Sparks' Coach Lynne Roberts Challenges Team After Loss to Sky's Angel Reese
Following a loss to Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on June 29, Sparks' first-year head coach Lynne Roberts was brutally honest. At the time, the defeat marked Los Angeles' fifth straight home loss — a streak that's continued into mid-July.
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Roberts, dealing with a shorthanded rotation and a new-look backcourt, challenged L.A. following the disappointing defeat.
Angel Reese after Chicago’s 92-85 win over LA:
— Ben Geffner (@BenGeffner) June 29, 2025
“We just wanted it more.” pic.twitter.com/gYaj9HmufE
“When you're hit with adversity, you lose or you don't perform the way you want to, it's a choice as to how you approach it," she said. "There is no magic formula. You either choose to learn and look in the mirror, myself included, and say, ‘All right, where can I be better? Where did I fall short?’... I'm not going to change in terms of my mentality. The sun's going to come up tomorrow. We're going to attack.
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Furthermore, Roberts discussed whether the late June loss was a must-win, as well as the state of the Sparks as they continue to look for a playoff spot entering August.
GAME RECAP: Angel Reese Spoils Sparks' Azurá Stevens' Career Night in Rematch With Sky
— LA Sports Report (@LA_SportsReport) June 26, 2025
A double-double by Reese powered the Sky to their first win over the Sparks in 2025. LA gets another chance against Chicago this Sunday at home.
More from @BenGeffner: https://t.co/awa9VlS17G
“I don't think we're close. We're still missing ... Cameron Brink," Roberts said. "Part of our inconsistency on the floor has been inconsistency with our roster, so we've had people in and out and hurt and that's hard. But … we're learning from it, and we're getting tougher because of it. So have we come close to [peaking]? No, I don’t think so.
"There has to be an intensity of, like, 'we gotta approach this thing, we gotta have it.' Build on the last win ... We've got to be tougher — sustained runs, handle adversity, handle performance issues, or bad calls. In this league, the tougher team wins, and I don't just mean physically," she continued.
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For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Sparks, visit Los Angeles Sparks on SI.
Ben Geffner is an award-winning sports journalist and current student at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. A greater Los Angeles native now with countless years of extensive and dedicated experience — including beat reporting, writing, play-by-play broadcast, television anchoring, podcasting and video production — Ben remains eager to contribute as credentialed media covering the LA Sparks.
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