Seattle Storm

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Seattle Storm
Basketball current event.svg 2024 Seattle Storm season
Seattle Storm (2021) logo.svg
Conference Western
Leagues WNBA
Founded2000;24 years ago (2000)
HistorySeattle Storm
2000–present
Arena Climate Pledge Arena
Location Seattle, Washington
Team colorsThunder green, lightning yellow, bolt green [1] [2] [3]
   
Main sponsor Swedish Medical Center [4]
General manager Talisa Rhea [5]
Head coach Noelle Quinn
Assistant(s) Pokey Chatman
Ebony Hoffman
Perry Huang
OwnershipForce 10 Hoops LLC
Championships4 (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020)
Conference titles2 (2004, 2010) [lower-alpha 1]
Commissioner's Cup titles1 (2021)
Retired numbers2 (10, 15)
Website storm.wnba.com
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Heroine
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Explorer
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Rebel

The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerley and her husband Barry ahead of the 2000 season. [6] [7] The team is currently owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC, which is composed of Seattle businesswomen Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder, along with former player Sue Bird. [8]

Contents

The Storm have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in 19 of their 25 seasons in Seattle. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as former UConn stars Sue Bird, Swin Cash, and Breanna Stewart; 2004 Finals MVP Betty Lennox; and Australian power forward Lauren Jackson, a three-time league MVP. The Storm are four-time WNBA Champions, with victories in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020. They are one of two teams who have never lost a WNBA Finals, the defunct Houston Comets being the other.

The team cultivates a fan-friendly, family environment at home games by having an all-kid dance squad, which leads young fans in a conga line on the court during time-outs, to the music of "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler, a maroon-furred creature with a cup anemometer on its head; the theme song for Storm home games is AC/DC's "Thunderstruck"; and its newsletter is called Stormwatch. [9]

The Storm were the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA prior to February 28, 2008, when the team was sold to Force 10 Hoops LLC. [10]

History

A gloomy start (2000–2001)

The Storm's predecessor was the Seattle Reign, a charter member of the American Basketball League (ABL), operating from 1996 through December 1998, when the league folded. Luckier than most localities that had an ABL team, Seattle was quickly awarded a WNBA franchise and began to play less than two years later.

The Seattle Storm would tip off their first season (the 2000 WNBA season) in typical expansion fashion. Coached by Lin Dunn and led by guard Edna Campbell and Czech center Kamila Vodichkova, the team finished with a 6–26 record. The low record, however, allowed the Storm to draft a 19-year-old Australian standout Lauren Jackson. Though Seattle did not make the playoffs in the 2001 season, Jackson's impressive rookie performance provided a solid foundation for the franchise to build on.

Sue Bird's arrival and the road to the WNBA Finals (2002–2004)

Sue Bird, on offense WNBA Sue Bird cropped.jpg
Sue Bird, on offense

In the 2002 draft, the Storm drafted UConn star Sue Bird, filling the Storm's gap at the point guard position. With Bird's playmaking ability and Jackson's scoring and rebounding, the team made the playoffs for the first time in 2002 but were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Coach Anne Donovan was hired for the 2003 campaign. In Donovan's first year, Jackson would win the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, but the team had a disappointing season (with Bird injured for much of the year), and the Storm missed the playoffs.

The 2004 Storm posted a then franchise-best 20–14 record. In the playoffs, the Storm made quick work of the Minnesota Lynx, sweeping them in the first round. The Storm then squared off against an up-and-coming Sacramento Monarchs team in the West Finals. The Storm would emerge victorious, winning the series 2–1. In the WNBA Finals, the Storm would finish off the season as champions, defeating the Connecticut Sun 2 games to 1. Betty Lennox was named MVP of the Finals. The win made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.

A consistent postseason contender (2005–2009)

Key players from the Storm's championship season were not on the team in 2005. Vodichkova, Tully Bevilaqua, and Sheri Sam moved on to other teams. Also, the pre-season injury of Australian star and new acquisition Jessica Bibby hampered the team's 2005 season. While they matched their 2004 record and made the playoffs, the Storm's title defense was stopped in the first round by the Houston Comets, 2 games to 1.

