LOS ANGELES — A lot has been going on with the Los Angeles Sparks during this free agency period. A lot of players have moved on, including Nneka Ogwumike (who just announced she was going to play for the Seattle Storm this upcoming season). Meanwhile, the Sparks got Kia Nurse to go along with the #4 pick of this April’s draft from the Storm and made another deal to get Aari McDonald from the Atlanta Dream in exchange for Jordin Canada. The Sparks and Dream also swapped first round picks for the same draft; L.A. now has the #8 pick. Los Angeles then took care of their own house, re-signing Layshia Clarendon and Rae Burrell.

The Sparks made another move to keep one of their players. They re-signed Lexie Brown to a two-year contract extension.

Lexie was having a banner season that was unfortunately cut short due to illness. But in the 12 games she played, she averaged a career-high 12.4 points and 2.4 assists while shooting a fantastic .415 from three. She would’ve been in the running for Most Improved Player had she stayed healthy but she sure did prove to become a three-level scorer. Brown tied a career-high with 26 points in a thrilling overtime game against Phoenix on June 2 of last season.

Brown was drafted 9th overall by the Connecticut Sun out of Duke in 2018. She went to Minnesota for the next two years before landing in Chicago where she was part of the 2021 championship team. She has spent the last two seasons with Los Angeles and seems to have found a home with the Sparks. In her two years with the Sparks, she’s averaged 8.5 points while shooting .404 from three.

The Sparks are moving into a new era with three picks in the Top 8 for this year’s draft. And for the foreseeable future, Lexie Brown will be a part of that era.