Sparks Look to Far East in Draft
The Sparks, the Lakers’ team in the Women’s NBA, picked a player Thursday who’s bigger than most of the Lakers.
In the second round of the league’s “elite draft,” the Sparks chose China’s 6-foot-8 Zheng Haixia, 29, a veteran of four Olympics.
The club’s first-round pick was 6-3 Daedra Charles, 28, a former Tennessee standout who has played professionally in Japan and Europe.
Haixia, at times listed as 6-9, was the No. 4 scorer and No. 3 rebounder in the 1996 Olympic tournament, at 18 points and nine rebounds a game.
Also drafted Thursday were sportscaster Nancy Lieberman-Cline, a former All-American, by Phoenix, and Japanese star Mikiko Hagiwara, by Sacramento.
The eight-team WNBA begins play June 21.
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