After a 124-88 blowout loss to the Atlanta Dream on August 20, the Los Angeles Sparks were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Despite the postseason being out of reach, the Sparks' newest addition, Monique Akoa Makani, highlighted that the eight games left on the schedule still mean something.

"I think it's just about the mindset. Right now, we need to focus on finding that pride within ourselves to be able to just finish the right way. Individually, I think it takes one human at a time," Akoa Makani said after the loss.

Reporter John W. Davis shared the clip on X after the Sparks dropped to 12-24. It left them with only eight games left to finish the 2026 season.

Missing the playoffs is not new for Los Angeles, as the team also missed out in 2024 and 2025. But this year, the front office decided to make some changes to the roster.

On August 1, they traded five-time All-Star guard Kelsey Plum to the Phoenix Mercury. In return, the Sparks received Akoa Makani, a 2027 first-round draft pick, and a 2028 second-round draft pick.

As a rookie in 2025, Akoa Makani started 40 of 41 games and helped the Phoenix Mercury to reach the WNBA Finals.

And now, right after joining the Sparks, she has made an impact on the team.

After scoring three points in her L.A. debut against the Chicago Sky on August 3, she delivered a huge performance against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.

She scored seven points in 19 minutes and stayed on the floor late in the game. With 1:18 left, she hit a step-back jumper that pushed the Sparks' lead to a safer two-possession margin.

Los Angeles then finished the game with an 8-0 run to upset Minnesota 89-82.

Off the court, the 25-year-old guard quickly embraced her new home. She shared photos in her new purple and gold jersey on Instagram, expressing how welcomed she felt in Los Angeles.

After that, she missed five games due to an ankle injury. During this period, the Sparks lost all five games.

How Akoa Makani found respect for her new teammates

Sitting on the bench with an injured ankle just after joining a new team was hard. But it gave Akoa Makani a front-row seat to watch how her new teammates handle adversity.

Watching her team fight back from massive deficits convinced her that this group never gives up.

"I was definitely able to see that mentality of not quitting because there were like multiple games where we were down 15, 20, 25, you know. And we were always able to come back. So I think that takes a lot," Akoa Makani said about the Sparks, per the same video shared by John W. Davis on X.

On August 10, against the Golden State Valkyries, Los Angeles fell behind by more than 16 points before battling back to make it a close 84-78 game.

Just three nights later, on August 13 against the New York Liberty, the Sparks found themselves trailing again by 26 points in the fourth quarter. But they made a shocking 21-0 run to pull within a single point before narrowly losing 85-81.

Even though those games ended in losses, the fight impressed Akoa Makani.

"Obviously, we put ourselves in a bad position in the first place, but I think it's not easy to do those comebacks. And seeing my teammates being able to do that, I got more and more respect for them," she added.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida