WNBA 30th anniversary game ends with stunning buzzer-beater by Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike

LOS ANGELES — Nneka Ogwumike couldn’t fight back the tears as the ESPN broadcast asked her what it meant to have a celebration of the WNBA’s evolution on her home court.

No. 30 hit the game-winner at the buzzer for the Los Angeles Sparks’ 98-97 victory against the New York Liberty on Sunday night to commemorate the league’s 30th season and honor all of the legends in the building who had helped the franchise survive to this point. It was all too much for the 15-year veteran to process during her live interview minutes after the victory. Thus, the overflow of emotion.

“What a great moment, and the perfect person to hit that,” Los Angeles coach Lynne Roberts said.

The passage of time was omnipresent for the Sparks and Liberty. Lisa Leslie and Kym Hampton lined up at center court for the pregame tip-off, just as they did for the WNBA’s debut game on this date in 1997. Los Angeles legends DeLisha Milton-Jones and Tamecka Nixon were at Sparks practice on Saturday, and the New York Liberty welcomed original roster members Sue Wicks, Hampton, Teresa Weatherspoon and Vickie Johnson at their walk-through.

The history and the present of the league all intertwined Sunday, and Ogwumike — the fourth-leading scorer in WNBA history and the architect of the last two collective bargaining agreements as the players’ union president — tied it all together.

With L.A. down two and without a timeout, the Sparks went to an action they were familiar with, and when the Liberty helped off the wing, Erica Wheeler found Ogwumike for the 3-pointer and a piece of history.

“Who better to make the game-winning shot? It’s Nneka. She’s awesome,” Wheeler said on the post-game broadcast. “We had to get this win for our alumni, this 30 years. The crowd was amazing. It was too much going on for us to not get this win.”