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sirvalkyerie · 02-26-2023, 10:09 PM

Seattle takes the league by Storm:
The Seattle Storm were the team to beat as the Teens turned into the Twenties. Fresh off a 2018 sweep of the Washington Mystics, the Storm again won the title by downing their opponent, the Las Vegas Aces, in three games in 2019. The Storm of 2019 featured five All-Stars that season and three future Hall of Famers: Jordin Canada, Natasha Howard and Finals MVP Jewell Lloyd. The Storm's back-to-back title victory capped a season leading 26-8 regular season record and first round playoff bye. Seattle had a tougher time with the 4th Seed Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals as it took all five games for them to get that series over with.

Jewell Lloyd's 22 points per game was good for second best in the league in 2019, behind MVP DeWanna Bonner, and her performance continued into the postseason where she averaged twenty points per game on the Storm's title run. But Lloyd would leave for Dallas in the Winter and the Storm had to face the COVID season without their Finals MVP. Still, the Storm returned future Hall of Famers Jordin Canada and Natasha Howard.

In 2020, the Storm were again a force to be reckoned with going again leading the league in wins with a 25-9 record. But the Storm couldn't capitalize on their first round playoff bye, instead falling in five games to the eventual champion Washington Mystics. The Storm would reload though for 2021 with a bevvy of roster moves. The Storm picked up future Hall of Famers Kelsey Plum and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency while with the 12th pick in the draft they landed another future Hall of Famer, Kara Warren.

But despite the talent reload, 2021 was a bump season. The Storm struggled to a 16-18 record which did put them into the playoffs at the sixth and final seed, coming in a game ahead of the Las Vegas Aces. A valiant effort wasn't enough, however, to advance as the Storm fell to the Mercury 96-86 in the opening game.

In 2022, the Storm cut ties with Forward Brionna Jones which paved the way for their 2021 first round pick, Kara Warren, to enter the starting lineup. With Plum, Canada, Vandersloot and Howard all returning, Warren's move to the starting lineup meant that the Seattle Storm would boast a starting five entirely of future Hall of Famers. The team delivered on its expectations. Natasha Howard averaged 22 points and 9 rebounds which led he league in scoring. Jordin Canada facilitated the offense averaging 14 points and 8 assists, while the newly starting Kara Warren brought 9 points and 9 rebounds a game herself. Such starting lineup star power left the Storm with a thin bench and some injuries caused their season to chug along at times. The Wings paced the league at 26-8 while the Chicago Sky nipped at their heels for the second seed at 25-9. Seattle's more modest 19-15 record got them into the dance as the fourth seed, a three win improvement over 2021.

Seattle would make quick work of Indiana in the first round but then falter to the one-seed Wings in the semi-finals. Seattle had improved over their 2021 season but they still couldn't make the most of a star studded lineup. In the off-season the Storm shipped three players (Nia Coffey, Tanisha Wright and Margold Donnelly) to the Las Vegas Aces for the #2 overall pick in the draft. The Storm would select 6'3" Forward, Megan Ford from Missouri. Seattle's decision to draft size would hopefully help them improve over their guard heavy lineup of 2022. And it certainly did.

Ford was an All-Star as a rookie averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds a game on an impressive 57% shooting from the floor. Kara Warren was also an All-Star for the first time, taking her first major strides averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds. Natasha Howard also made the All-Star game and the starting lineup was filled out by Kelsey Plum and Jordin Canada. The Storm would go 26-8, good for best in the WNBA. And this time they wouldn't disappoint. After getting the first round bye, the Storm swept the Mystics in the semi-finals and defeated the Dallas Wings in a series that went the distance. Kara Warren won Finals MVP and made her first of ten All-WNBA teams and her first of seven All-WNBA Defense teams. Warren had an elite postseason averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 55% shooting.

It was the third title in six years for a Storm team that could seemingly do no wrong, flipping their roster over twice in that period. The Storm were a dominant franchise for the league and were the home of some of the league's most star studded lineups. In 2024 the team took a step back with many key contributors beginning to show signs of age and in 2025 the roster started to thin. The Storm would fade rapidly. After their 2023 championship, they wouldn't even make the playoffs again until 2029.

While the end came swiftly, the Storm cemented themselves, for a time, as the league's marquee franchise after the contraction of the late-Aughts.

