Nneka Ogwumike called game.

The 10-time WNBA All-Star and Sparks forward hit a 25-foot, buzzer-beating three-point shot from the left wing to give the Sparks an electric 98-97 come-from-behind win over the New York Liberty on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

In a rematch of the WNBA’s first-ever game from June 21, 1997, the Sparks overcame a 17-point Liberty lead, all while celebrating the inaugural matchup — and iconic alumni — that changed women’s sports forever.

“It feels really good,” Ogwumike said in a postgame interview through tears. “I’ve been with the Sparks for so long. … It’s emotional seeing all of these legends in the building — people who didn’t get paid their values — coming in here and supporting us. I’m so grateful.”

Ogwumike led the Sparks with a game-high 24 points on 11-of-18 shooting while the rest of the starting lineup — Dearica Hamby, Erica Wheeler, Kelsey Plum and Ariel Atkins — all finished in double figures.

Guard Rae Burrell, celebrating her 26th birthday, scored 19 off the bench.

“I’m just happy that I was able to contribute in any way to get this W, especially the birthday dub,” Burrell said.

New York led for most of the game despite a lackluster performance from Sabrina Ionescu, who finished with two points. The rest of the Liberty’s starting five — Breanna Stewart, Satou Sabally, Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones — delivered with a combined 63 points.

It was a total team effort for the Sparks, who were extra grateful to have Plum back after she missed Wednesday’s game with a leg injury. The Sparks improved to 7-0 in games when the four-time All-Star has six-plus assists (Plum had seven), and the team posted a season-high 28 assists.

“I wish we were fully healthy,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before the game, referencing the ankle sprain Cameron Brink sustained Monday against Golden State. “But we got KP. And obviously, as you guys know, she’s the head of the snake. So that gives us, the whole group, a little more confidence … a little swagger, maybe that’s the right word.”

The Sparks rode that confidence and swagger to the finish line.

Beyond Plum’s return, though, the majority of the Sparks’ energy came from the announced crowd of 18,043 and the fact that Sparks legends such as Lisa Leslie, DeLisha Milton-Jones and Tamecka Dixon, among others, were on hand for the WNBA’s 30th anniversary game.

After a halftime break honoring Sparks and Liberty legends, the Sparks seemed rejuvenated for the final 20 minutes. And after rapper Warren G performed following the third quarter, the Sparks had all the momentum, feeding off the crowd.

“It was just a level of energy in this building that it was no way we were going to lose,” Wheeler said. “I think we owed it to the organization, too.”

It was fitting that Ogwumike, the president of the WNBA’s Player Assn., scored the winning shot in front of iconic players who fought to improve the league for the current generation of players.

“I think everyone in our locker room wouldn’t have picked another person to hit that shot,” Roberts said. “Like, what she’s done for this league … she’s one of one.

“On a night like tonight, where we’re honoring the legacy, not only of the Sparks, but of the league and what [Ogwumike] has done for this league, especially recently, with getting that new [collective bargaining agreement] done — it’s powerful when you think about it.”

With Ogwumike at the forefront of the negotiations, the WNBA and its players’ union agreed to a new CBA in March that, among other things, increased the league’s salary cap from $1.5 million to $7 million and pays $14 million to retired players with five-plus years of service.

Leslie, Milton-Jones and Dixon discussed the WNBA’s 30-season landmark before the game, paying tribute to Ogwumike and reflecting on what the WNBPA has achieved.

“We were super grateful for the fact that we were thought of, because it’s easy to be forgotten, and you can really think about yourself in the moment that you’re in, but they went beyond that,” Milton-Jones said of the WNBPA.

“And that just shows who [Ogwumike] is as a person. She is an ambassador. She is someone that thinks beyond herself. … And I think that she’s done a great job of representing all players, from all walks of life, in every generation.“

Leslie talked about the importance of young women seeing what is possible as professional athletes, illuminating how a career in basketball — or any sport — can lead to high academic achievement, professional development and lives devoid of derailments.

“I think when we look at the next 30 years, it’s continuing to grow,” Leslie said. “It’s just like, we can’t be satisfied, you know? We have to continuously think about the little girls who want to be professional athletes here in our country. The benefits of being a professional athlete for a young girl are outstanding.”

Leslie added that “every moment” she and her teammates spent working tirelessly in the WNBA was to convince people that women’s basketball belonged.

“That 30 years for us; it’s amazing to be alive to see it,” Leslie said. “I’m just going to be honest, to see these women be paid, what they’re going to be paid, and to continue to grow this game — it’s outstanding.”