In 2006, the Storm would finish 18–16, good enough to make the playoffs. The Storm put up a good fight in the first round against the Sparks but would fall short 2–1. In 2007, the Storm would finish .500 (17–17), good enough to make the playoffs in a weak Western Conference. The Storm would be quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Mercury.

On November 30, 2007, Anne Donovan resigned as head coach, and was replaced by Brian Agler on January 9, 2008. [11] [12]

Although most of Seattle's major sports teams endured poor seasons during 2008, the Storm would be the only standout team in Seattle that year, posting a franchise-best 22–12 record and finishing with a 16–1 record at home, also a franchise-best. But the No. 2 seeded Storm lost to the #3 Los Angeles Sparks in the first round of the playoffs in three games and ended Seattle's season at 23–14 overall.

In 2009, the Storm were 20–14 and finished second in the Western Conference for the second straight year. In the playoffs, the Storm again lost to the #3 Los Angeles Sparks in 3 games, which ended their season in the first round for the fifth consecutive season.

A second championship (2010)

In the 2010 season, the Storm was almost unstoppable with a record-tying 28 wins and 6 losses in the regular season, including a perfect 17–0 at KeyArena. This was the most home wins in the history of the WNBA.

Along the way, Lauren Jackson was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week five times, and Western Conference Player of the Month three times, on her way to being named WNBA MVP for the third time. Agler was also named Coach of the Year.

In the playoffs, the Storm dramatically reversed their fortunes from the previous five seasons. They started with a sweep of the Sparks, the team that previously knocked them out of the playoffs every time they met. Then they swept Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury in the conference finals, and the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals. With two league championships, the Storm became Seattle's most successful pro sports team by that measure.

In June 2011, President of the United States Barack Obama invited the 2010 WNBA champion Seattle Storm to the White House. He stated that the franchise provided a good example for young girls with big dreams. He praised the Storm for the community service they perform and stated that being champions did not end when they step off the court. The Storm presented the President with a championship ring. [13]

Postseason pains (2011–2014)

With the same lineup as the previous year, the Storm had much expectation for the 2011 WNBA season. But right in the second round a two-year home invincibility was broken by the Minnesota Lynx, who even left the Storm scoreless for the first seven minutes. [14] Injuries hit multiple players, especially Lauren Jackson, who had to undergo hip surgery and missed most of the season. The regular starting five resumed play only in the last five games, but Sue Bird and Swin Cash kept the Storm competitive, finishing second in the WNBA with 21 wins and 13 losses. On the playoffs, a Mercury buzzer beater at the KeyArena eliminated the Storm in round 1. [15]

In 2012, with Jackson absent for the early season training with the Australia national team and injuries to most of the team, including Bird, only Camille Little and Katie Smith played on all the games of the regular season. Upon her return, Jackson missed some games due to a hamstring injury but reached 6,000 points on her WNBA career playing against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The 16-18 record put the Storm fourth in the West, facing the Lynx, who posted the league's best record during the regular season, in the playoffs. [16] While the Storm managed to force a game 3 by winning in the KeyArena at double overtime, a last-second attempt by Jackson went off the rim and the Lynx took the series-winning by just one point, 73-72. [17]

After losing in the first round of the 2013 playoffs to the Lynx following a .500 regular season, the Storm missed the playoffs in 2014. This was the first time the Storm missed the playoffs since 2003.

Loyd/Stewart Era, third and fourth championships (2015–2021)

Following seven-year head coach & GM Brian Agler's hiring in Los Angeles, the Storm elevated President Alisha Valavanis to President & GM, and two weeks later, hired Jenny Boucek as the fourth head coach in franchise history. Valavanis and Boucek promptly got to work, trading Shekinna Stricklen and Camille Little to the Connecticut Sun for the #3 and #15 2015 WNBA draft picks, along with Renee Montgomery. Storm free agent Tanisha Wright signed with the New York Liberty, and a month later, Valavanis shipped the #15 pick to the Mystics for Quanitra Hollingsworth and the #20 pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft. Valavanis also signed Australian forward Abby Bishop that month.

Fast forward to April 2015, the month of the WNBA Draft, where Seattle now held the #1, #3, #20 and #26 picks. Days before the draft, Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd and Minnesota center Amanda Zahui B. shook up the draft order, both forgoing NCAA eligibility and declaring for the WNBA Draft. On April 16, 2015, Seattle drafted Jewell Loyd #1, UCONN sharpshooter Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis #3, Vicky McIntyre #20 and Nneka Enemkpali #26 in the 2015 WNBA Draft. In the 2015 WNBA season, despite missing out on the playoffs with a 10-24 record, the number-one drafted Jewell Loyd would win the Rookie of the Year Award.

After having the worst record in the WNBA, the Storm ended up with the first overall pick again using it to select Breanna Stewart from the University of Connecticut. In the 2016 WNBA season, Stewart immediately emerged as one of the young rising stars in the league, winning Rookie of the Year, averaged an impressive 18.9 ppg and broke the record for most defensive rebounds in a regular season. Loyd would statistically improve, averaging 16.5 ppg, birthing a new, young dynamic tandem as the "Next Great Storm Duo" after Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. [18] This would lead the Storm back into playoff contention as they finished as the 6th seed with a 16-18 record under the league's new playoff format, but would lose to the Atlanta Dream in the first round elimination game.

In the 2017 season, both Loyd and Stewart continued to get better and lead the Storm into playoff contention. Loyd averaged 17.7 ppg and Stewart 19.9 ppg. Stewart would become an all-star for the first time in her career and was one of two all-stars representing the Storm in the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game along with Sue Bird. The Storm finished as the 8th seed with a 15-19 record but would lose yet again in the first round elimination game by the Phoenix Mercury.

In the 2018 season, the Storm would elevate from a mediocre playoff team to a title contender. In the offseason, they made some slight changes to the roster. They traded for Natasha Howard and drafted Jordin Canada. Bird, Loyd, and Stewart were all voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, creating a "big three" on the Storm's roster. Bird also broke records in 2018 by becoming the franchise leader in scoring and the league's all-time regular-season assists leader. With Bird's leadership and the continued development of Loyd and Stewart, the Storm finished 26-8 with the number 1 seed headed into the WNBA Playoffs. They would receive a double-bye to the semi-finals. Stewart who averaged 20.0 ppg and 8.8 RPG won the 2018 Most Valuable Player award. They faced the Phoenix Mercury in the semi-finals where Stewart averaged 24.0 ppg and Loyd added 11.0 ppg. They would defeat the Mercury in a hard-fought five-game series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2010. In the Finals, the Storm would sweep their opponent, the Washington Mystics, winning their first championship in eight years, Stewart was named Finals MVP.

Even before the season started, 2019 was a year defined by health issues for the Storm. On April 15, Stewart ruptured her Achilles tendon playing in a Euroleague game for Dynamo Kursk when she collided with Brittney Griner, putting her out for the entire 2019 season. [19] Four days later, head coach Dan Hughes was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his colon; he had it removed in May and missed the entire season, with assistant Gary Kloppenburg taking over in an interim role [20] Later that month, after the Storm finished their preseason schedule, it was announced that Bird would have to undergo knee surgery, sidelining her too for the year.

With Bird out, Canada stepped into the starting point guard role, finishing 2019 third in the WNBA in assists per game (5.5) and second in steals per game (2.3). Meanwhile, without Stewart and with Loyd missing seven games with an injury of her own, Howard became the focal point of the Seattle offense, scoring a career-high 18.1 points per game. The shorthanded Storm finished the season 18-16, earning the No. 6 seed in the 2019 WNBA playoffs. Seattle won its first-round matchup against the Minnesota Lynx, 84-74, and then lost in the second round to the Los Angeles Sparks, 92-69.

