Setbacks slowed Azurá Stevens’ ascent, but now she’s enjoying a breakthrough season

For much of her WNBA career, Los Angeles Sparks forward Azurá Stevens has been in search of consistency on and off the court.

In her previous seven WNBA seasons, Stevens had experienced the full gamut of highs, lows and change requiring adaptation. She has gone from competing on teams with losing records to winning a WNBA championship. She has come off the bench, and she has started. She has been sidelined by multiple injuries. She was traded by the team that drafted her and played for four different head coaches over three franchises.

In year eight, her third in Los Angeles, Stevens is experiencing the best season of her career as one of the WNBA’s most efficient players while succeeding in the league’s deepest position.

“Consistency has always been a big thing, just for me to kind of be that player that people on the team can rely on, and it’s not like, oh, what are we going to get from her?” said Stevens, who narrowly missed out on making her first All-Star team this season. “This year I’ve been proud that I’ve been able to display that as much as I can.” 

It has been an unpredictable pro career for Stevens, 29, marred by unfortunate setbacks that may have delayed her high-level performance that’s on display this season. Her ability to persevere through such adversity, though, has only made her a force more indelible as she charges toward her full potential on the court with the Sparks.

“I’ve been thrown a lot of different things … and had to adjust to that,” Stevens said. “I’m proud of myself for just continuing to show up in each opportunity that I’ve been given.”

With the Sparks this season, Stevens is navigating the biggest role of her WNBA career where, as a veteran presence, she has been counted on for her versatile scoring and standout rim protection. She signed with the Sparks in 2023 in search of a larger opportunity after three seasons spent with the Chicago Sky – including a championship in 2021 – where she swung back and forth between starter and productive sixth man.

This season, Stevens is averaging career highs in just about every major statistical category. She averages 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Though Stevens plays power forward, Los Angeles head coach Lynne Roberts sees her as a 6-foot-6 guard. Within Roberts’ system, all great shots are welcome, no matter who is shooting them. The first-year Sparks head coach has made a point to continually funnel confidence into Stevens as a persistent shooter.

“I was excited to coach her because I felt like what we wanted to do was kind of five out. She would play really well into that,” Roberts said of the Sparks’ offense, which incorporates all five players on the perimeter. “I think she’s performing as I was hoping, that she could kind of be a linchpin for us in that, and she’s done a tremendous job.”

In 2025, Stevens has notched more 20-plus point games (seven) than she had through her first seven seasons in the league. She ranks third in the league in rebounds per game, sixth in blocks and tied for seventh in steals.

Before the Sparks took the floor against the New York Liberty on July 3, Roberts was asked about the play of Stevens and forward Dearica Hamby as Los Angeles’ front-court duo. She applauded the play of both and said they were having All-Star-caliber seasons; she hoped to see them both selected.

When the 12 All-Star reserves were announced three days later, the list, chosen by WNBA head coaches, did not include Stevens. (Hamby also was not selected.) Stevens’ omission from the midseason contest led to many on social media labeling her a snub. The Sparks, who sit 11th in the league standings, will have one representative at the All-Star Game – guard Kelsey Plum.

Stevens, who ranks seventh in the WNBA’s efficiency metric, was the only player in the top nine not selected as an All-Star.

“Azurà is definitely an All-Star,” Sparks teammate Rickea Jackson posted on X following Sunday’s announcement. “Keep working my girl, it won’t continue to go unnoticed.”

Perhaps what has stood out most about Stevens’ game this season has been her level of efficiency.

Stevens has an effective field goal percentage of 59.0%, the highest in her career. That ranks fourth among players averaging 25 minutes per game. Her true shooting percentage is a career-best 62.3%, also ranking fourth in the league. 

“It’s been reassuring to be able to come out and perform the way I’ve been able to,” Stevens said. “I’m just excited, and I’m hoping that I can continue to do more to help us get some wins.” 

The Sparks’ most recent game against the Indiana Fever on July 5 is a prime example of how Stevens has impacted winning for Los Angeles. 

She entered the game as the Sparks trailed by three with just over seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter. In the closing minutes of the game, Stevens had four points, six rebounds and an assist.

