LOS ANGELES – The 2026 WNBA season is over for the Los Angeles Sparks, and they head into the offseason trying to build a roster capable of snapping their current streak of six consecutive years not making the playoffs. But before the Sparks can think about roster construction, the first order of business to hiring a new head coach, and incoming general manager Ariana Andonian has an early idea of what she’s looking for.

Speaking with media for the first time since she was hired as general manager, Ariana Andonian acknowledged that the Sparks want to be as thorough as possible in their search for a new coach without putting too much of an initial timeline on it.

“We want to take our time with this process and make sure that we get it right. We want an excellent leader, an excellent communicator, someone who is collaborative and willing to come to work in the W and work with all of us,” Andonian said during her introductory press conference on Tuesday. “Have relentless standards of kind of how great we think this franchise could be, and that’s a great developer of talent.”

Since 2022, the Sparks have had four different head coaches. Derek Fisher began the 2022 season at helm and he was replaced with interim coach Fred Williams after being dismissed about one month into the year. Curt Miller took the helm in 2023 and lasted two seasons before being let go. Lynne Roberts arrived immediately after, and she too was shown the door after two years.

Neither Fisher nor Roberts had prior WNBA experience before taking the job. Fisher had a previous stint in the NBA with the New York Knicks, while Roberts was a longtime college coach having most recently turned the University of Utah into a perennial NCAA Tournament team.

But when it comes to the next Sparks coach, Andonian isn’t necessarily looking for someone who has tons of experience in the WNBA, but it is one quality the team is looking at.

“I think that we want to cast a wide net and make sure we find someone who has the balance of understanding the W, but is willing to be creative and open-minded,” Andonian continued. “We want to be open-minded and not put an exact requirement on what we’re looking for within the person as well.”

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Hiring a coach that doesn’t necessarily have an extensive history in the WNBA would also mirror Andonian’s own journey to the Sparks as well. She brings with her a wealth of experience in terms of scouting, player development and team building. But all of her experience comes from the NBA having worked her way up through various positions with the Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sparks current assistant general managers, Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen, were also hired from the NBA ranks in the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. But for Andonian, she might not have a background in the WNBA, but she does have experience in what a successful organization looks like.

“I think that building a basketball operation kind of applies across different teams, whether that’s international basketball teams, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and I feel really lucky that I worked for what I think are some of the best professional sports organizations in the world regardless of men’s or women’s basketball,” Andonian said.

“Having those high standards and really making sure that we’re brining in the best people possible across all groups and really being championship level and everything, whether that’s talent identification, whether that’s coaching, player development, player health. I’ve been in organizations that really took their time and did things that way, and I hope to bring that and build a similar basketball operation here.”

And it isn’t as if Andonian is completely new to the WNBA. The Southern California native grew up a Sparks fan, and one of her most fond childhood memories was writing school assignments about franchise star Lisa Leslie.

“It’s a dream come true and I don’t take the responsibility lightly,” Andonian said. “This is a championship franchise with an incredible history and I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to help build its next chapter and bring sustained success back to Los Angeles.”