The 2020 WNBA season was atypical, played entirely inside Bradenton, Florida's IMG Academy, dubbed the "wubble", the WNBA's version of the NBA's Bubble. The Storm entered the wubble with Bird and Stewart back, but without head coach Dan Hughes, whose cancer diagnosis made him a health risk. [21] Bird missed several games with a left knee bone bruise, but came back for the playoffs, in which the Storm didn't lose a single game. The Storm closed out the top-ranked Las Vegas Aces in three games en route to their fourth championship, with Stewart again named Finals MVP. [22] The Storm remained at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett for the 2021 season with limited capacity due to COVID guidelines. [23] In the 2021 season the Storm won the inaugural WNBA Commissioner's Cup after defeating the Connecticut Sun 79-57 in the championship game.

Move to Climate Pledge Arena (2022–present)

A 2022 regular season game at Climate Pledge Arena Seattle Storm vs Atlanta Dream at Climate Pledge Arena (July 2022) - 01.jpg
A 2022 regular season game at Climate Pledge Arena

The Storm moved to their new home at Climate Pledge Arena for the 2022 season and played their regular season game there on May 6, 2022. [24] Sue Bird announced that she would retire at the end of the season and drew a franchise record crowd of 18,100 spectators for her last regular season game. [25] The record was broken during a regular season win against the Indiana Fever on May 22, 2024, with 18,343 in attendance. [26]

Name, logo and team colors

The Storm's name was chosen because of Seattle's reputation as a rainy city, as well as the aggressive nature implicit in the name. Though the team conducted an exhaustive trademark search for options, Storm was always their preferred choice. The name had once been trademarked by an amateur soccer club, FC Seattle Storm, in the mid-1980s, but by 2000 it was free for the WNBA to take ownership. The team had planned a formal announcement, along with a presentation of the logo and official team colors, at a January 2000 gala event for the inaugural season ticket holders. However, a Miami newspaper revealed the name two weeks early while announcing all four of that season's expansion franchises. [27]

The original logo featured a rounded, stylized silhouette of the Space Needle, an iconic Seattle landmark, set against the backdrop of a green storm cloud. In dynamic font and fashion, the team name stretches in an angled rise from left to right. Pointed jags meant to evoke lightning bolts streak through the team name from right to left. A basketball orbits the Space Needle through the cloud.

In January 2016, the team revealed a branding update that eliminated the use of red. The team logos retained the same overall design, but used the simplified color scheme. [28]

An alternate logo, which placed the S from the Storm wordmark on a green oval, was used on the team's jerseys on and off until 2020 in place of the more complicated primary mark.

In March 2021, the team released an entirely new logo and updated color scheme. The Space Needle, depicted in a new, more minimalist style, is interlinked with the ribs of a basketball and incorporates a small lightning bolt into the tower. The logo has a pointed shape, meant to evoke Mount Rainier. A sleeker modern font and the new color scheme of dark green, yellow, and bright green are used. [1]

Team colors

Like several early WNBA teams, the Storm was owned by their NBA counterpart, the Seattle SuperSonics, and closely related to the team. Taking their cue from the Sonics' team colors at the time, known colloquially as the "wine and pine" era of the team, the Storm's original team colors were pine green, maroon red, bronze, and white. When a new ownership group led by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz purchased the Sonics and Storm in 2001, the NBA club returned to the traditional green-and-golden yellow color scheme that the team had used for its first 28 years of existence. The Storm, however, retained their colors as a way to uniquely market the team. Following another change of ownership in 2006, the team was then sold to Force 10 Hoops LLC in 2008 when the Oklahoma City interests that owned the Sonics announced intentions to relocate the NBA club to Oklahoma City as the Thunder. Force 10 also retained the original colors.

