LOS ANGELES — Sparks rookie guard Zia Cooke revealed this week that she is not going to play overseas during the WNBA’s offseason.
“I’m definitely going to be training a lot, getting in with some really good trainers,” Cooke said during her postseason exit interview on Wednesday. “Making some money this offseason (through appearances and projects), just building myself up for my future. Overseas will be talked about next season (2024-25) though.”
Cooke, 22, wants the Sparks, who finished 17-23 this season and missed the playoffs for the third straight season, to be successful in the long run, which starts with winning games.
“The older I get now, I’m kind of shying away from individual goals,” said Cooke, who averaged 4.8 points per game in 39 games this season. “I’m starting to become more of a team player, thinking about team goals, winning games, making playoffs and hopefully winning a championship, (that’s) my overall goal. As long as I’m putting in the work, the individual goals will come on their own … winning is the ultimate goal but at the same time, making playoffs is super important to me.”
Cooke’s coach and teammates see her potential.
“She’s motivated and she’s hungry to be in the league,” Sparks coach Curt Miller said Thursday. “She got me excited for her.”
Cooke scored 14 points in her WNBA debut in the Sparks’ season opener in May, a 94-71 home win against the Phoenix Mercury. She matched that career-best once more – in the season finale, a 91-89 comeback win in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
“She’s the future,” Sparks All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike said. “It’s rare that you experience someone that young, a rookie coming in, who already knows how to be a pro. Something about Zia is she absorbs everything. She pays attention to everything. You can tell she’s always adamant about who she surrounds herself with because she wants to go places and I’m really proud of her in that way. We talked a lot. She had a lot of growth this season and I can’t wait to see how much better she gets.”