02-26-2023, 10:09 PM	#4
sirvalkyerie Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: Jul 2013 Blog Entries: 5	Re: WNBA - BBGM Seattle takes the league by Storm: The Seattle Storm were the team to beat as the Teens turned into the Twenties. Fresh off a 2018 sweep of the Washington Mystics, the Storm again won the title by downing their opponent, the Las Vegas Aces, in three games in 2019. The Storm of 2019 featured five All-Stars that season and three future Hall of Famers: Jordin Canada, Natasha Howard and Finals MVP Jewell Lloyd. The Storm's back-to-back title victory capped a season leading 26-8 regular season record and first round playoff bye. Seattle had a tougher time with the 4th Seed Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals as it took all five games for them to get that series over with. Jewell Lloyd's 22 points per game was good for second best in the league in 2019, behind MVP DeWanna Bonner, and her performance continued into the postseason where she averaged twenty points per game on the Storm's title run. But Lloyd would leave for Dallas in the Winter and the Storm had to face the COVID season without their Finals MVP. Still, the Storm returned future Hall of Famers Jordin Canada and Natasha Howard. In 2020, the Storm were again a force to be reckoned with going again leading the league in wins with a 25-9 record. But the Storm couldn't capitalize on their first round playoff bye, instead falling in five games to the eventual champion Washington Mystics. The Storm would reload though for 2021 with a bevvy of roster moves. The Storm picked up future Hall of Famers Kelsey Plum and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency while with the 12th pick in the draft they landed another future Hall of Famer, Kara Warren. But despite the talent reload, 2021 was a bump season. The Storm struggled to a 16-18 record which did put them into the playoffs at the sixth and final seed, coming in a game ahead of the Las Vegas Aces. A valiant effort wasn't enough, however, to advance as the Storm fell to the Mercury 96-86 in the opening game. In 2022, the Storm cut ties with Forward Brionna Jones which paved the way for their 2021 first round pick, Kara Warren, to enter the starting lineup. With Plum, Canada, Vandersloot and Howard all returning, Warren's move to the starting lineup meant that the Seattle Storm would boast a starting five entirely of future Hall of Famers. The team delivered on its expectations. Natasha Howard averaged 22 points and 9 rebounds which led he league in scoring. Jordin Canada facilitated the offense averaging 14 points and 8 assists, while the newly starting Kara Warren brought 9 points and 9 rebounds a game herself. Such starting lineup star power left the Storm with a thin bench and some injuries caused their season to chug along at times. The Wings paced the league at 26-8 while the Chicago Sky nipped at their heels for the second seed at 25-9. Seattle's more modest 19-15 record got them into the dance as the fourth seed, a three win improvement over 2021. Seattle would make quick work of Indiana in the first round but then falter to the one-seed Wings in the semi-finals. Seattle had improved over their 2021 season but they still couldn't make the most of a star studded lineup. In the off-season the Storm shipped three players (Nia Coffey, Tanisha Wright and Margold Donnelly) to the Las Vegas Aces for the #2 overall pick in the draft. The Storm would select 6'3" Forward, Megan Ford from Missouri. Seattle's decision to draft size would hopefully help them improve over their guard heavy lineup of 2022. And it certainly did. Ford was an All-Star as a rookie averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds a game on an impressive 57% shooting from the floor. Kara Warren was also an All-Star for the first time, taking her first major strides averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds. Natasha Howard also made the All-Star game and the starting lineup was filled out by Kelsey Plum and Jordin Canada. The Storm would go 26-8, good for best in the WNBA. And this time they wouldn't disappoint. After getting the first round bye, the Storm swept the Mystics in the semi-finals and defeated the Dallas Wings in a series that went the distance. Kara Warren won Finals MVP and made her first of ten All-WNBA teams and her first of seven All-WNBA Defense teams. Warren had an elite postseason averaging 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 55% shooting. It was the third title in six years for a Storm team that could seemingly do no wrong, flipping their roster over twice in that period. The Storm were a dominant franchise for the league and were the home of some of the league's most star studded lineups. In 2024 the team took a step back with many key contributors beginning to show signs of age and in 2025 the roster started to thin. The Storm would fade rapidly. After their 2023 championship, they wouldn't even make the playoffs again until 2029. While the end came swiftly, the Storm cemented themselves, for a time, as the league's marquee franchise after the contraction of the late-Aughts.