The January 2016 branding update changed the official team colors. Adopting a scheme similar to their former NBA brother team, the updated colors were thunder green, a less saturated shade than before, and lightning yellow. White and thunder gray featured as accent colors. [29] [30]

The new 2021 design keeps the 2016–2020 colors of lightning yellow and dark thunder green and replaces gray with the bright bolt green. [1]

Off-court activity

2006 and 2008 sales

Following disagreements between the Basketball Club of Seattle (the former owners of the Sonics and Storm) and the city of Seattle concerning the need to renovate the KeyArena, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Seattle Storm were sold to an Oklahoma City group led by Clay Bennett on July 18, 2006. [31] Bennett made it clear that the Sonics and Storm would move to Oklahoma City at some point after the 2007–08 NBA season, unless an arena for the Sonics was approved by Seattle leaders before October 31, 2007. During this period of uncertainty, the Storm announced that they would play their 2008 WNBA season in Seattle at KeyArena. [32]

On January 8, 2008, Bennett sold the team to a Seattle group of women called Force 10 Hoops, LLC. [33] The sale was given unanimous approval from the WNBA Board of Governors on February 28, 2008. [34] This kept the team in Seattle and disconnected it from the Sonics. The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City in July, during the WNBA season.

Uniform sponsorship

On April 21, 2010, the Storm and the WNBA announced a sponsor agreement with Bing, a search engine from Microsoft, to place the company's logo on their jerseys for the 2010 season. [35] [36] The Bing sponsorship ended after the 2013 season, and the Storm played without a sponsor for two seasons, before signing a new uniform deal with Swedish Medical Center for the 2016 season.

Temporary move to the University of Washington

With Climate Pledge Arena to be closed during its renovation into a venue suitable for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League, [37] the Storm were forced to seek a temporary venue for their 2019 season. After considering two suburban venues, ShoWare Center in Kent and Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, the team announced in August 2018 that its primary home in 2019 would be in the city of Seattle at the University of Washington's Alaska Airlines Arena. [38] [39] While the arena was the Storm's primary home during the renovation, there was no guarantee of its availability for Storm playoff games, and some home games were planned to be played at other venues in the region, such as Tacoma Dome, if necessary. Since Washington's arena lacks air conditioning, and the WNBA requires that all games be played in air-conditioned venues, portable air conditioning units were used during Storm games. [38] The team later announced that five of its 17 regular-season home games in 2019, including the home opener, would be at Angel of the Winds Arena. [40] The 2020 season saw the Storm play their games in Bradenton, Florida, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Training facility

The Storm's training facility from 2008 to 2008 was the Furtado Center, which it shared with the SuperSonics and was located adjacent to the Seattle Center campus. After the SuperSonics relocated, the Furtado Center was demolished and displaced the Storm, who moved to the Royal Brougham Pavilion at Seattle Pacific University. [41] The team announced plans for a dedicated training facility in the Interbay neighborhood in May 2022, pending city approval. [42] Construction began in March 2023 and the facility opened in April 2024. [41] [43] ZGF Architects designed the with a women-led team and Sellen Construction was the general contractor for the project. [44]

The Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance serves as the team's headquarters and training facility. It comprises a two-story building with 53,000 square feet (4,900 m2) of space with two full-size basketball courts and two half-courts on the lower level and office spaces, a gymnasium, kitchen, and other facilities on the upper level. A rooftop solar array is also planned as part of the $64 million project. [44] [43] It is the first dedicated training facility built for a WNBA team; the Las Vegas Aces' headquarters opened in 2022 in a renovated space. [43] [45]

Amazon Prime Video deal

In 2022, Amazon Prime Video announced a landmark new deal with the Seattle Storm, becoming the official streaming service of the Storm, and one of the first streamers to hold local broadcast rights with a WNBA team. Approximately 30 Storm games will be available to Prime Video customers throughout Washington state. [46]

Season-by-season records

SeasonTeamConferenceRegular season Playoff Results Head coach
WLPCT
Seattle Storm
2000 2000 West 8th626.188Did not qualify Lin Dunn
2001 2001 West 8th1022.313Did not qualify Lin Dunn
2002 2002 West 4th1715.531Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 0–2) Lin Dunn
2003 2003 West 5th1816.529Did not qualify Anne Donovan
2004 2004 West 2nd2014.588Won Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 2–0)
Won Conference Finals (Sacramento, 2–1)
Won WNBA Finals (Connecticut, 2–1)
Anne Donovan
2005 2005 West 2nd2014.588Lost Conference Semifinals (Houston, 1–2) Anne Donovan
2006 2006 West 4th1816.529Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Anne Donovan
2007 2007 West 4th1717.500Lost Conference Semifinals (Phoenix, 0–2) Anne Donovan
2008 2008 West 2nd2212.647Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Brian Agler
2009 2009 West 2nd2014.588Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Brian Agler
2010 2010 West 1st286.824Won Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 2–0)
Won Conference Finals (Phoenix, 2–0)
Won WNBA Finals (Atlanta, 3–0)
Brian Agler
2011 2011 West 2nd2113.618Lost Conference Semifinals (Phoenix, 1–2) Brian Agler
2012 2012 West 4th1618.471Lost Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 1–2) Brian Agler
2013 2013 West 4th1717.500Lost Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 0–2) Brian Agler
2014 2014 West 6th1222.353Did not qualify Brian Agler
2015 2015 West 5th1024.294Did not qualify Jenny Boucek
2016 2016 West 3rd1618.471Lost First Round (Atlanta, 0–1) Jenny Boucek
2017 2017 West 5th1519.441Lost First Round (Phoenix, 0–1) Jenny Boucek (10–16)
Gary Kloppenburg (5–3)
2018 2018 West 1st268.765Won Semifinals (Phoenix, 3–2)
Won WNBA Finals (Washington, 3–0)
Dan Hughes
2019 2019 West 6th1816.529Won First Round (Minnesota, 1–0)
Lost Second Round (Los Angeles, 0–1)
Dan Hughes
2020 2020 West 2nd184.818Won Semifinals (Minnesota, 3–0)
Won WNBA Finals (Las Vegas, 3–0)
Gary Kloppenburg
2021 2021 West 3rd2111.656Lost Second Round (Phoenix, 0–1) Dan Hughes (5–1)
Noelle Quinn (16–10)
2022 2022 West 2nd2214.611Won First Round (Washington 2–0)
Lost Semifinals (Las Vegas, 1–3)
Noelle Quinn
2023 2023 West 5th1129.275Did not qualify Noelle Quinn
2024 2024 West 3rd2515.625Lost First Round (Las Vegas, 0–2) Noelle Quinn
Regular season444400.526
Playoffs3729.5472 Conference Championships [lower-alpha 1]
4 WNBA Championships

Players

Current roster

PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G 4 Flag of the United States.svg Diggins-Smith, Skylar 5' 9" (1.75m)145 lb (66kg)1990-08-02 Notre Dame 9
F 8 Flag of the United States.svg Holmes, Joyner 6' 3" (1.91m)210 lb (95kg)1998-02-22 Texas 4
G/F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Horston, Jordan 6' 2" (1.88m)165 lb (75kg)2001-05-21 Tennessee 1
G 24 Flag of the United States.svg Loyd, Jewell 5' 11" (1.8m)165 lb (75kg)1993-10-05 Notre Dame 9
C 13 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Magbegor, Ezi 6' 4" (1.93m)181 lb (82kg)1999-06-13 Australia 4
G 1 Flag of Croatia.svg Mühl, Nika 6' 0" (1.83m)156 lb (71kg)2001-04-09 Connecticut R
F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m)174 lb (79kg)1990-07-02 Stanford 12
C 21 Flag of the United States.svg Russell, Mercedes 6' 6" (1.98m)195 lb (88kg)1995-07-27 Tennessee 6
G 35 Flag of the United States.svg Vivians, Victoria 6' 1" (1.85m)183 lb (83kg)1994-11-17 Mississippi State 5
G 32 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Whitcomb, Sami 5' 10" (1.78m)154 lb (70kg)1988-07-20 Washington 7
F 5 Flag of France.svg Williams, Gabby 5' 11" (1.8m)172 lb (78kg)1996-09-09 Connecticut 5
Head coach
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Noelle Quinn (UCLA)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Pokey Chatman (LSU)
Flag of the United States.svg Ebony Hoffman (USC)
Flag of the United States.svg Perry Huang (Fresno Pacific)
Athletic trainer
Brittanie Vaughn

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

  WNBA roster page

Former players

Retired numbers

Seattle Storm retired numbers
No.PlayerPositionTenureRef.
15 Lauren Jackson PF/C 2001–2012 [47] [48]
10 Sue Bird PG2002–2022 [49]

Coaches and staff

Owners

Head coaches

Seattle Storm head coaches
NameStartEndSeasonsRegular seasonPlayoffs
WLPCTGWLPCTG
Lin Dunn July 22, 1999September 3, 200233363.3449602.0002
Anne Donovan December 18, 2002November 30, 200759377.54717088.50016
Brian Agler January 8, 2008January 5, 20157136102.5712381110.52421
Jenny Boucek January 20, 2015August 10, 201733658.3839401.0001
Gary Kloppenburg (interim) [lower-alpha 2] August 10, 2017October 3, 2017153.625801.0001
Dan Hughes October 4, 2017June 28, 202024424.6476873.70010
Gary Kloppenburg [lower-alpha 3] June 29, 2020October 6, 20201184.81822601.0007
Dan Hughes October 7, 2020May 30, 2021151.8336
Noelle Quinn May 30, 2021Current47468.52114236.3339

General managers

Assistant Coaches

Records and statistics

Season records

Regular season attendance

All-Stars

Olympians

Honors and awards

  • 2002All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2003Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2003Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2003All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2003All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2004Finals MVP: Betty Lennox
  • 2004Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2004All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2004All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2005All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2005All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2005All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2006All-Decade Team: Sue Bird
  • 2006All-Decade Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2006All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2007Peak Performer (Rebounds): Lauren Jackson
  • 2007All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007All-Defensive First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2008All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2008All-WNBA Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2008All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009All-Star Game MVP: Swin Cash
  • 2009Peak Performer (Assists): Sue Bird
  • 2009All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009All-Defensive First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2010Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010Finals MVP: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010Coach of the Year: Brian Agler
  • 2010All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2010All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2010All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2011All-Star Game MVP: Swin Cash
  • 2011Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Sue Bird
  • 2011All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2011All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2011All-Defensive Second Team: Swin Cash
  • 2013All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2015July Rookie of the Month: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015Rookie of the Year: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015All-Rookie Team: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015All-Rookie Team: Ramu Tokashiki
  • 2016Rookie of the Year: Breanna Stewart
  • 2016Peak Performer (Assists): Sue Bird
  • 2016All-Defensive Second Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2016All-Rookie Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2017Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Sue Bird
  • 2018Most Valuable Player: Breanna Stewart
  • 2018Most Improved Player: Natasha Howard
  • 2018Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Sue Bird
  • 2018Finals MVP: Breanna Stewart
  • 2018All-WNBA First Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2018All-Defensive First Team: Natasha Howard
  • 2019Defensive Player of the Year: Natasha Howard
  • 2019All-WNBA First Team: Natasha Howard
  • 2019All-Defensive First Team: Jordin Canada
  • 2019All-Defensive Second Team: Alysha Clark
  • 2020Finals MVP: Breanna Stewart
  • 2020All-WNBA First Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2020All-Defensive First Team: Alysha Clark
  • 2020All-Defensive Second Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2021Commissioner's Cup MVP: Breanna Stewart
  • 2021All-Defensive Second Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2021All-WNBA First Team: Jewell Loyd
  • 2021All-WNBA First Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2022All-WNBA First Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2022Peak Performer: Points: Breanna Stewart
  • 2022All-Defensive First Team: Breanna Stewart
  • 2022All-Defensive Second Team: Gabby Williams
  • 2022All-Defensive Second Team: Ezi Magbegor
  • 2023All-Star Game MVP: Jewell Loyd
  • 2023Peak Performer (Scoring): Jewell Loyd
  • 2023All-Rookie Team: Jordan Horston
  • 2023All-WNBA Second Team: Jewell Loyd
  • 2024All-WNBA Second Team: Nneka Ogwumike
  • 2024All-Defensive First Team: Ezi Magbegor
  • 2024All-Defensive Second Team: Nneka Ogwumike

Media coverage

Currently, the broadcast rights for Storm games are held by KCPQ or KZJO. Amazon Prime also streams games for viewers in the state of Washington. Broadcasters for the Storm games are Dick Fain and Elise Woodward. [57]

Some Storm games are broadcast nationally on ESPN, ESPN2, Ion Television, CBS, CBS Sports Network and ABC. [58]

Notes

  1. 1 2 The WNBA awarded conference championships to the winners of the Conference Finals in the playoffs from 1998 to 2015.
  2. Kloppenburg was named interim head coach after Boucek was fired and finished the 2017 regular season with a 5–3 record before going 0–1 in the playoffs.
  3. Kloppenburg was named head coach for the 2020 season when Hughes opted out due to health concerns. [54]

Related Research Articles

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Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by the Storm in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2024, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in the Russian league and holds dual citizenship with both U.S. and Israel.

The 2008 WNBA season was the ninth season for the Seattle Storm. The Storm qualified for the postseason for the fifth consecutive season. Sue Bird was a key contributor to the club, averaging 14.1 points per game, and 5.1 assists per game. With the departure of the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, the Storm were forced to look for 30 people in positions in marketing, public relations and corporate and ticket sales. The Storm had a shared services agreement with the Sonics, and the departure left the Storm with many positions vacant. By season's end, the Storm were in negotiations with the city of Seattle in hopes of a long-term lease at KeyArena.

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The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The champions of the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Dream, faced the champions of the Western Conference, the Seattle Storm.

The 2011 WNBA season is the 12th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association.

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Breanna Mackenzie Stewart, nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished players in basketball history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewell Loyd</span> American basketball player (born 1993)

Jewell Loyd is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played college basketball at Notre Dame.

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Eziyoda "Ezi" Magbegor is an Australian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USK Prague of the EuroLeague Women and the Czech Women's Basketball League. Magbegor was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals. She was part of the Australian team that won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 2018 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2018 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). It featured the top-seeded Seattle Storm and the three-seeded Washington Mystics. The series began on September 7, 2018, and ended on September 12, 2018. After winning the first two games at home, the Storm went on the road and completed the 3–0 series sweep. It was the franchise's first title in eight years and third overall.

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The 2019 WNBA season was the 20th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 25 with a game against the Phoenix Mercury.

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The 2020 WNBA Finals, officially WNBA Finals 2020 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2020 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Finals feature the top seeded Las Vegas Aces facing off against the second seed Seattle Storm. Despite losing both regular season meetings against Las Vegas, the Storm dominated the series, sweeping the Aces in three straight games. Led by Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, Seattle won all three games by double-digits, claiming their second title in three years and fourth in franchise history.

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The 2021 WNBA Commissioner's Cup was the WNBA's first ever Commissioner's Cup in league history. The Cup Final featured the top Eastern Conference Cup Connecticut Sun facing off against the top Western Conference team Seattle Storm. The Sun came into the Cup Final with a Cup record of 9–1 against fellow Eastern Conference teams, while the Storm entered with a 8–2 record against their Western Conference counterparts.

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The 2022 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2022 season. This postseason ended with the Las Vegas Aces winning their first championship.

The 2023 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the second full season under head coach Noelle Quinn. Quinn took over in May of the 2021 season.

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Sporting positions
Preceded by WNBA Champions
2020 (fourth title)
Succeeded by
Preceded by WNBA Champions
2018 (third title)
Succeeded by
Preceded by WNBA Champions
2010 (second title)
Succeeded by
WNBA Western Conference Champions
2010 (second title)
Preceded by WNBA Champions
2004 (first title)
Succeeded by
Preceded by WNBA Western Conference Champions
2004 (first title)