LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Sparks have decided to make a deal. They acquired veteran Kia Nurse as well as another lottery pick from this year’s draft (the 4th overall). The Seattle Storm will receive the Sparks’ 2026 first round pick.
Nurse averaged 5.9 points while shooting .350 from three with the Storm last season after coming back from a grueling ACL injury in the 2021 Playoffs while playing with the Phoenix Mercury. She notably made a long three-pointer in Los Angeles that helped them upset the Sparks and closed the season with an 18-point performance against L.A. The Sparks attempted the second fewest three-pointers and were 9th out of 12 teams in three-point percentage. Nurse can certainly help in that.
What’s also exciting is the Sparks acquiring the Storm’s lottery pick from this coming draft. This year’s draft can be potentially deep and with the Sparks already holding the second overall pick, they can have a couple more young players that can shape the future of this franchise.
Before spending last season with the Storm, Kia Nurse was drafted by the New York Liberty in 2018 after a stellar four-year college stint in the University of Connecticut. Nurse was an all-star starter in 2019, her second year in the league. In 2021, she got traded to the Phoenix Mercury where her team made the WNBA Finals.
Kia Nurse is averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting .323 from three for her WNBA career thus far.
