#RespectTheSparks

How is it possible that the excitement of the Los Angeles Sparks winning their third WNBA title in team history has come and gone already?

Or is it that there was never any real excitement?

Regardless of the answer, the issue still remains that this Sparks team isn’t receiving the respect it deserves and hasn’t received it all season long.

Let’s start with Candace Parker.

Parker was given the most difficult task of becoming the face of a Sparks team post the Lisa Leslie era.

This season, Parker averaged 20.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game.

This isn’t the first season she has ruled the league.

Since entering the league in 2008 out of Tennessee, Parker has a career points average of 17.5 and 8.8 rebounds. Furthermore, she has been named to the All-WNBA first or second team six times in her career. Not to mention, she is a former Rookie of the Year and two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player. She also has an All-Star Game MVP award to her credit.

To add insult to injury, Parker was left off the Team USA roster for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Now, the only thing that matters is she can add WNBA Champion and Finals MVP to her resume’ after a dominating 28-point, 12-rebound performance in the fifth and final game of the WNBA Finals.

You can couple Parker with the youth and talent of Nneka Ogwumike formerly of Stanford.

Ogwumike has only been in the league for four years yet she has already been named a league MVP as of this year. She averaged 14 points and a shade under eight rebounds this season.

With all that in mind, I think it’s important to point out this team is still relatively young so this most recent title may not be the last for quite some time.