NEW YORK – The Los Angeles Sparks’ Brian Agler today was named the WNBA Coach of the Month for games played in June.

Agler guided the Sparks to a WNBA-best 8-1 mark for the month as Los Angeles finished June with an 11-3 record. Los Angeles went 4-0 at Staples Center in June and remains the only team to win every home game this season.

The Sparks closed the month on a seven-game winning streak, highlighted by a 90-59 home victory over the Phoenix Mercury on June 18 and road wins over the Indiana Fever, Connecticut Sun and Atlanta Dream in the final three games of June.

Los Angeles was powered by its defense, which led the WNBA in steals (8.89 spg) and ranked second in points allowed (78.0 ppg) and blocked shots (4.67 bpg). The Sparks were also second in the league in field goal percentage (49.4) and point differential (+8.8).

Agler will guide the defending WNBA champion Sparks (12-3) against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (12-1) on Thursday, July 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Los Angeles will take an eight-game winning streak into its first meeting of the season against last year’s Finals opponent.

The other nominees for the WNBA Coach of the Month were Connecticut’s Curt Miller and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve. This season marks the first time that the WNBA is presenting a Coach of the Month award.

The 2017 WNBA regular season runs through Sept. 3. For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit www.wnba.com.