LOS ANGELES -- From the minute the Los Angeles Sparks made the draft-day trade that brought them point guard Nikki Teasley, head coach Michael Cooper has constantly made the comparison.

	After 11 turnovers in the first round, Nikki Teasley had 13 assists and no turnovers in the Western Conference finals.

"I'm telling you she is the Magic Johnson of the WNBA,'' said Cooper after the Sparks' 103-77 victory over the Utah Starzz on Saturday that earned them a spot in the WNBA Finals.

The 6-foot Teasley blushes and smiles coyly when retold of Cooper's statements, saying she can never be as good as the Lakers great, a former teammate of Cooper on the Lakers in the 1980s.

But with the Sparks two victories away from consecutive WNBA championships, the comparisons will only continue.

Johnson, after all, won an NBA championship his rookie season in L.A. and Teasley is poised to do the same.

"I'll never be as good as Magic Johnson,'' said Teasley, a North Carolina graduate who was picked fifth overall by the Portland Fire. "I'm looking to have an impact in this league, but I don't think I'll be what he was.''

Her passing instincts, athleticism and flashes of offensive brilliance relay a different story.

"She's an unbelievable player,'' said Sparks guard Tamecka Dixon. "She doesn't even know how good she is. There's not a lot of players that can make the passes she does.''

Teasley has been spared the media onslaught that has accompanied many other rookies this season. It has allowed her space to grow and develop outside of a solitary spotlight. But Sparks center Lisa Leslie feels that Teasley has been just as important as the other first-year players because guiding a championship team is not as ideal of a situation as some may think.

"I said it all along that she hasn't been given the fair chance that a rookie should have,'' said Leslie. "But she truly is our rookie of the year. She has done a great job.''

The hardest part of Teasley's job is managing to get all of her offensively talented teammates enough touches. The veteran Leslie has played with her share of good point guards, and says Teasley ranks right up there.

"We run, we gun, we like to shoot and we can score," Leslie said. "She has four other players that she needs to get the ball too and that is not always easy. She has done a great job of finding us all and making sure we are all happy."

Saturday's victory exemplified that ability as all five starters scored in double figures. Teasley finished one assist shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine assists.

A performance like that tells Cooper his intuition about Teasley's court presence was correct.

"Nikki Teasley has given us exactly what we wanted and more,'' said Cooper. "She is so in control of things for a rookie. She kind of amazes you a little because this is her first time in this kind of setting, but she seems like an old veteran or pro.''

Teasley's initial taste of playoff basketball didn't go as she had planned. In the opening-round series against the Seattle Storm, and fellow rookie point guard Sue Bird, Teasley finished with 12 assists, 11 turnovers and one made field goal in two games.

She rebounded in the two-game Western Conference finals, finishing with 22 points, 13 assists and, most importantly to her, zero turnovers.

In Saturday's victory, Teasley displayed some of her flare with a series of between-the-leg dribbles in the halfcourt set before blowing by her defender for a layup. Many in Staples Center wondered how Cooper would react to the one-on-one move that doesn't fit with his usual game plan. But with a 25-point lead he seemed OK with allowing a little of her creativity and independence to flow.

It might have even reminded Cooper a little of his teammate with the Showtime Lakers. He delivered what was expected of him -- championships -- and Cooper is optimistic Teasley will do the same starting this season.

"That young lady, ya'll gonna be writing about her a lot in the future because she is only going to get better,'' said Cooper.