los Angeles pulled away at the end. Chennedy Carter, in her second game back from an ankle injury that caused her to miss five games, scored 26 on 11-of-19, with 10 points coming in the fourth quarter. Still, Los Angeles bottled up the Atlanta offense when it counted the most. With 5:31 to go, Monique Billings tied the game at 72. Besides a lone Carter layup, the Sparks held the Dream scoreless until 1:01, and opened up an 80-74 lead.

As a team, the Sparks lead the league in points, field goals made, and steals in clutch time. Opponents are turning the ball over more than against any other team, and Los Angeles is coughing the ball up at the second lowest rate in the league. Los Angeles is also second in blocks, field goal percentage, 3-pointers made, and 3-point percentage. The numbers all back up the eye test — in clutch time, no one is better than the Sparks.

At the individual level, Gray and Parker are fifth and sixth on scoring average in clutch time, at 3.4 and 3.0 points per clutch time, respectively. Parker is shooting 9-of-13 from the field in clutch time and Gray is at 10-of-18.

Fisher has also refined his clutch time lineup. In Los Angeles’ 29 clutch minutes this season, which is third highest in the league, Parker has played in all 29 and Gray has played in 28. More importantly, the shots are being fed to those two. Of the team’s 52 clutch-time shots, 31 have been taken by either Parker or Gray. And of the 26 made shots, 19 have come from one of the two.

When Nneka Ogwumike is healthy, she provides a third option that solidifies the clutch rotation. While her shot rate is down — she has shot just four times in the clutch, making two — Los Angeles will need her to be ready down the wire in the playoffs.

The first time, or even the first few times, a Sparks win in clutch time could have been a fluke. But now, after watching Los Angeles win four straight in the final minutes, it seems pretty clear: the Sparks are clutch, and they’re ready for the playoffs.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.