Sparks’ Dearica Hamby on encouraging Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink & Kelsey Plum’s ‘fiery’ persona and more (Exclusive)

Despite the season-long fluidity with both their results and their injuries, the LA Sparks have relied on Dearica Hamby's consistency with both her play and her empowering leadership style.

“I don’t think that Dearica gets enough credit for what she’s doing,” Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said.

Roberts then raved about Hamby’s steady production in her season-long averages in points (16.8 points, 14th), rebounds (7.9, 11th), assists (3.8, 21st), steals (1.8, 9th ) and double-doubles (four, 8th). Although Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier (24.4 points per game), New York’s Breanna Stewart (21.1) and Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson (20.9) represent the WNBA’s league-leaders in scoring, Hamby has still excelled in various statistical categories despite sharing the workload with All-Star veteran Kelsey Plum (20.9 points per game) and playing on a young team riddled with injuries.

“What she does for our team and how reliable she is, she should be in those conversations with some of those other players that have those same numbers with Phee, Stewie and A’ja,” Roberts said. “Dearica is putting up the same numbers, or similar numbers. She needs to be in the discussion more.”

It doesn’t help that the Sparks (4-9) enter Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Lynx (11-1) ranked sixth in the Western Conference. The Sparks have had notable injuries to second-year center Cameron Brink (rehab with left ACL) and fifth-year guard Rae Burrell (left knee). Second-year forward Rickea Jackson also missed three games while in the league’s concussion protocol.

That has left Hamby with a large responsibility to produce, share leadership roles with Plum and encourage both struggling and injured players. Jackson praised Hamby for providing “her motherly feel” and praised her “very high character.”

“She just gives energy,” Jackson said. “She makes you want to have good energy. She’s one of those vets that you want to make proud. You want to be like, ‘Look Mama D!’ She’s such an amazing person and an amazing mom. Just to have her on our team means a lot.”

Hamby spoke extensively with Sportskeeda about her consistency, sharing leadership roles with Plum, encouraging Brink and Jackson as well as the early returns on WNBA fan voting.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

Dearica Hamby Exclusive

How have you managed both with another productive season and with all the various ups and downs with the team’s injuries?

Hamby: “I’m taking it day by day and enjoying the process. I’m grateful that I get to play basketball for a living. So it’s just about not being so hard on myself or our team. I’ve been at the bottom before with a former organization and went through five or six years of a rebuild and won a championship [with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022]. So I’m just enjoying the process.”

What things do you draw from that experience that help with your perspective?

Hamby: “Yeah, it’s not a one-day fix. Sometimes it’s not even a season fix. But day by day, it’s about continuing to build the foundation of what we want the organization to look like and what we want our team to look like in order to compete eventually for a championship.”

Given that, what’s your leadership approach, knowing that you’re with Kelsey and there are also a lot of young players?

Hamby: “I would say it’s steady. I try to have emotional leadership. I’m never too high. I’m never too low. I’m just nurturing my teammates and show my loyalty. I feel like it’s about leading by example. I play hard. I do my best to play hard on every single possession and do the little things that don’t show up in the stat sheet.”

How do you and Kelsey try to manage those responsibilities given your familiarity with her and her All-Star resume?

Hamby: “I don’t like to say she’s the ‘bad guy’ anymore. But I would say that she’s the ‘fiery person.’ She’s like, ‘Let’s get our sh-- together.’ She’s the one who can yell and stuff. I’m not a yeller. I don’t talk to my kids like that. I kind of avoid conflict. That’s my personality. So she kind of does that part. And then I’ll be here to wipe the tears.”

What impact do you think that can have on the group, given there are two different approaches?

Hamby: “I think it’s a good balance. Everybody knows that she wants to compete and she wants to win. She’s won at the highest level at just about everything. That’s why we wanted we here. It’s just the trust. She’s also trusting the process. I think everybody is just feeding off of that.”

While respecting team boundaries, what leadership moments stick out to you this season that compelled you or Kelsey to think, ‘Let’s address this.’

