SEATTLE \u2013 What\u2019s one word to describe Dominique Malonga\u2019s soon-to-be second season with the Seattle Storm?<\/p>\n
Some obvious options:<\/p>\n
Potential. Improvement. Ascendance. Expectations.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old center has her own answer.<\/p>\n
But first, I\u2019ll take a crack:<\/p>\n
Positionless.<\/p>\n
That word has been bouncing around Seattle\u2019s training camp, as new coach Sonia Raman attempts to install a fast-paced, fluid brand of basketball. No player embodies that brand better than the 6-foot-6 \u201ccenter\u201d who defies positional definition \u2013 who handles the ball like a guard, who runs the floor with ferocity, who dunks and dazzles and flips fadeaway jumpers with a feathery touch.<\/p>\n
Who does things players at that position, and that age, aren\u2019t expected to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s just phenomenal, with the things she does,\u201d Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson confirmed Monday. \u201cShe\u2019s bringing the ball up the court now, too. It\u2019s going to be a lot of fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fun? Sure.<\/p>\n
Frustrating? That, too.<\/p>\n
Because after losing their top five scorers to free agency, the Storm appear to be embarking on a full rebuild. Established leaders such as Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams are gone. Playoff expectations went with them.<\/p>\n
After the WNBA\u2019s oldest core earned first-round exits in back-to-back postseasons, Seattle smartly reset its roster. Its present and future is built around 20-year-old Malonga, 26-year-old forward\/center Ezi Magbegor, 24-year-old forward Jordan Horston and a pair of rookies \u2013 19-year-old Spanish center Awa Fam and 22-year-old guard Flau\u2019jae Johnson.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Raman\u2019s job to mold that raw talent into a team that can consistently contend.<\/p>\n
Some intriguing pieces are in place. But it\u2019s going to take time.<\/p>\n
Especially considering Magbegor \u2013 the longest-tenured Storm player who agreed to a three-year deal worth $3.75 million last week to stay in Seattle \u2013 will miss at least six to eight weeks because of a foot injury. Fam will also finish her season with Spanish team Valencia Basket before traveling to Seattle.<\/p>\n
All of which fixes the focus on Malonga.<\/p>\n
Not that the former No. 2 overall pick feels any elevated expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing crazy that is expected from me,\u201d Malonga said Monday. \u201cThey just expect me to be me, to bring what I know, to bring energy, to run the floor, to be versatile, play defense, the basics. They don\u2019t ask me to be out of character.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe playing style that we have, it\u2019s a fast pace. It\u2019s positionless. So I\u2019ll have the opportunity to be a different position on the floor and just be efficient at any position I\u2019m in. I think the word for this season is really \u2018efficiency.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, Malonga\u2019s efficiency (and minutes) fluctuated in 2025. As a 19-year-old rookie she averaged just nine minutes and 4.3 points in her first 23 games, before those numbers climbed to 20.7 minutes and 12 points in an encouraging 19-game sprint to the finish. She was the youngest player in WNBA history to record a double-double and reach 100 points and 100 rebounds. She finished first among WNBA reserves in field goals, rebounds, blocked shots, points in the paint, second-chance points and double-doubles in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Malonga\u2019s impact was not as immediate as the players she was picked between, No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers (who averaged 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game before becoming the near-unanimous Rookie of the Year) and No. 3 pick Sonia Citron (who tallied 14.9 points and four rebounds per game for Washington).<\/p>\n
But long term? Malonga\u2019s ceiling may still be beyond either.<\/p>\n
Her Unrivaled debut provided a peek at that potential. In 14 games against WNBA competition in the 3-on-3 league, Malonga averaged 16.4 points and 9.4 rebounds on 55.1% shooting. She became the first player in league history to record multiple dunks and compile double-doubles in her first two games.<\/p>\n
By pushing the pace. By running the floor. By being built for a fluid, creative \u2013 call it \u201cpositionless\u201d \u2013 game.<\/p>\n
By doing the same things Raman emphasizes in Seattle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to run. We want to play fast,\u201d Malonga said. \u201cDoing Unrivaled really helped me to be confident in that pace, basically. Unrivaled was the highest pace I\u2019ve ever played basketball \u2013 3-on-3, 18 seconds to shoot. So naturally the game was way, way faster. Bringing the energy I had over there to 5-on-5 is a plus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added veteran center Stefanie Dolson, another addition to a crowded frontcourt: \u201cDom was amazing at practice today. Awa is going to be incredible, so I\u2019m excited to play with her as well. But I think just the versatility of all of us being able to roll, pop, shoot 3s, post up \u2026 Dom\u2019s been working on her handle, so seeing that live is amazing. So I think it\u2019s just going to challenge our guards to learn how to play with us, and then put the pressure on the defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Dolson acknowledged, there will be challenges. Seattle must prove its parade of centers can productively coexist. Raman must expediently implement a free-flowing pace and system. Guard depth must emerge. The youth movement must mature in a hurry, with the preseason already starting Saturday. Malonga, who still lacks the strength to overpower physical centers and forwards, must continue to improve.<\/p>\n
There will be growing pains. There must be patience.<\/p>\n
But to accurately encompass Malonga\u2019s long-term potential?<\/p>\n
One word is not nearly enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEATTLE \u2013 What\u2019s one word to describe Dominique Malonga\u2019s soon-to-be second season with the Seattle Storm? Some obvious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-630590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}