Nneka Ogwumike’s buzzer-beater lifts Sparks on Liberty in 30th anniversary game

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.”