She made a game-saving contest against Aliyah Boston to preserve a one-point lead, grabbed the defensive rebound on a Fever miss with three seconds to play, and sank a free throw to extend the Sparks’ lead. Stevens finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. It was her sixth double-double of the season, the most in a single season in her career.

“She’s one of the most underrated players in our league. [She] doesn’t get the attention she deserves,” Plum said of Stevens after the Sparks’ win over the Fever. “What she’s doing, the way she’s shooting, how efficient she is. Defensively, just a nightmare for people. Z’s been clutch all year. We’re going to continue to go to her.”

Those close to Stevens also have observed her growth as an on-court leader. 

“Azurá has always been this unicorn of a player, able to do everything. I’m excited to see her step into a leadership role,” said Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams, Stevens’ best friend. “She’s always been really talented, but I can see her being the one that’s, like, angry when they lose. I can see her getting on her teammates now. … I think it’s putting pressure on her to be consistent every day. I think we’re seeing that.”

When Stevens entered the league as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA draft, she faced the difficulty of trying to establish herself as a forward in a league where the four position is stuffed with superstar talent. The matchups were initially daunting as Stevens battled against former MVPs and future Hall of Famers on an almost nightly basis. First it’s Breanna Stewart, then it’s Candace Parker. You think you catch a break in the schedule, then in walks Elena Delle Donne.

“I knew that coming in, that that was going to be a challenge on a nightly basis,” Stevens said. “I think it helps when you come in and you have that. … It helps you to elevate your game and raise it to a higher level. I think it’s shaped me into the player that I am today.” 

Today, Stevens sees herself as being a part of that group – a star forward in her own right.

“I’m confident in my abilities,” Stevens said. “I think I pose a lot of mismatch problems, I can stretch the floor and score from a lot of different ways.” 

While Stevens has matched up against some of the fiercest stretch fours in the league, her greatest opponent as a pro athlete has been against herself. Stevens has succumbed to numerous injuries that have impeded her career.

In 2019, she played just nine games of her second season due to a lingering foot injury that required surgery. Her breakthrough year was on pace in 2020 during the WNBA bubble season in Bradenton, Florida. A knee injury, though, forced Stevens to leave the bubble early after playing only 13 games.

During the Sky’s championship season in 2021, Stevens started the year on a minute restriction. She missed the first five games of the 2023 season with a back injury. In March 2024, Stevens underwent surgery for an injury to her left arm while playing in China. She would miss the first 20 games of the 2024 WNBA season.

Stevens has played in all of Los Angeles’ 19 games this season. 

“That’s a goal that I have for this season, to make it through the year healthy. I know you can’t control that entirely,” Stevens said. “I haven’t started a lot of seasons in this league, so to be able to start and to be able to keep playing is definitely something I don’t take for granted.”

Off the court, what has always been consistent about Stevens has been the positive energy that she brings to a locker room, oftentimes equipped with a smile that seemingly leaves only when she steps onto the court.

“Her ability to flip that switch on the court is something that I’ve always admired about her,” said Storm guard Lexie Brown, who played with Stevens in Chicago and Los Angeles. “She is very soft-spoken. She is very sweet. And when she gets in between those lines, like, she turns into a beast.” 

Roberts said Stevens’ positive presence and attitude around her teammates is unwavering. 

“She shows up the same way every day. She’s just low maintenance, you know? Just a total pro,” Roberts said. “I think that’s how you breed the culture of consistency, and I think she personifies that.”

When asked what motivates her when she steps onto the court, Stevens’ answer didn’t allude to accolades or accomplishments. It wasn’t to be an All-Star or to make an All-WNBA team, and she already can call herself a champion.

Instead, Stevens said she is fueled by gratitude – to be healthy when she takes the court each night; to get the opportunity to play in a league that so few get to compete in; and to make her family proud. She has learned to enjoy every moment of her career.

More than most, she knows those moments can be fleeting.

“Our careers go by fast,” Stevens said. “Every opportunity is an opportunity just to go out and play and have fun.”