2-Time WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike Signs New Sparks Contract in Free Agency

Chiney Ogwumike announced Wednesday she re-signed with the Los Angeles Sparks ahead of the 2023 WNBA season.

Ogwumike averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 26 appearances with Los Angeles last season.

"Chiney is a key returning veteran for the Sparks," general manager Karen Bryant said in a statement. "We are grateful to have her continued leadership and frontcourt presence on our team."

The move comes as little surprise.

By getting traded to Los Angeles in 2019, Ogwumike not only joined her sister, Nneka, but she also found the most straightforward way to balance her ESPN broadcasting career with her WNBA career.

With Nneka reportedly heading back to the Sparks, they became the most obvious landing spot for Chiney.

In recent seasons, Los Angeles hasn't been able to get out of its own way.

A pair of franchise cornerstones, Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray, left and won titles elsewhere. Former head coach Derek Fisher was fired midway through last year to bring his forgettable tenure to an end after three-plus seasons. The Liz Cambage experiment was a disaster.

With Bryant taking over as GM and two-time Coach of the Year Curt Miller coming in, the Sparks are laying a more solid foundation for the future. Getting Chiney and presumably Nneka Ogwumike to re-sign represents a solid endorsement of the organization's vision.

Keeping Chiney became more important as the Sparks have seen their frontcourt depth put to the test.

The team already knew Dearica Hamby's status for 2023 was in flux because of her pregnancy when it acquired her from the Las Vegas Aces. Since then, however, L.A. saw Stephanie Talbot suffer a torn ACL and Katie Lou Samuelson announce her own pregnancy.

Ogwumike figures to be a key reserve in Miller's lineup.