Exclusive: Erica Wheeler has been the veteran leader the Sparks need

In the aftermath of the Los Angeles Sparks’ win against the Washington Mystics this past Friday, Nneka Ogwumike couldn’t help but gush over teammate Erica Wheeler and her importance as a veteran leader for the team.

This is Ogwumike’s third go-round with Wheeler. The pair were teammates back in 2021 during Wheeler’s first stint with the Sparks. They became teammates again last season with the Seattle Storm and they both made the trek back to Los Angeles to rejoin the Sparks this offseason.

If there’s anyone on the team who truly understands Wheeler’s value, it’s Ogwumike. Her journey to becoming one of the Sparks’ key leaders is something that Ogwumike has seen grow over time.

“E is someone who how she presents is what you’re going to get. She’s up front, she’s really intuitive when it comes to her teammates and one thing about her is she was undrafted so she came into this league hustling,” Ogwumike said. “Being able to play with her in LA the first time, she adds an element of Hollywood to Los Angeles basketball.

“And then in Seattle, I saw someone who was really selfless. Not to say that she wasn’t always that way, but really selfless about the team, sacrificial, really trying to just do what she could to make the team better.”

With the Sparks involved in a tight game against the Mystics, Wheeler hit several big shots down the stretch, finishing with a game-high 21 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and dishing out eight assists. She stepped up in the absence of Kelsey Plum who is sidelined due to an ankle injury, and one of the main things Ogwumike has sought to do this season is continually remind Wheeler of her importance to the team.

“I’ve been talking to her a bit about all those things, including her understanding her worth on the court, on both ends, and also her understanding the responsibility that she has with her voice,” Ogwumike continued. “It really goes a long way and it’s not just because she’s the point guard, but she’s someone who’s very relatable and someone who listens but then also communicates effectively. That’s something you really want in a point guard.”

As Ogwumike mentioned, part of Erica Wheeler’s role as one of the Sparks’ veteran leaders is her ability to tell it like it is. Take for instance, her response to the Sparks’ embarrassing home loss to the Las Vegas Aces in their season opener.

“Honestly, right now we all are too nice,” Wheeler had told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview a couple of days after the loss. “Everybody’s trying to figure it out, nobody wants to overstep, everybody’s a little too respectable. I think in certain moments, we just need to be ourselves and say what it is whether somebody likes it or not. Ultimately, the goal is to win. Being in that pocket of knowing when to really overstep and knowing when to really say something.

“I think once we get over that hurdle of being able to just say whatever we need to say in real time or after, I think we’ll be fine.”

Erica Wheeler leadership role with Sparks

Being that beacon of leadership is a major part of Wheeler’s role as a point guard. By virtue of her position, she is an extension on the court of Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts. Throughout her career, she’s mostly been able to establish herself as an outgoing voice on whatever team she’s on.

But measuring leadership isn’t always that easy. It’s not something that can always be quantified or explained with stats or a box score. It’s measured more by word of mouth. Feedback coming from teammates such as Ogwumike.

Through actions such as back during Sparks’ media day when Cameron Brink was overcome with emotion when speaking about feeling like not living up to expectations and the mental process of coming back from a major injury.

Wheeler was sitting with Brink at the podium and made sure to point out that the third-year center is not only on the right path in terms of succeeding in the WNBA, but is also one of the best teammates on the roster. That intuitive extrovert in her shining through. And sometimes that also means clashing with a teammate or two.

“I’m a talker. I don’t mind hard conversations with my teammates. Ask KP [Kelsey Plum], we will get into it every now and then but it’s healthy. It’s not anything that goes on the court, it’s all healthy, it’s all respect. But also it’s accountability. I can’t tell KP to do something that I’m not doing myself,” Wheeler said. “That’s kind of my role, just being able to speak up in moments … I just find my little pockets.

“I’m more so a person that will talk to you on the side versus out loud. Unless you’re constantly doing something that you’re not supposed to be doing, I’m gonna call it out. But I’m more so on the side, giving little nuggets to the rookies, encouraging players on the side, that’s my role.”

And that extroverted style also manifests on the court. As Wheeler says, she is more of a one-on-one type of leader, but as the point guard, she is tasked with organizing everything in game. She began the season coming off the bench, but with the Sparks wanting Plum to be able to focus on getting herself going offensively, Wheeler was moved into the starting lineup as the primary ball-handler.

Since moving into the starting lineup, Wheeler has been averaging 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists through five games. She’s shooting close to 44 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the 3-point line. Equally important has been the way Plum has been unlocked since Wheeler joined her in the backcourt.

Plum has surged to top of the WNBA’s scoring leaders with a career-high 26.8 points. With Wheeler shifting over to the being the primary ball-handler and facilitator, Plum has been able to do what she does best, put the ball in the basket.

Helping open up the floor for her teammates is no problem for the self-proclaimed, ‘connector-in-chief,’ as Wheeler refers to herself, even if means sometimes switching up plays drawn up by Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts. Just like the respect she has from her teammates, Wheeler has a healthy understanding with Roberts when it comes to improvising on the fly. She knows how important it is to get the entire team in rhythm.

“Just being able to be a point guard that’s unselfish. I don’t want to say I’m a pass-first point guard, but I also see the game. For example, if Triple-A [Ariel Atkins] hasn’t hit two threes and coach calls a play for somebody else, I’d probably wave coach off and be like, ‘we’re going back to Triple-A,’” Wheeler said. “I think me and coach, she has a respect level for me to trust that that’s the right decision.”

Erica Wheeler’s decision to return to Sparks

A lot has changed since Wheeler last played for the Sparks. It was back in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020-21 NBA season had a very late start amid the league trying to navigate the virus and its toll on team rosters.

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers made playoff runs, coinciding with the start of the WNBA season. As has been the case when conflicting scheduling has occurred, the Sparks got the short end of the stick. With the Lakers and Clippers taking priority at Crypto.com Arena, the Sparks were relegated to playing home games at the adjacent Convention Center in what amounted to a glorified AAU setup.

The makeup of the organization was much different too. Derek Fisher was the dual head coach and general manager. The roster was almost like a bunch of parts thrown together with no real vision.

“It was completely different,” Wheeler remembered. “The dynamic of everything, even the time that we are in for women’s sports is completely different from 2021. And then the team, we have a bunch of girls that really like each other. We have a good time with each other.”

Wheeler was sure she was never going to come back to Los Angeles after that stint. It was Plum who initially began recruiting her to sign with the Sparks and she was direct about not wanting to come back.

“I was like, KP, I’m not going back to f**king LA,” Wheeler recalled. “The taxes are too high over there.”

But Plum was persistent in her pursuit of Wheeler. She had identified the guard she wanted as her backcourt mate and she was in Wheeler’s ear during their time together at Unrivaled. As the offseason continued and a few other pieces fell into place for the Sparks, her return became more of a reality than a long shot.

“KP was on it early. We had a couple of conversations, she always made jokes about how I’ll be back in LA,” Wheeler said. “We kept in communication with that, and Lynne [Roberts] came after me. And then when Nneka got on board to say she was coming, it was a no-brainer after that. Then it was just about getting it done.”

And for Ogwumike, she never envisioned that she and Wheeler were going to be recurring teammates this many times, but she’s grateful that their paths have continued to cross.

“I’m really happy to be able to see her come into her own. I didn’t expect to play with E this many times which is kind of cool,” Ogwumike said. “When we both came to LA, there’s a level of familiarity that hopefully is infused into the sisterhood that we have in this locker room.”

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