WHICKER: Los Angeles Sparks' Nneka Ogwumike is the WNBA's top MVP candidate

LOS ANGELES >> The best basketball player in Los Angeles began Friday night’s game with a steal and a layup.

She ended Friday night’s game with a simple rim-run, from baseline to baseline, so she could finish a fast break, when her team led by only one point.

The Sparks beat San Antonio, 71-65, and ended the WNBA regular season with a 26-8 record. Coach Brian Agler was asked his choice for MVP of the league by people who already knew the answer was Nneka Ogwumike.

“First, she’s having a historic offensive season, the most efficient season in the history of the league,” Agler said. “Then you take the things I see with her leadership every day.

“Then she’ll probably be All-Defense on top of everything else. Who’s done that in the past? Tamika Cathings and Lauren Jackson, and that’s it. Think about that.”

Ogwumike put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against San Antonio. She averages 19.8, eight and three. She ranks third in the league in scoring and third in rebounds, in her third WNBA season, and her league-leading field goal percentage actually took a hit when she went 6 for 10, falling to .664.

At Dallas on June 11, she made all 12 shots from the field and all seven from the foul line. Against Chicago three nights later, she made 12 of 14.

Her workplace is the deep paint, but those aren’t easy shots when you’re 6-foot-2. Ogwumike scores with either hand and from all existing angles, and she’s strong enough to get to the line 168 times. She makes 86.5 percent of those.

Ogwumike might sneak up on the box score, but her nonstop motion captures all eyes. Rest assured she is a lot closer to the top of her league than anybody else around here is to hers, or his.

“My goal was to be more a leader this year,” Ogwumike said Thursday, after a Sparks practice at USC’s Galen Center. “I always prided myself on being a team player. But I also realized I’m no longer a rookie. I’m a veteran, so I can affect things on the court. Lead by example, hold people accountable. I guess I wanted to be more assertive.

“My teammates are the ones who told me about going 12 for 12. A big part of my game has always been efficiency. But at times when I focus on that, I’m not always as aggressive. I can’t be afraid to miss.”

Agler likes the way Ogwumike diversifies the Sparks’ defense by guarding the top gun every night. He cites a game against league-leading Minnesota in which she periodically checked Lindsay Whalen (5-9), Maya Moore (6-0) and Sylvia Fowles (6-6).

Minnesota is seeded No. 1 in the upcoming playoffs. The Sparks are No. 2. The Olympic break forced a different playoff matrix, in which both teams get a bye into the semifinals, which will be best of 5. The first two rounds are one-game knockouts, like the NCAA Tournament, which most WNBA players know well. Stanford went to the Final Four in all four of Ogwumike’s seasons.

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Her dad Peter came from Nigeria to Houston and runs an information technology business. His wife Ify is an executive in the Houston school system. Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike both went to Stanford and both were taken No. 1 in the WNBA draft, the only siblings besides the Mannings to do that. Chiney averages 12.7 points with the Connecticut Sun.

Nneka’s wintertime job is with Dynamo Kursk, a Russian team coached by an American, Bo Overton. While there she plays and against WNBA players and lives a global life that the pioneers of the women’s game could not have imagined.

“Kursk has more of a suburban feel to it, and it’s a bit antiquated,” she said. “We practice twice a day, play two games a week and travel once a week, so it’s pretty regimented, but we go to cool places. This year we’re going to Prague, Krakow, Istanbul, which is always nice. Going to Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast, in Turkey.

“It’s fun because you meet new people who, in the WNBA, you might not normally be acquainted with. You make different friends, learn new languages. Although I only speak enough Russian to get through the day. I’m not having conversions. But I always indulge in different cultures. I look forward to it.”

Of course, you miss the NBA season in L.A. when you do that. Ogwumike leaves that up to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and any Lakers who aspire. She’s done all she can.

Three facts:

1. Nneka Ogwumike had a career-high 38 points against Atlanta on June 30.

2. The Sparks began the season 14-0, then lost to Minnesota on June 21.

3. Ogwumike passed the career 2,500 point mark on Friday in the Sparks’ win over San Antonio.