The Storm is Over Now?
Dark days are on the horizon in Seattle
The WNBA season is officially underway, and we've already gotten a glimpse of several teams in action. Some have lived up to expectations—whether high or low—while others remain wild cards. There are around 6–8 teams that fall into that wildcard category. The Seattle Storm are one of them, and through their first two games, we've seen flashes of both promise and concern. But before we dive into this year’s squad, let's take a quick trip down memory lane.
The Seattle Storm are one of the cornerstone franchises when we look at the history of the W. As we enter into Year 26 of the franchise's existence, the Storm have appeared in the playoffs 19 times and are just one of three teams with 4 championships, joining the Houston Comets and Minnesota Lynx. With W legends, Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson carrying the franchise in the 2000s to the likes of W stars Breanna Stewart and Jewell Lloyd picking up the torch in the mid-2010s, the Storm have always been in the conversation amongst the best teams in the league. The Storm’s four championships came in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020. With Sue Bird retiring after the 2022 season, Stewie joining the New York Liberty in 2023, and Lloyd’s sour exit following last season, the question that looms is, who will be the next star in Seattle?
In 2023 the Storm finished with a 11-29 record, second worst record in the W. So what did the Storm do to rebound? They brought in veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith (now Skylar Diggins), forming a new Big 3 alongside Lloyd. As a result, the team performed better finishing with a 25-25 record, 5th best in the W but that came with its own set of problems.
Fast forward to where we are today and when you look at Seattle’s roster, the bulk of the production is coming from veteran players. With an active roster of just 10 players (due to injuries to Nika Muhl, Jordan Horston, and Katie Lou Samelson), Seattle’s top three scorers are 28 or older, and three of the top four leaders in minutes are 34 or older. The championship window for this squad is closing in quickly as players are getting older and contracts are ending. Out of the 13 players listed on the roster, 9 of those player contracts will be ending at the conclusion of the 2025 season, including Diggins, Ogwumike, and Gabby Willliams (the team's three leading scorers). Diggins (34) and Ogwumike (34), at best have two to three years left in the tank but will they opt to spend those remaining years in Seattle, or will they go to a more competitive squad in search of a title? Williams has the opportunity to potentially show that she can be the face of the franchise so the hope is she stays around in Seattle but who knows, she could want to move on after this season as well. The remaining four players on the roster include Horston (contract ends in 2026), veteran Lexie Brown (contract ends in 2026), Muhl (contract ends in 2027), and the 19-year-old rookie Dominique Malonga (contract ends in 2028). When you look at the landscape of the W these remaining four players under contract are not putting any fear in the hearts of opponents. Malonga is the only player of the four who teams could have to worry about but even that’s up in the air as we haven’t seen her play much at this level yet, which leads me to my next point.
Where Seattle went wrong in my opinion goes back to the 2025 WNBA Draft just a month ago. Many expected Olivia Miles to declare for the W Draft but as we know she instead opted to stay in college, hitting the transfer portal and signing with TCU. Miles was a consensus lock to go second overall to the Storm but with her returning to college it definitely changed some boards. As a result, the Storm opted to choose the youngest player in the draft, Malonga, who some described as the female Wemby. Now, yes, she’s 6’6, can dunk, and you can’t teach size, I get it but let’s look at the Storm roster. The Storm already had Ezi Magbegor as the starting center, who has taken her game to another level in the past two seasons, and signed Li Yueru, who when given the minutes in LA showcased her abilities at the W level. So, you already have two centers on the roster, who can play, and you decide to bring in Malonga? Off the rip, she’s the third center on the depth chart, and as the number two pick she won’t be playing much, if the roster holds as it is right now. For a team that’s in win now mode to draft a 19-year-old who you will be banking on her potential just doesn’t seem like a smart move. The championship window is closing, and you have an opportunity to add a piece to get you back in the championship mix and you draft a player who will be third on the depth chart. A player like Sonia Citron could’ve gone to Seattle and made an instant impact, as we see she is making with the Washington Mystics. Citron easily could’ve been paired in the backcourt with Diggins, with Williams as a versatile wing, Ogwumike and Magbegor holding down the paint. In doing this, the Storm could bring the veteran Alysha Clark off of the bench with the second unit to help with depth. In the first two games, Clark is averaging 28 minutes and three points per game, translation, she’s out there getting cardio.
