Alabama Women’s Basketball Alumna Jasmine Walker Begins Spring Training for Los Angeles Sparks
4/22/2022 2:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft is taking part in her second spring training
LOS ANGELES – Jasmine Walker, former University of Alabama women's basketball standout, began spring training with the Los Angeles Sparks this week. The Crimson Tide alumna, who was the seventh pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft a year ago, appeared in two games last season for the Sparks, before suffering a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The Sparks, led by General Manager and Head Coach Derek Fisher, began training camp on April 17 at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo. The 20-woman training camp roster returned nine players from the 2021 Sparks contingency, including Walker.
Jasmine Walker
6-3 | Forward | Montgomery, Ala. | University of Alabama | Los Angeles Sparks
Walker, a 6-3 forward from Montgomery, Ala., played in two games for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2021, averaging 10 minutes per game. She combined for two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block, before her season ended with a torn ACL in her right knee.
The then-rookie had an impressive preseason for the Sparks, leading the team with 23 points and nine rebounds to tie the Las Vegas Aces, 85-85, in its final preseason game of 2021. Walker scored 21 points on three-point field goals alone, going 7-of-11 from the arc in that game.
Walker was the seventh Crimson Tide player to be drafted in the WNBA's 25-year history and the first since 2005. She was also the second player from Alabama to go in the first round, joining Tausha Mills, who went No. 2 overall to Washington in 2000.
As a senior at the Capstone, she was a WBCA Honorable Mention All-America and All-SEC First Team selection after averaging 19.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 2020-21. That same season, Walker also broke the Crimson Tide's single-game scoring record with 41 points in Alabama's win over Auburn.