Hamby: (paused). “I think one with her being here, it was a big risk, so to speak, for other people on the outside looking in. It was a big leap of faith. She has confidence in me as a friend and as a teammate, as well as our organization and our staff, and our ownership of what we want this to look like. She continues to show up. She hasn’t dropped a beat from the player that she has been since her time in Vegas. So it’s really about appreciating that.”

Before the game the other day, I spoke to Rickea and she praised you for how you’ve helped her with how to build off her rookie season and dealing with her injury. In what ways have you tried to help?

Hamby: “That second year is tough. Every year is tough. They learn who you are. They learn what you’re good at. They learn what you’re bad at. They guard you for real. In the past, it’s kind of been, ‘It’s just me,’ and so there is a lot of confidence like there was with Rickea last year. So I think it’s different having a team that is so versatile with our attack. We have five or six players on this team who can average double figures. I think that has happened only one other time. In our year in Vegas when we won the championship, we had seven players in double figures. So something’s got to give. I have to give a little. KP has to give a little. Rickea has to give a little. It's just reminding her that one game doesn’t make or break you. The long-term goal is that we want to compete for a championship. Once we do that, then everybody else eats.”

She also praised you for keeping her spirits high during her injury. What was your approach with that?

Hamby: “I would keep telling her, ‘Take your time, first and foremost.’ And then, ‘It’s going to come. It’s going to come.’ She started a little slow. We all did to some degree with a new system. I’m more of a player who can score off of energy and hustle and in the pick-and-roll. So you don’t have to run a play for me. It’s about adjusting to a system and then tweaking the system.

Coach has an idea, of course, of what she wants it to look like. And then as things go on, you go, ‘Okay, we have to tweak it a little bit. How can we get Rickea going? How can we keep the pick-and-roll going?’ So she has been really good. She’s responded really well. I’m really proud of her, but I haven’t been able to tell her yet. But she came out with that 30-point game [against Las Vegas] after a few really rough weeks. So I’m just really proud of her.”

On her podcast, Cam expressed her appreciation to you for your support ever since she injured her ACL. From the moment a really tough situation happened with the injury to now, in what ways have you tried to help?

Hamby: “It was one of those things. I have never gone through a tough injury outside of pregnancy. So I don’t have experience on battling that. It doesn’t become the physical part of it. It becomes the mental part of it, and how do you stay locked in and want to continue to play the sport that you love when you don’t have access to it? I think it was one of those things where it sucks that it happened, but I just tried to change her perspective that it was the best time for it to happen. ‘It’s your first year in the league. It’s better now than later, so to speak. You got some games under your belt. Now you get to watch the rest of the season. You get to learn. You get to get stronger. That’s something that she’s always wanted to do. And now she’s being forced to do that. So I’m heartbroken. You don’t want to watch people go through injuries, whether you love them or not or care about them. But I’m just trying to remind her that her time is going to come back, too, but she’s still a part of this team and just helping and supporting her.”

What’s your current message to her, knowing you’d all obviously love to have her back, but there’s still a process with her rehab?

Hamby: “Same thing. You don’t need to rush. We’re going to be here. The Sparks are going to be here. The basketball is going to be here. And we don’t need to rush you. We’re not in a place where it’s a do-or-die situation, in my opinion.’ I’m not the medical staff. This isn’t necessarily my story to share. But just take your time and be ready to go.”

You’ve had seasons like this, and this is your resume. But given the season fluidity, what has been the key to your consistency overall?

Hamby: “At the end of the day, I want to win. You got to give a little to get somewhere else. It’s a little bit of a down year from last year. But I’ve had the mindset about just being able to create for my teammates. I’m remembering that I want to be a part of a championship team. In order to have a championship team, you have to have three or four All-Stars on your team. So we have to get everybody involved. We have a roster that is best capable of producing that. So we just have to figure it out. When that time comes, I know it’ll be special.”

Coach Roberts said the other day that there’s not enough appreciation for you, especially compared to other stars in the league. How do you view that?

