It’s often said there are three situations in which a team can find itself. The first is the dizzying highs of a well-crafted, talented squad that consistently competes for championships. The next is the terrifying lows of a basement-dweller, constantly churning a roster over to revamp. And the last is a mushy middle of a team stuck in neutral, neither good enough nor bad enough to be anything but a passable team. General managers often talk about the latter as the worst place a team can be, and the 2025 Seattle Storm season reflects that middling existence perfectly.
The Storm’s season was a study in contrasts—marked by dazzling individual performances, a midseason roster shakeup, and stretches of frustrating inconsistency. As the team fell backwards into the postseason with a 22–20 record, the journey to that point was anything but linear. From the highs of breakout rookie moments and franchise milestones to the lows of key injuries and offensive droughts, adaptation, grit, and calculated risk-taking defined their season.
The Storm opened 2025 with a bang when the front office made a high-stakes trade involving its star player. In January, they traded longtime leader Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces in a blockbuster three-team deal. In return, Seattle received the No. 2 overall pick (used to select French star Dominique Malonga), the rights to Chinese forward Li Yueru, and a 2026 first-round pick. They also added Lexie Brown from Los Angeles as part of that trade. While losing a franchise cornerstone is never easy, nor was the path ahead expected to be smooth, this was an opportunity for them to add more offensive cohesiveness and depth.
Seattle opened the year in May with promise, despite a shaky start. The team dropped its opener to Phoenix in a disappointing 81–59 loss, where offensive rhythm was hard to come by. However, the tone quickly shifted, thanks to veteran forward Nneka Ogwumike, who dominated early games with forceful rebounding and efficient scoring. She posted 23 points and 18 rebounds in a road win against Dallas and followed it up with another 23-point outing in a dominant 102–82 home win over Las Vegas. Malonga also became the youngest player in franchise history to see game action.
However, the month wasn’t without setbacks. Seattle lost forward Katie Lou Samuelson for the season because of a torn ACL just weeks before the opener—an injury that would significantly test their depth as the season wore on.
June brought both momentum and moments of concern. The Storm strung together solid wins to reach 10–6 by late in the month, with Ogwumike continuing to lead the charge, including a 26-point performance in Los Angeles on June 17 and another 25-point game against the Aces on June 20. Seattle also blew out Connecticut 97–81 in one of their most complete performances of the year. Alongside Ogwumike, guards Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams played key roles in orchestrating the offense. But inconsistency emerged mid-month, including two losses to the Golden State Valkyries—first a 76–70 road loss on June 14 and then a head-scratching 84–57 home blowout on June 29. Off the court, a minor controversy flared when a Las Vegas player accused a Storm assistant coach of directing profanity at her after a game. While the league declined to investigate, it was an unwelcome distraction during a critical stretch.
In July, they alternated between flashes of brilliance and moments of inconsistency. They picked up a thrilling 80–79 win over Atlanta on July 3, followed by a strong 79-70 win over the defending champion New York Liberty on July 6. Add a 101–85 road win against Connecticut on July 28, and this team was looking like the road warriors they would need to be for the playoffs.
One of the biggest highlights came in a blowout win over Chicago on July 24, where Malonga posted 14 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the youngest player in WNBA history to record a double-double and surpass 100 career points. By the end of the month, Seattle was 16–11 and still well within the upper tier of the standings. Yet warning signs remained. A double-overtime 106–108 loss to the Sparks on August 1 kicked off a downward spiral that would define much of the following month.
August proved to be Seattle’s most challenging stretch. A string of losses, including a 78–74 defeat to Indiana, a narrow loss to Minnesota, and a 94–91 home defeat to the Sparks that saw the Storm’s record slip and raised concerns about offensive consistency. Despite strong individual efforts from Diggins and Ogwumike, the team struggled to close out games and maintain composure in crunch time. With the playoff race tightening, Seattle made a bold midseason move at the trade deadline. On August 5, the team acquired All-Star guard Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics in exchange for veteran Alysha Clark, second-year guard Zia Cooke, and a 2026 first-round pick. Known for her defensive tenacity and ability to score in transition, Sykes provided an immediate spark, injecting the team with energy on both ends of the floor.
Pick Sykes 💥 pic.twitter.com/UddVG8jXdf
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 16, 2025
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The late-August turnaround was timely when they rattled off a series of road wins, including an 80–78 victory over Atlanta, a convincing 95–60 rout of Dallas, and a hard-fought 93–79 win in Minnesota. Ogwumike, Sykes, and Diggins played crucial roles in the resurgence, while Malonga continued to grow into her role as a two-way contributor. By the end of the month, Seattle had clawed back to 21–19 and reinserted itself into the playoff picture. A narrow 91–85 loss to the Sparks on September 1 dropped them to 22–20, but the team remained in a strong position for a postseason berth.
In June, they traded Yueru to Dallas for additional draft capital. The August acquisition of Sykes was a bold, all-in move, even as the team builds for the future with players like Malonga and Nika Mühl (was out for the season with an ACL injury).
Individually, the season was rich with milestones. Ogwumike remained the heart of the team—posting multiple 20+ point and double-digit rebound games across the season. Diggins, in her return to full-time action, was a steady offensive presence, while Gabby Williams provided critical defensive coverage and playmaking. Sykes’ late arrival gave the Storm a more balanced guard rotation and an elite perimeter defender heading into the stretch run.
But the season wasn’t without serious challenges. Injuries piled up, with Samuelson, Jordan Horston, and Mühl all sidelined long-term. The team suffered through scoring droughts and fourth-quarter collapses that kept them from securing a higher playoff seed. Still, despite the volatility, they showed resilience. The Storm entered the playoffs as a lower seed but with a veteran core, renewed momentum, and a few young X-factors that could make them a dark-horse threat. The Storm lost a close series 2-1 to the eventual champions Las Vegas Aces.
Many point to Jackie Young’s put-back as the difference against the eventual champs, but that misses bigger issues. The Sykes trade didn’t deliver as hoped. Defense had its moments, but injuries drained depth, and the lack of outside shooting made the offense predictable. That’s without even mentioning ex-coach Noelle Quinn or locker room drama.
Like everyone else, the Storm have free agents abound and a few rookie-scale contracts in tow, including the injured Jordan Horston and Nika Mühl. What the new CBA looks like is anyone’s guess, but the Storm will be in for some major changes come 2026.