Sparks are the preseason pick to win title
WNBA
Six of the WNBA's 14 general managers choose the team to win their third championship. Majority also see Sparks' Lisa Leslie as MVP and top draft pick Candace Parker as rookie of the year.
WNBA general managers, in a survey conducted by the league, predict the Sparks not only will win the WNBA title but the top two player awards will belong to them as well.
Six of the 14 GMs (42%) picked the team to win their third league championship, while the Seattle Storm and defending champion Phoenix Mercury tied for second with 17% of the votes.
The Sparks, who are coming off a disastrous season in which they tied for last place with a 10-24 record, have three-time MVP Lisa Leslie back and have added No. 1 draft pick Candace Parker to their roster.
A majority of the GMs see Leslie winning her fourth MVP award; she sat out last season after giving birth to her first child. The 6-foot-5 center had 36% of the votes, followed by Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm with 27%. Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Silver Stars and Diana Taurasi of the Mercury tied for third with 18%.
Leslie, who was MVP in 2001, 2004 and 2006, is the league's all-time scoring leader.
As for the rookie of the year, a majority of the GMs think that award will go to Parker, who last month helped Tennessee to its second straight NCAA title. She received 75% of the votes. The Chicago Sky's Sylvia Fowles, the No. 2 draft pick out of Louisiana State, received the remaining 25%.
Fowles, however, was voted as the rookie most likely to develop into the league's best player in five years, earning 67% of the votes, compared to 25% for Parker.
The Sparks, who have won all three of their exhibition games, open the regular season Saturday in Phoenix against the Mercury.
dan.arritt@latimes.com
