New guard is already aware of how dangerous Sparks can be

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New guard is already aware of how dangerous Sparks can be

David Yapkowitz, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, Jun 21, 2026 ·

3 min read

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LOS ANGELES – Even before star guard Kelsey Plum's recent lower leg injury , the Los Angeles Sparks knew they wanted more ball-handling and playmaking in the backcourt. Instead of trying to play rookie guards Ta'Niya Latson and Chance Gray out of position, the Sparks opted to poach Kiana Williams from the Phoenix Mercury .

Since Kiana Williams was on a developmental contract, the Sparks were able to sign her to an offer sheet and force the Mercury to match. They did not, and the fifth-year guard officially joined the Sparks for practice on Saturday ahead of the team's upcoming game against the New York Liberty .

Williams is expected to be in the team's rotation from the get-go, regardless of whether or not Plum is cleared to play on Sunday. And she's already quite aware of how good this Sparks team can be when they're clicking on all cylinders having played against them with the Mercury.

"We just played LA twice over in Phoenix and it wasn't a great feeling losing both those games. So I know what LA is capable of," Williams said after practice.

Williams' first day with the team coincided with the Sparks' 30th anniversary celebration. Several former franchise legends were in attendance at practice, a few of whom were part of the Sparks' 2001 and 2002 championship teams.

While the past couple of days were a little bit of a whirlwind for the former Stanford star, she is looking forward to this new opportunity while donning the colors of a once elite franchise.

"Everything really happened super fast, but to me I ended up in a great situation here in LA. I'm super excited," Williams said. "What a crazy day to have, the alums here just agains about the history, the culture and stuff. So I'm very excited and grateful for the opportunity. I don't take wearing this purple and old for granted."

The No. 18 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, Williams is already familiar with a few of her new Sparks teammates. She won a national championship at Stanford with Cameron Brink , and she played with Nneka Ogwumike with the Seattle Storm . She was also at Unrivaled alongside Plum, Brink, Erica Wheeler , Dearica Hamby and Rae Burrell .

She's spent the past two seasons playing for the Mercury, and this year she was putting up career numbers of 4.8 points and 36 percent shooting from the 3-point line across eight games at a little over 13 minutes. But regardless of numbers, the biggest impact that Williams is expected to have is allowing Plum and Wheeler to get quick breathers in-game.

"Just trying to be a ball-handler, a backup to E-Dub [Erica Wheeler], take some pressure off of Kelsey Plum . Just bringing my experience. I played with Nneka in Seattle so I'm familiar with her," Williams said. "Just trying to bring my shooting capabilities, my ball-handling, my leadership and stuff to the team, just trying to mesh in."

Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts got to see Williams on the court for the first time during Saturday's practice, and she was overall pleased with the early returns.

"We got with her a little last night just to kind of try to acclimate her with the playbook," Roberts said. "But she's a vet, she's a pro. So she's doing good."

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