WNBA team rejects NBA champion’s draft request after asking to become the league’s first ‘Juwanna Mann’

The Los Angeles Sparks shut down former NBA champion Nick Young’s suggestion that the team select him with the 10th overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday.

Young wrote on Twitter Saturday that she wanted to be the first “Juwanna Mann” in the WNBA. She was referring to the 2002 movie in which a suspended basketball star posed as a woman to play in the women’s league. She then sent a message to the Sparks.

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Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young reacts during the Western Conference final against the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on May 26, 2018. (Kyle Terada-USA Today Sports)

“@LASparks can draft me with the 10th pick tomorrow, I’m ready,” he added.

The Sparks are among the original founding teams of the WNBA. The team started in 1997 with Linda Sharp and Julie Rousseau leading the organization. They won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002 with Michael Cooper’s coach and Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie dominating the court.

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The team won its third title in 2016 with Nneka Ogwumike emerging as a star.

Los Angeles was not playing Young as the team prepared for the upcoming draft.

Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young shoots the basketball against Portland Trail Blazers guard Pat Connaughton at Oracle Arena on December 11, 2017 in Oakland, California.

Golden State Warriors guard Nick Young shoots the basketball against Portland Trail Blazers guard Pat Connaughton at Oracle Arena on December 11, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Kyle Terada-USA Today Sports)

“We’ll pass, Nick. Let us know when your daughter is ready to play,” the team said.

The Sparks later added, “You know women’s basketball is (on fire) when former NBA players try to join the team. Do they have all their tickets to our home opener?”

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The Los Angeles Sparks logo on a pair of shorts during the Sun game on June 6, 2019 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Los Angeles Sparks logo on a pair of shorts during the Sun game on June 6, 2019 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Los Angeles has the 10th pick in the draft after going 13-23 in 2022.

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