Fire Defeat the Storm 77-72 Part 2
Additional thoughts, discussion, and interviews from Seattle's loss to Portland.
The Seattle Storm (5-17) lost to the Portland Fire (9-12) for the second time this season. Once again, the outcome was decided by five points. While it felt like the Storm let one slip away down in Portland back on June 17th, this time the Fire entered the 4th quarter with a 7-point lead and never relinquished it. If you missed it, you can read my full game recap at this link below.
Fire Spoil Storm's 4th of July
(Seattle, WA) - The Portland Fire (9-12) played spoiler in Seattle on the 4th of July holiday weekend, as they came into the 206 and defeated the Storm (5-17) by a final score of 77-72. It wasn’t the prettiest game as both teams shot below 40% from the field and the two combined for 34 turnovers. The road team outscored the Storm by 17 points over the m…
For Part 2, there were a lot of things to discuss, including Portland’s point guard Carla Leite, Dominique Malonga’s opportunities to learn, the problems figuring out new rotations, and how losing to Portland isn’t all bad.
Carla Leite
It’s honestly pretty surprising that Carla Leite has been left unprotected in the past two WNBA Expansion Drafts. She was drafted 9th overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2024 draft, but did not play for the team. She was a draft and stash player, not unlike what the Storm did with both Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne during their draft seasons. However, during the Valkyries’ expansion draft, the Wings left Leite unprotected, and she was selected by Golden State.
Leite had a solid rookie season in 2025 as a backup point guard to Veronica Burton. Burton, ironically also drafted by the Dallas Wings, went on to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award last season, while setting career-highs in points (11.9 PPG), assists (6.0 APG), and rebounds (4.4 RPG). Leite was also solid as a backup, where she averaged 7.2 PPG and 2.0 APG as a reserve off the bench.
However, after showing some real positive signs during her rookie year, the Golden State Valkyries also left her unprotected during the Portland Fire/Toronto Tempo Expansion Drafts the very next year. The Valkyries’ front office has taken heat for the Flau’jae Johnson trade during the 2026 draft night, but leaving Leite unprotected might be just as bad. At least in the Flau’jae trade, Golden State did acquire two second-round draft picks. They let Leite get drafted away for nothing in return.