- 1 Los Angeles Sparks vs Golden State Valkyries: a goodbye night for one side, top spot on the line for the other
- 2 Los Angeles finishes a season without play-offs and turns a page in its history
- 3 Golden State comes in hot and knows exactly what it wants
- 4 WNBA Prediction Los Angeles Sparks vs Golden State Valkyries
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information moves
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible betting first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Los Angeles Sparks vs Golden State Valkyries: a goodbye night for one side, top spot on the line for the other 
No spark from the Sparks? Nneka Ogwumike will play the final WNBA game of her career on Thursday. It comes at crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Valkyries, with Los Angeles already out of the play-offs.
Tip-off is set for 04h00 Paris time, overnight Thursday into Friday, on the final day of the regular season. The California franchise closes the book on a 16-win, 26-loss campaign.
The picture in the other camp could hardly be more different. The Valkyries were 31-11 on 20 September, sitting second overall, just one game behind the Minnesota Lynx.
Golden State still has a mathematical shot at finishing first: it has to win its last two games and hope Minnesota slips up in both of theirs. Second place, though, is already secured with one more win.
That gap in motivation sets the tone. One team is fighting for seeding ahead of the 27 September play-offs, the other is staging the farewell for one of the most decorated players the league has ever seen.
Los Angeles finishes a season without play-offs and turns a page in its history 
Ogwumike’s record explains why this Sparks game has drawn so much attention. She was the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, Rookie of the Year that same season, then MVP and champion in 2016, and a 11-time All-Star.
Add eight All-WNBA selections and seven All-Defensive nods. She has also led the players’ union since 2016, a role that carried real weight in the latest collective bargaining talks.
The on-court picture is far less glossy. The Sparks are 8-13 away from home and have produced the same kind of record at home, a season spent nowhere near the qualifying eight.
Kelsey Plum’s move to Phoenix on 2 August took a chunk out of the offence halfway through the year. The team never found a reliable answer down the stretch.
Their most telling recent outing was a 97-77 loss in Dallas on 17 September, coming back after the World Cup break. The Sparks then hosted Portland before heading to Las Vegas on 22 September.
The crowd at crypto.com Arena can lift the Sparks for a while, especially for a night like this. But it doesn’t make up for a 15-win gap in the standings.
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Golden State comes in hot and knows exactly what it wants 
The Valkyries are on a six-game winning streak, the latest a 70-57 victory over Seattle on 19 September at Chase Center. That run has been built on defence rather than pure scoring volume.
Their road record backs up the point: 14 wins and 6 losses away from home. Few teams in the league have been that good on the road.
The rotation has also held firm without its internationals. Golden State beat Portland 82-66 on 18 September without Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaun, who had only just returned from the World Cup final with France, as well as Cecilia Zandalasini.
Winning without three key rotation pieces says plenty about the depth in this group. It also explains how the franchise has kept rolling through a tight schedule since the restart.
The stakes remain real. A win in Los Angeles locks down second place and keeps the top-seed dream alive, provided Minnesota stumbles.
There is no reason to ease off with 48 hours left before the play-offs begin. The Valkyries need rhythm as much as they need the result against the Sparks.
WNBA Prediction Los Angeles Sparks vs Golden State Valkyries
Our pick: Golden State Valkyries to win with a -3.5 handicap against the Sparks
A 15-win gap in the table, six straight wins for Golden State and a 14-6 road record: all three numbers point the same way.
The Valkyries also have a seeding job to finish, while Los Angeles is playing for nothing in the standings. The motivation gap is clear.
Ogwumike’s farewell atmosphere could keep the Sparks hanging around for a half, which is why a modest handicap makes more sense than a big swing. Golden State should win and cover the 3.5 points.
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