The Los Angeles Sparks have signed the best defender ever in the WNBA to another contract.

The Los Angeles Sparks have signed on defensive specialist Alana Beard. This is one of the most important signing for any team this season as there is no other player in the WNBA who does what she does.

Beard has seen her offensive production fo down throughout her career. Since coming to Los Angeles she has only averaged more than ten points a game since being there, in 2012 which was her first season with the team.

This does not seem to worry Beard. She has concentrated on shutting her player down night in and night out which is crucial to the success of the Sparks. Any offense seems to come as an afterthought to her defensive game.

While Beard is turning 37 in the weeks before the season, she has not missed a step in years. Her ability to stick with her player appears to have improved with age and is one of the reasons the Sparks get good transition offense so often.

This is a good signing for coach Derek Fisher as Beard is the general of the Sparks defense and this is the basis of a successful formula. If Beard had not of signed there was a really good chance that Fisher’s coaching career could have been short-lived.

Fisher now has a season to implement his game plans where the opposition’s best player is going to have a tough night – every night. Beard brings it every game, no matter where the opposition is placed on the ladder. Fisher needs to make the most of this for the time that he has Beard on the roster.

For full free agency coverage check out our 2019 free agency central.

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