Hamby: “I agree. I probably take the fewest amount of shots (12.1, 21st overall) and average the most amount of points (16.8, 14th overall). I’ve never been a player who takes 18 or 19 shots to get 20 points. I’ve always needed 12 or 13. And a little bit this year, I’ve done it to myself, I’m getting to the free-throw line. And I’m not shooting the ball well from there. I score two or three points a game. But I think I'll stay on low maintenance. I don’t complain a ton. I’m really about the team and my teammates and the people around me that I love and care about. I think that kind of shows through my work ethic and the way that I play.”

The other night, [Storm coach] Noelle Quinn also observed you’re your rim presence and aggressiveness have helped you get to the line more [career-high 6.4 attempts per game]. What have you seen in that growth?

Hamby: “I think the refs are just calling (laughs). I got the sh--- beaten out of me last year. But I’m being aggressive. It’s on me. I have to take the free points that I’m getting [shooting 60.2%]. But I definitely think that with being able to get to the line at that rate over time, I’ll eventually be able to make those. I’m doing what we can to change my shot a little bit to do that. I can shoot. But it’s something about the free-throw line that makes me anxious. So maybe not this season, but my goal is to be a 90% free-throw shooter and to be a 50-40-90 player. I definitely am capable with my skillset and my versatility. So now hopefully for me, it’s just mental.”

What’s your read on what contributes to that?

Hamby: “Anxiety. I think just the pressure to make it. I’ve always kind of been that way about it. I cut back. I used to do four dribbles because when I got up there, the backboard was spinning. Then, I cut it down to two [dribbles] last year. I cut it to no dribbles now. It definitely looks better. But it’s still just repetition, doing it with confidence and switching things in my brain. You’ll see. Some games I’ll go 8-for-8, and some games I’ll go 2-for-7. It’s definitely there. I can shoot it. It’s just mentally flipping the switch.”

Understood. Did you see All-Star fan vote returns yet?

Hamby: “I glanced at them right before you came out here.”

So Kelsey is 11th, you’re at 19, and Rickea is at 20th. What do you think?

Hamby: “I think it’s fair. I’m interested to see how they continue to gauge the All-Star fan voting and the percentages. With the way our league is going now and the stardom that is starting to happen with the fame and following with the fans, it’s interesting.”

In what respects?

Hamby: “I think you see players that have fans that are voting, and they probably aren’t, I mean, they could be All-Stars to their team, so to say. But it’s just a numbers thing.”

Right, and then how do you weigh popularity, production and team record?

Hamby: “That’s part of the marketing that people have argued about for the last few years. But they’ll figure it out.”

Speaking of foul calls, Kelsey was upset the other day that she’s not getting calls. How have you seen her navigate that this season?

Hamby: “She’s got to keep controlling what she can control. Hopefully, eventually, it will switch. But you have to take a little bit of accountability. She has to figure out the next step now, like, ‘If I’m not going to get these calls, either I finish these shots or I kick it out and find the open person and just stop going up and seeking contact.’ But she’s a very smart player. She’ll be in the Hall of Fame someday. She’ll figure it out.”

How have you seen Kelsey handle still playing at a high level but having to adapt to a new team with young players and a lot of injuries?

Hamby: “Recently, I would say she turned a corner. There was a lot of frustration early on. It’s different with change with anything. I’ve also gone through that process. Not only is she on the new team. But we’re with a completely new system and coaching staff. I definitely think there have been frustrations at times. But she has been a really big sport about it and believes.”

Beyond more consistent roster availability, what do you need to see from now until the end of the season to make the playoffs?

Hamby: “At the end of the day, a lot of it comes down to whether you’re healthy or not and what teams look like. Teams peak early. Teams peak late. Maybe we get everybody back and we peak. We’ve seen last year that Indiana started out 1-8 and they wound up getting that sixth spot. So it just shows you how it’s such a small window.

We could win two games in a row, and we’re in sixth place. So I’m just trying to remember that and not to be too hard on ourselves. I definitely feel like our record should be over .500. We definitely should be 7-6 at minimum. But it’s all part of it. We have to learn how to win. We’ve seen that. We’re capable of it at times. But we have to learn how to win.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Edited by Arhaan Raje