Sparks Waive Three Players To Finalize 2025 Roster

The Los Angeles Sparks waived guard Aari McDonald, center Masha Kliundikova and guard Shaneice Swain on Thursday, per a team release.

The trio's release cuts the Sparks' official roster down to the WNBA's league-maximum 12 allowed players ahead of their May 16 season opener against the Golden State Valkyries.

The Sparks drafted Maria Kliundikova with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. This past February, nearly seven years later, the Sparks organization retained the rights of Kliundikova, bringing the former first-round pick back to Los Angeles.

Kliundikova — known as "Masha" and formerly Maria Vadeeva — led UMMC Ekaterinburg to a Russian League Championship, 3-0 series victory in early May. She collected a game-high 14 rebounds and a game-tying four assists, along with seven points, in the 88-56 win.

After a successful offseason abroad, Kliundikova rejoined the Sparks at training camp just weeks ago before her eventual release on Thursday. She averaged a career 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds on 50.6 percent shooting across 40 combined games in 2018 and 2019 before returning to Europe.

Thank you, Masha! pic.twitter.com/TjiXTqA088
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 15, 2025

McDonald, a 2021 WNBA All-Rookie guard, averaged 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 26 games — a shortened season due to injury — for Los Angeles in 2024 before signing a training camp contract in 2025.

She poured in 12 points, two assists and two steals in the Sparks' sole preseason contest on May 6 — one of four players to score in double figures. McDonald delivered in a pressure-filled fourth quarter, adding three timely baskets, two of which came from beyond the arc, to seal Los Angeles' first win of 2025.

Thank you, Aari, for all your contributions to the Sparks! pic.twitter.com/7bV4YFlHwL
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 15, 2025

Swain, the Sparks’ 14th overall draft pick in 2023, was signed to a rookie-scale contract in early February, per a release.

She was named WNBL Player of the Round on multiple occasions in 2024-25 — throughout her time playing for the Sydney Flames in Australia's top league this offseason. Before joining the Sparks and Flames this past year, Swain spent the previous two seasons playing for the WNBL's University of Canberra Capitals.

Thank you, Shaneice Swain. pic.twitter.com/jRhooaIfuO
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 15, 2025

The three roster moves come just days after the Sparks waived forward Anneli Maley and guard-forward Alyssa Ustby on May 1, along with forward Liatu King on May 11, respectively.

Maley landed on the Sparks' radar after impressing in 2024 and 2025 with the Perth Redbacks of the NBL1 West league. Her first and only WNBA appearance prior to the Sparks came in 2022 with the Chicago Sky.

Ustby averaged 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and a team-high 2.8 assists per game for North Carolina in 2024-25, and was named to both the All-ACC First Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team.

Los Angeles selected King 28th overall in this year's WNBA Draft on April 14. The purple and gold's 2025 third-round pick scored six points and four rebounds in five minutes during the Sparks' sole preseason game, a 83-82 win over the Valkyries, on May 6.

After transferring from Pittsburgh to Notre Dame for her final collegiate season, King averaged 11.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game — 17th in all of Division I in rebounding average — for the Fighting Irish in 2024-25.

Your 2025 Los Angeles Sparks: pic.twitter.com/vSLjif7FmV
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) May 15, 2025

The first test for the Sparks' revamped 2025 roster comes on May 16 against the Valkyries — a team Los Angeles beat in its sole preseason contest less than two weeks ago.

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