How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Los Angeles Sparks – WNBA (8/15/24) | Channel, stream, preview

LOS ANGELES — To cap off the first day of the WNBA’s return following the Summer Games, the best team in the league takes on a squad trying to get into the playoff conversation, as the New York Liberty takes on the Los Angeles Sparks.

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The Liberty went into the break as the (not surprisingly) best team in the WNBA. Led by recently crowned gold medalists Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, the team was sprinting into the Paris Olympics on a four-game winning streak, taking down the Connecticut Sun, twice. Ionescu leads New York by averaging 19.4 points per game, tied for sixth-best in the league. Stewart, who led the U.S. in scoring during the Olympics, is eighth in the WNBA with 19.3 points per game.

The Liberty come out of the break sitting first in the league, 2.5 games ahead of the Sun.

The Sparks on the near opposite end of the standings. While they have a solid scoring threat in Dearica Hamby, L.A. has not been able to find consistent scoring to keep up with the rest of the league. They dropped three of their last four games heading into the break, though they did pick up a surprising win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces back on July 5. Yet, they are still 10th in the WNBA, four games back of the Chicago Sky for the last playoff spot.

This is the third of four meetings this season between the Liberty and Sparks. N.Y. won the first two meetings in Brooklyn back in June.

WNBA BASKETBALL

New York Liberty (21-4) vs. Los Angeles Sparks (6-18)

When: Thursday, August 15

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Where: crypto.com Arena (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Channel: ESPN

Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream

Check out the WNBA standings and results here