Monique Billings is coming home.
After six seasons with the Atlanta Dream, the former Corona Santiago High and UCLA star forward has signed with the Sparks, the team announced. Terms of the agreement were not released.
In 39 games last year, the 6-foot-4 Billings averaged 4.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes.
“We are excited to bring Mo back to LA. She is a dynamic athlete that helps address our rebounding and rim protection needs,” Sparks head coach Curt Miller said in a statement released by the team. “Mo’s motor and competitiveness are evident each time she steps onto the court.”
Billings led Santiago to a CIF-SS Division I-AA title as a junior in 2013. As a senior, she averaged 18.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.1 blocked shots and 2.1 steals per game before missing the last 10 games due to injury.
She finished her UCLA career averaging 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and with a school-record 195 blocks (1.6 per game). She was a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree, leading the conference in rebounds, double-doubles and offensive rebounds her senior season, after receiving honorable-mention honors as a sophomore and being named to the Pac-12’s all-freshman team.
“I am an L.A. girl, I went to school here, so it’s an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to come back to the city where I grew up,” Billings said in the statement. “I used to come to Sparks games as a young girl with my parents to watch Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie, so this is very surreal. I never imagined I would be here and I’m excited to put the work in, get on the floor with my teammates and compete in the City of Champions.”
Billings was drafted 15th overall by Atlanta in 2018. She has career averages of 5.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game.
“The Sparks are getting a total pro in Monique, I know the Los Angeles community is fired up to welcome her back,” Sparks general manager Raegan Pebley said in the statement. “Her experience and veteran leadership are just two of the many strengths she will bring.”