Miles Russell is the youngest player in the 2026 U.S. Open field at just 17 years old. Teeing it up in a major championship at that age, let alone making the cut as he did at Shinnecock Hills, made for an already unforgettable week for him and his family.

The young man had one final surprise up his sleeve for Sunday’s final round, however, that not only his family will cherish forever, but made plenty of golf fans watching the moment unfold a bit misty-eyed.

After hitting his approach shot into the par-4 18th, Russell’s caddie made his way over to the gallery. He proceeded to take off his caddie bib and hand it and Russell’s golf bag over to Russell’s father, Joe.

TEENAGE PHENOM MILES RUSSELL MAKES ENTIRE GOLF WORLD FEEL OLD WITH EYE-POPPING QUOTE AHEAD OF US OPEN DEBUT

According to the NBC broadcast, the entire thing was Russell’s idea. He approached USGA rules officials before teeing off on Sunday to ask them if it was okay to have his dad take over caddying duties for the final hole, and they gave him the green light.

Talk about a Father’s Day gift that may never be topped.

“It was pretty cool,” Russell said after Sunday’s final round. “Just there walking up 18, that’s when he stepped in. It was kind of a fun Father’s Day gift. Kind of cool since it was my first one. Hopefully it’s something he’ll remember for a long time.”

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Russell shot 3-over in the opening two rounds of the U.S. Open to make the cut by two shots. During Saturday’s third round, he struggled a bit en route to a 74, but backed it up with a final round score of even par.

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Russell qualified for this week’s U.S. Open after advancing in the final stage of qualifying in a three-man playoff vying for two spots in the field. He had Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son, on the bag as his caddie during the qualifier. Both Woods and Russell have committed to play college golf at Florida State.

In 2024, Russell became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make the cut in a tournament, eventually finishing T-20

The Lakers will seek to use their 25th pick in Tuesday’s first round of the NBA draft on a player who fills a need on a roster that could have up to nine free agents this summer. Yet the Lakers also are aware that picking that late in the round could leave them selecting the best player available.

They probably will be in search of a center who can be a lob threat or an athletic wing who can play defense and knock down three-pointers, two positions the Lakers crave as they try to build a team around star Luka Doncic that fits best with his style of play.

Names that NBA executives and mock drafts attached to the Lakers are Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain and Duke wing Isaiah Evans.

The Lakers spent time in Spain looking at 20-year-old guard Sergio de Larrea, but many NBA scouts see him going later in the first round or even in the second. According to people not authorized to speak publicly, the Lakers were impressed by their workout with Purdue point guard Braden Smith. But he’s on the smaller side (6 feet) and played four years in college, leading scouts to believe his upside is not that high and that he’ll be drafted in the second round.

The Lakers don’t have a pick in Wednesday’s second round.

After the Lakers were swept by a deep and athletic Oklahoma City team in the second round of the playoffs, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka outlined what it takes when trying to compete in the uber-tough Western Conference against the likes of the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, who became the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals.

Pelinka looked at how Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was drafted in the second round and how he flourished in just his second season, especially in the playoffs, in which he averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games.

“Depth is really important, athleticism and youth. We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it,” Pelinka said last month during his exit interview with the media. “I think those are some of the key North Stars that we need to look at.

“One of the players that they had who played really well, Ajay Mitchell, they got in the second round. So there’s ways to add to your roster if you commit to doing the hard work and commit to the process of adding the right pieces. … We’ll be doing that through the draft and free agency and through trades. We’ve gotta find a way to have a roster that will compete with any team in the NBA. That’s what we do here.”

The Lakers do have three tradable first-round picks — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — but the latter two can’t be moved until after the draft.

Lakers star LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent and is looking for a deal from the Lakers, while Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his $14.8-million deal so he can sign a contract with them for up to five years and about $241 million.

Still, the Lakers have to proceed with the draft to find a player.

Swain (6-7) and Evans (6-6) are the kind of athletic wings the Lakers could use, but both might be chosen before the Lakers make their pick.

The 6-9 Quaintance could slide to the Lakers because of health concerns. He played in only four games last season at Kentucky because the team was being cautious following knee surgery after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament when he played at Arizona State.

Scouts still view him as mobile, athletic and young enough — he turns 19 next month — to develop. But, Quaintance will need to rehab his knee and probably won’t be ready for the upcoming season. When healthy, scouts said, he can be the lob threat and defender that Doncic yearns to have.