Does the Storm Have Everything They Need?
The foundation has already been built.
The rest of this 2026 WNBA season is going to be a fascinating one to watch for the Seattle Storm. With a young and inexperienced team, there is going to be a lot of ups and downs. The expectation is that the team will show improvement in Games 25-44 from Games 1-24. I feel we’ve already seen some of that despite the fact that the Storm finished with a 2-9 record in June.
But for those paying attention, we’ve seen growth even amid these losses. Several of their losses in June came down to the 4th quarter. Most of them were in the clutch moments where veterans on other teams just made a couple of additional big plays to close out the game.
Seattle is known for its coffee, and something has been brewing in Lower Queen Anne. You could sense that these types of performances were on the horizon even as the losses piled up in that 11-game losing streak. After I saw this team go toe to toe with the Dallas Wings in a 112-110 OT loss, I knew good things were right around the corner. There were some signs during the team’s 101-91 loss down in Las Vegas against the defending champs, but it was the Dallas game where the light truly went off.
One of the things I’ve been most impressed with over these last three games is the Storm’s ability to respond. They have stopped runs by the other team from getting out of hand. They’ve pushed back and converted points to counter the opposing team’s best players. A list that includes Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Jessica Shepard, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, Leonie Fiebich, Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Angel Reese. I spoke with Coach Sonia Raman about her young team’s ability to fight back.
“Yeah, it’s funny. Actually, that’s exactly what I talked to them about postgame was just the resilience that they’re showing, and the way that they’re able to answer and respond. You know, I think that they’re a little more battle-tested now than they were early on, right? You know, it’s not like it’s been that many games, but even just those reps and going through it. And I think, like, the competitors that they are, made it so that, like, they were not going to let that continue to happen. You know?” Raman told me.
“I think that’s what happens in games. Teams go on a run. The competitiveness kicks in, the pride kicks in, their belief in each other. And the way that they give confidence to each other kicks in, and they’re able to just find another gear. And I think we showed that earlier in the season, too, but probably not as consistently and not as often. So it’s just, it’s really nice to see the way that they continue to play for each other.” Seattle’s coach added.
I was also able to talk with Flau’jae Johnson in the post-game about this.
Johnson said, “I think we just learned. I think we’re a young group, and so you can’t expect... Awa is like 12. So I think we were a young group and we just learned how to play together. It’s just, it’s fun to see everything happen in real time, and in this game, when it got close, we had some real conversations, some real accountability conversations in real time, and we held each other accountable, and at the end, we said, we in this together, and we and we shook back, and we took that lead at the end of the 4th quarter, probably like 4 minutes left. And I just felt like I was so powerful, it kind of brought tears to my eyes. But, you know, I told you, no rain, no flowers. No rain, no flowers.”
The flowers are starting to blossom in the Evergreen State, and it’s going to be a thing of beauty.
This season has always been about growth and development. Seattle is starting the youngest frontcourt duo in WNBA history. Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam are both just 20 years old. Fam literally just turned 20 around 10 days ago. But it isn’t just those two. Look at the team’s current starting lineup. Four of the five players are 20, 20, 22, and 23 years old. Natisha Hiedeman is the “old” vet, and she is 29.
When looking at recent WNBA Championship teams, we have to see what they had and compare that to what the Seattle Storm currently have. While the thought and maybe even “plan” was to rebuild and add another lottery pick to this core, the question might soon become, does the Storm already have everything they need?