Liatu King: Southeast’s Finest Makes Her Mark 💫
Liatu King has officially signed a hardship deal with the Los Angeles Sparks, becoming the latest hooper from Southeast D.C. to touch the league! 🙌🏽 Born and raised in the heart of the city, a proud product of Johnson Jr. Middle School, Liatu is the first girl I ever coached—and now she’s a pro. From tough courts in Congress Heights to this WNBA moment, her journey is everything Conkrete Playground stands for: grit, growth, and greatness. 💪🏽 She joins UCONN Assistant Coach Jamelle Elliott as another legend from our same neighborhood and school, proving that Southeast doesn't just produce talent—we produce greatness. This ain’t just a contract. It’s a statement. And it’s only the beginning. 🏀🔥 #ConkretePlayground #SoutheastFinest #LiatuKing #WNBA #HardshipDeal #LosAngelesSparks #DCBasketball #WomenHoopers #BuiltFromTheConkrete #FromThePlaygroundToThePros
GIRLSWOMEN'S BASKETBALLWNBASUCCESSUCONNPLAYER MOVEMENT & TRADESJAMELLE ELLIOTTLA SPARKS
5/20/20252 min read
Southeast’s Finest: Liatu King Signs with the Los Angeles Sparks
I opened social media this morning during my "Do Nothing" period, and it feels like the the kind of day, everyday, that something big is going to happen. For Liatu King, that big one wasn’t just another step, it was a moment. The Los Angeles Sparks, offered her a hardship contract.She didnt make the initial final roster cuts, but they called her back. I'm sure she was still in LA, because shes a fashion savant, and where is a better place to be? . But a WNBA jersey. A locker in L.A. A nameplate. And everything she ever dreamed about since those first buckets on the blacktop courts of Southeast D.C. Had called her back.
Liatu wasn’t born into easy. She was built by it.
From the streets of Southeast D.C. to the halls of Johnson Junior Middle School, her journey was stitched together with toughness and purpose. She came up in the same corridors and cracked sidewalks I did. Same school. Same corner stores. Same struggle. But even back then, there was something different about her, a fire in her footwork, a fearlessness in her eyes. Blocking all the bouys shots. She was the first girl I ever coached. She made me the girls coach that i am today, just by navigating and following her journey. I wasn't a coach at all. I just wanted to help the kids out. Other established programs and girls coaches at the time, we'd try to send her to, didn't want her. She was raw. We are glad they didn't. We started the journey.
I remember those practices, Liatu boxing out boys twice her size, running drills until, studying the game with a hunger that couldn’t be taught. There was no pretense with her. She never asked for favors, never let her talent talk louder than her effort. You had to earn everything in Southeast, and Liatu earned it all.
She carried that fire to middle school playing basketball and one of the hardest hitters on the boys football team. Then to high school, then to college, and now here she is—Liatu King, a pro.
When the Sparks made it official, I sat still for a second. Then the emotions came rushing. Not just pride. Not just joy. But a deep, spiritual gratitude. Because this wasn’t just a win for Liatu. It was a win for the whole neighborhood. For Johnson Middle. For everyone from the same streets who dared to dream bigger, where kids are always left behind and not thought of. And it was full circle.
See, Jamelle Elliott, another product of our same soil, she is coaching at UConn, one of the greatest programs in women’s basketball. That’s two women from Southeast D.C., from Johnson Jr. Middle, now etched in the game at the highest level. And I get to say I was a small part of that. We’re not just representing the city, we’re rewriting what it means to come from it. Liatu King is Southeast’s finest. She always was. This WNBA moment? It’s just confirmation of what we already knew.
And the best part? She’s just getting started. 💙🤞🏾