Malonga, who again was the second overall pick, is not contributing to the Storm in any capacity and instead is sitting on the bench. In the first game against the Phoenix Mercury, Malonga played 10 minutes and scored two points as the Storm were punished 81-59. In the second game, Malonga played in just one minute, right before halftime recording 2 points and one rebound and didn’t see the floor in the second half. Meanwhile, in Washington, Citron is averaging 23 minutes per game and 17 points per game playing a valuable role in helping lead the Mystics to a 2-0 start, guarding opponents’ best players and scoring on the other end.
When we look at Malonga and previous top draft picks in the W in recent years, we know that the window for young players making it in the W is not that big. The first hurdle is making the team but even once you make the team the next hurdle is, can you contribute, and can you stick around? We’ve seen several top draft picks not live up to the high expectations at the W level to be the face of the franchises and integral pieces to bringing a championship. Since 2021, there has only been one player drafted in the top 5 of the W Draft to win a championship (Nyara Sabally, NY Liberty). Sabally, who was selected 5th overall in 2022, was a solid role player down the stretch for the Liberty’s championship run last season. Since 2021, and it’s still early but there are only two faces of the franchise that were drafted in the top five including Rhyne Howard (2022 Draft, Atlanta Dream) and Caitlin Clark (2024 Draft, Indiana Fever). There have been several role players drafted in the top five since 2021 who are still around and impacting teams but as you can see if Malonga isn’t cutting it in those early years she could very well be leaving Seattle, stuck in a bench role, or back in France. When in turn the Storm could’ve had a Citron, who’s making an instant impact. If Malonga is unable to get minutes and doesn’t take the steps that Seattle is looking for we could look back at this 2025 Draft and say that was a miss. Now, she could very well prove me wrong and could be a future star in Seattle and in the W but as of right now, two games in, it's not looking good for her or the Storm’s future.
On the bright side of things, Malonga is just 19 years old and stands at 6’6. For Seattle, if Malonga pans out and develops into the player they believe she could be, the future could be bright. When you look at a player like Magbegor who was selected in the first round, 12th overall in the 2019 draft by the Storm at the age of 19, she opted to not play in the W her rookie season. Once she joined Seattle in 2020, Magbegor only played 13 minutes per game as she developed and learned from Breanna Stewart and Natasha Howard. In 2021, Magbegor played 15 minutes per game and appeared in 30 games with three starts. It wasn’t until the 2022 season when Magbegor appeared in 33 games, making 23 starts, averaging 24 minutes per game, 9 points and 5 rebounds. In 2023, Magbegor averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds playing in all 40 games and starting all 40 games, earning her a spot in the WNBA All Star game. Last season, Magbegor averaged 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game in 37 games of action and 37 starts. As a result, she finished third in DPOY voting. The blueprint for Malonga in Seattle is right there alongside of her. If she is able to develop and have a similar trajectory, if not better, as Magbegor, the Storm could be in a really good spot.
One could say that the skies are starting to get cloudy in Seattle and it could be dark days for a historic franchise that’s used to competing for championships. Others may say that Malonga is the shining light and the future is bright. What do you think is next for the Storm? Is Malonga the future? Is this the beginning of a period of dark days? Will Seattle build a championship roster and get back to their winning ways? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I would love to hear from you all!
Song of the Week: The Storm Is Over Now, Kirk Franklin
Citron could’ve done so much at Seattle. I don’t think they’ll see the fruits of their labor with the young rook until next year