Upon trade to WNBA's L.A. Sparks, UA hoops legend McDonald says to expect 'Arizona Aari'

Former Arizona Wildcat basketball great Aari McDonald’s phone was lighting up around 4 a.m., halfway across the world in Perth, Australia.

Calls and texts were flowing in as many — that includes McDonald, herself — heard that she was traded from the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream to the three-time champion Los Angeles Sparks.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the Fresno, California, native and she couldn’t be more excited to don the purple and gold uniform that has so much history behind it.

“I remember Lisa Leslie being part of the Sparks and doing huge things. I remember her making her first dunk in the game,” McDonald said last week.

With the opportunity to also play much closer to her second home in Tucson, the former UA standout added that her new Sparks’ fans will see “My energy night in and night out, my defense, my grittiness, my leadership skills and just my playmaking skills and bring back a little bit of that ‘Arizona Aari.’”

The transaction that sent McDonald to L.A. included the Sparks also receiving the No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft in exchange for former UCLA standout Jordin Canada and the No. 12 pick in the the draft.

This offseason, McDonald is playing for the Perth Lynx in Australia’s WNBL. At the end of December, she suffered a minor ligament tear in her knee and is rehabbing. Before she went on the injured reserve list, she was vying for MVP of the league, averaging 18.8 points, 5.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. She was fourth in the league in field goal percentage (46.1).

McDonald, who was the third pick of the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Dream not long after leading the Wildcats to within a bucket of a national championship, was initially surprised when she heard the news. Being dealt was not on her bingo card, especially as the Dream had invested heavily in her, which included sending a development coach to Tucson to train her during the 2023 offseason while she worked for the UA as the program’s director of recruiting last season.

McDonald joked that in the moment she heard the news, “my body temperature overheated, but I was happy. It was an alignment thing.”

A big part of what excites McDonald about this move is the opportunity to be “more myself.”

Some of that is, using McDonald’s word, alignment with what Sparks coach Curt Miller is building in Los Angeles after longtime star Nneka Ogwumike signed with the Seattle Storm during free agency.

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Miller’s focus has been adding gritty, hard-nosed tough players with a chip on their shoulders that also have speed. That is vintage McDonald.

Then, there’s this: Miller runs a system with a lot of pick-and-roll action. A system that McDonald blossomed in while at Arizona.

McDonald said what has always stood out about Miller-coached teams is that they “were defensive-minded.”

“He always had a great playmaking guard,” McDonald said. “I’m excited just to join the team like that and be under a coach who values defense. There’s one thing that stood out just talking to coach Curt — just being overlooked too long. That stood out to me, and when he said that I got chills. I was ready to play right then and there.

“I can’t wait to get there and work.”

Over her three WNBA seasons, the 5-6 guard has become someone who directly impacts the game the moment she steps on the court.

It hasn’t been easy. Despite having three coaches her first year, she earned all-rookie team honors. In her second season, her minutes nearly doubled (24.3), as did her points per game (11.1). Last year, with a mid-season shoulder injury, she still excelled at both ends of the court. While her offensive rating has stayed steady each year (95%), her defensive rating rose to more than 100% last season.

Miller is entering his second year with the Sparks after a successful run with the Connecticut Sun that saw him named WNBA Coach of the Year twice while the Sun made two WNBA Finals appearances and six postseason trips in seven years. He brings an approach that seems an ideal fit for McDonald’s strengths.

Miller said that as the league is waiting for other elite guards to carry the torch from Courtney Vandersloot, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum. Another reason he gravitated toward McDonald is that he thinks she is “ready for the next level.”

“If she earned the opportunity to have the keys to the car she could really, really continue to improve as a lead guard in this league,” Miller said. “She’s dynamic and again, I love players that have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. I coach with a chip on my shoulder — again, my story is unique. We have a lot in that and I think that’s what Aari was referring to. We got each other a little bit jazzed up talking about how maybe we both been underappreciated throughout our careers.”