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Previously published 2025-26 Offseason Guides:
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Dallas Wings
Washington Mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
Golden State Valkyries
Seattle Storm players Ezi Magbegor (13), Nneka Ogwumike (3), Skylar Diggins (4), and Gabby Williams (5). Photo credit: Chris Poss
2025 record: 23-21. 8th in offensive rating, 4th in defensive rating. Finished 7th in the standings, lost to Las Vegas 2-1 in the first round.
2026 draft picks: Seattle gave up their own 2026 first-round pick in the deadline trade to acquire Brittney Sykes but still hold two other 2026 first-rounders anyway. They got Las Vegas’s pick as part of the Jewell Loyd trade, and Los Angeles’s from the Kia Nurse deal back before the 2024 season. The Aces’ pick will be 14th but the Sparks’ pick gives Seattle lottery interest and the third-best odds at jumping to the No. 1 overall spot. The Storm will also be picking right at the top of the second round, thanks to acquiring Dallas’s second-rounder in the midseason Li Yueru trade, although Seattle’s own second-round pick went to LA in the Loyd deal. The Storm also still have their own third-rounder.
Free agents: Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike (both uncoreable unrestricted free agents), Gabby Williams, Brittney Sykes, Ezi Magbegor, Katie Lou Samuelson, Erica Wheeler, Tiffany Mitchell (all unrestricted free agents), Mackenzie Holmes, Zia Cooke (both reserved).
Under contract: Lexie Brown, Dominique Malonga, Jordan Horston, Nika Mühl
2025 performance: Inconsistent and ultimately, yet again, rather disappointing. A couple of years ago when Breanna Stewart walked away for nothing and Sue Bird retired, there was a brief rebuilding plan in Seattle. That was thrown quickly to the wayside when Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike both agreed to join the Storm. Initially that was as a ‘big three’ with Jewell Loyd, but the plan didn’t really change when Loyd was traded and replaced by veteran pieces like Gabby Williams and Alysha Clark (then later, Brittney Sykes). This was a team built to contend that could never maintain the consistency necessary for contention, and that was ultimately worse this year than in 2024. The positive angle would be that they were one Jackie Young putback away from eliminating the team that went on to win the championship. If that shot rolls off, then views of the Storm’s 2025 performance could be very different. But it would be papering over the cracks that were never really filled all year.
Depth was an issue all season after Jordan Horston and Nika Mühl were both ruled out for the year due to offseason injuries and then Katie Lou Samuelson got hurt during camp (and the Storm refused to trade her contract after that happened). Clark never really fit and was swiftly benched for Erica Wheeler, which improved the starting lineup but weakened the bench even further. They were successful defensively but could sometimes be feast-or-famine due to their aggressive approach, and a general lack of outside shooting often cramped the offense. The emergence of teenage rookie Dominique Malonga as the season went along added some excitement, and the front office finally showed a willingness to spend an asset to get help with the deal for Sykes, but it didn’t seem to change the general direction of the team. They backed into the playoffs with help from elsewhere after a late-season swoon threatened their postseason participation, and then couldn’t quite squeak past the Aces. All year they felt talented enough to beat anyone on a given day, but shaky enough that they could never be relied upon to produce that performance. Not good enough from a franchise that would’ve been hoping for more.
Offseason finances: The Storm have four players under contract for next year (because Horston and Mühl’s deals are still in place after being suspended for 2025), then lots of free agents just like everyone else. Assuming rules remain the same, Diggins and Ogwumike can’t be cored again because they’ve played the maximum number of seasons under a core contract, but Seattle could still use their spot on Williams, Sykes, or even Magbegor. That would take up a meaningful chunk of cap space, but there would still be plenty left to restock the roster, whether with re-signed players or new ones.
Offseason priorities: The first decision was already made when the Storm announced that Noelle Quinn’s contract as head coach would not be renewed. Honestly, as someone who openly wondered if she’d be replaced many times during her tenure, my surprise was that she lasted this long rather than that they finally decided to move on. Storm squads under Quinn rarely seemed to perform as greater than the sum of their parts and there was so much turmoil in recent years, highlighted by Loyd’s allegations before demanding a trade, that it was somewhat shocking that she survived it all. It’s probably a good idea for everyone involved to get a fresh start.
So they’ll need to find a new head coach, and then decide on a direction for the roster. Malonga already looks like a future star, and they’ll have another lottery pick to add in as well, so the question is whether they want to try to lean younger and build, rather than constantly adding veterans and trying to win now. Ogwumike and Diggins are both still very good but have turned 35 (and both will likely listen to offers from elsewhere, so the decision won’t be entirely in Seattle’s own hands). I would expect the Storm to at least talk to them (and Williams, Sykes, Magbegor and Wheeler) about returning, hoping continuity, a new coach and improved depth can push the group to a new level. But if the veterans decide to leave for pastures new, it could actually be interesting to see what a squad built around Malonga, Horston, their 2026 lottery pick, and younger free agents could manage to achieve.
Future assets: As mentioned above, Horston and Mühl are still part of the picture for Seattle along with the roster that ended the 2025 season. The Storm still have their own 2027 first-round draft pick but gave up their second-rounder to LA in the Lexie Brown trade. They do however have an extra 2027 third-round pick from Dallas from the Li Yueru trade (which also carries swap rights with Indiana).
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