diff --git a/deltametrics/plot.py b/deltametrics/plot.py
index 96ddfc6d..73dcddaa 100644
--- a/deltametrics/plot.py
+++ b/deltametrics/plot.py
@@ -1623,8 +1623,6 @@ def overlay_sparse_array(
     if isinstance(cmap, str):
         # cmap = plt.cm.get_cmap(cmap)
         cmap = mpl.colormaps[cmap]
-    else:
-        cmap = cmap
 
     # get the extent to plot
     if "extent" in kwargs: