The Los Angeles Sparks are hiring Philadelphia 76ers vice president of player personnel Ariana Andonian as their new general manager, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the decision.
Andonian is replacing Raegan Pebley, whom L.A. parted ways with in July following 2 1/2 years with the organization.
The search was conducted by Farhan Zaidi, special advisor to Sparks owner Mark Walter. This is the third executive hire the Sparks have made out of the NBA in the past year. They hired assistant general managers Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen from the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively, before the 2026 season. Andonian has been with the 76ers for two seasons after seven years with the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. She also consulted with the basketball program at Duke while getting her MBA.
The Sparks significantly built out their front office during the past offseason after failing to invest in the team’s basketball operations for several years. Many of those hires came from the NBA, and Los Angeles still lacks personnel with a significant background in women’s basketball.
Andonian is tasked with revitalizing one of the WNBA’s legacy franchises, which has fallen out of relevance of late. The Sparks will miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, but win-now trades have left them with only two first-round picks from that stretch on their roster: Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell.
Andonian will be the public face of an organization that has been mostly quiet since Pebley’s departure, despite a seismic move to deal Kelsey Plum at the trade deadline. Andonian will also get to decide the future of coach Lynne Roberts, who is 36-48 in her two seasons in Los Angeles. Roberts has an uneven track record developing the Sparks’ young players; while Burrell has taken significant steps forward, Brink has been relegated to a bench role and hasn’t made the same impact as other members of the highly touted 2024 draft class.
The franchise is on track to open a new practice facility in 2027, finally giving the team a home after years of being displaced around the expanse of Los Angeles County.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA, Sports Business
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