LOS ANGELES – Sparks player Layshia Clarendon, the WNBA’s first openly transgender and nonbinary player and an All-Star in 2017, retired Friday after 12 seasons.

Clarendon, who announced her decision on Instagram, had not played since Aug. 15 and sat out the final month of the season for mental health reasons, the team said. The Sparks missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year with a record of 8-32.

“It’s bittersweet to reach this point in my life and career. Coming home to LA and spending my final seasons with the Sparks was profoundly meaningful,” said Clarendon, who was born in nearby San Bernardino and played at the college level at Cal. “I wasn’t sure if I would ever make it back to California to play. And I did, which has meant the world to me and my family.”

“It just felt right,” Clarendon said in a separate interview with ESPN. “I’ve experienced a lot of healing in my life over the last five years. It was just the culmination of my mind, body and soul telling me it was time to move on. I just had a deep intuitive knowing that now was the right time, and I had a really open heart and a willingness to let go.”

The 33-year-old guard signed with the Sparks in February 2023 after playing for Indiana, Atlanta, Connecticut, New York and Minnesota. Clarendon averaged eight points, 2.5 rebounds and three assists and started 36 of 45 games for the Sparks.

In May, Clarendon became the second-oldest WNBA player to record a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in her team’s season-opening game against the Atlanta Dream.

Last season, Clarendon scored a career-high 30 points against the New York Liberty and reached the 2,000-point mark. She finished her career with career averages of 7.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds.