Subscribe
Follow Us
With one month left until the 2025 WNBA regular season, the Seattle Storm are barely above the threshold to make their ninth playoff appearance in the last 10 years.
The Storm have hovered near .500 for most of the season, but have dropped their first six games in August. The brutal six-game skid has them at just 16-17 through 33 games. Their 85-75 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Aug. 13 put them below .500 for the first time since June 1.
Although no longer the powerhouse they were just a few years ago, the Storm established themselves as a respectable and gritty team in 2025. They sent three players to the All-Star Game — Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams — but have built their season largely off defensive intensity. Seattle currently allows the fifth-fewest points per game and boasts the fourth-best defensive rating through its first 33 games.
As good as their defensive numbers have been, they have steadily declined over the last two months. The Storm were arguably the best defensive team in the WNBA to start the 2025 season, but have only regressed since. Perhaps fatigue is an issue, particularly with five of Noelle Quinn's eight primary rotational players over 30.
As the clock ticks down, the Storm were aggressive at the 2025 WNBA trade deadline, acquiring star guard Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics for Alysha Clark and a 2026 first-round pick. The move undeniably improves the team offensively, but does little to address their defensive struggles.
With just 11 regular season games remaining, the Storm have little time to turn their season around before the playoffs begin. They could stand to benefit from improvement in multiple areas, but their recent defense and rebounding woes need to be urgently addressed.
Storm's defense, rebounding issues late in 2025 WNBA season
The Storm's defense is noticeably lacking inside, where they have suddenly become one of the softest teams in the league. Seattle is 37.3 points per game in the paint as of mid-August, the fourth-most in the WNBA.
A frontcourt tandem of Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor should form an elite defensive pairing on paper, but that has simply not been the case. Ogwumike, 35, is no longer the defender she once was, leaving a lot more on Magbegor's plate than anticipated.
The Storm's defense has been an issue, but rebounding is even worse. Seattle is averaging just 31.5 rebounds per game, the second-fewest in the league. They are simultaneously allowing 36 rebounds per night to opponents, the third-most, including 8.6 offensive rebounds, the sixth-most.
The situation worsened late in the year due to the sudden rise of rookie Dominique Malonga, who is already one of the best young players in the league. Most expected Malonga to become a star, but the Frenchwoman has developed much quicker than anybody could have imagined. Still just 19, Malonga became a staple of Quinn's rotation in late July, averaging 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 19.4 minutes per game in her last 10 outings.
She is still raw, but there is no doubting Malonga's offensive potential. She has demonstrated great defensive instincts to complement it, but is currently a liability on that end. While Malonga's length and athleticism allow her to potentially become an elite shot blocker, she currently lacks the physicality and awareness needed inside.
Malonga's rise has forced Quinn's hand, but has also created a conundrum. She is already a much more offensive threat than Magbegor, but at the expense of the veteran's defensive savviness. The Storm's best offensive lineup includes Diggins, Ogwumike and Malonga on the court together, but that same crew leaves them particularly vulnerable in the paint.
Noelle Quinn needs to adjust rotation before 2025 WNBA playoffs
By obtaining Sykes at the deadline, the Storm not only shut down potential tanking rumors but also committed to making a legitimate playoff run. They seemed more inclined to move Clark than to add Sykes, but regardless, acquiring a player of her talent sets a different precedent.
Since the Sykes trade, the Storm have yet to win a game, going 0-3 with the 31-year-old on the team. Sykes has made an impact — dropping a team-high six assists in her debut, followed by a 27-point outburst in her second outing — but it has yet to show up in the win column. Many are quick to blame the recent lineup change for Seattle's recent struggles, but the center rotation might have a more significant impact than Sykes' insertion.
Malonga is an exciting prospect to watch, but she has not yet had a significant impact on winning. She has breached 20 minutes in six of her first 32 games, in which Seattle is 2-4. The team's two wins in that frame both came against the 6-26 Connecticut Sun.
If the Storm are going to make a run in the 2025 WNBA playoffs, Magbegor might need to reabsorb a significant amount of the minutes she ceded to Malonga. Seattle already has enough to figure out offensively with Diggins and Williams now sharing a backcourt with the ball-dominant Sykes.
Giving Malonga more developmental time will not hurt her in the slightest. She is still just 19 and already one of the hardest-working players on the team, according to her teammates. Her limitless potential is already evident, but it might not be ready to be fully unleashed just yet.
