Sparks celebrate Nneka Ogwumike during WNBA legend’s retirement ceremony

· Yahoo Sports

Nneka Ogwumike played her final game in the WNBA on Thursday night as the Los Angeles Sparks lost 76-75 to the Golden State Valkyries.

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The 36-year-old Ogwumike announced in August that she is retiring after the season, ending a 15-year career that includes an WNBA title, WNBA MVP, 11 All-Star appearances and eight All-WNBA honors, among numerous other awards.

After Thursday’s game, the Sparks honored Ogwumike, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the team in 2012 and saw her return to Los Angeles this season after two years with the Seattle Storm.

As part of the post-game ceremony, the Sparks announced that a player sanctuary inside the team's new practice facility will be named after Ogwumike. The news brought her to tears.

"I wouldn't go down any other way, which is competing hard here in LA against great competition,” Ogwumike told the crowd. “It's such a privilege and an honor to be in this league, to be a woman in sports, and especially to wear the Sparks jersey.”

"I'm still thinking about how I wish I could've left you guys with a win, but I do want you to know that I left my heart out here on the floor, and I'm really happy that I got to share a lot of this with my teammates,” she added. “You guys really helped me through this season.”

Ogwumike scored 17 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out five assists in her final game for the Sparks, who will miss out on the WNBA playoffs for the sixth straight season.. It was her 19th double-double of the season and 134th of her career.

"This is goodbye, not forever, but I'm always gonna be your L.A. Spark, so I love you guys,” Ogwumike said.

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