By Wyatt Yearout
“It’s a dream come true,” said Brittany McPhee on how she felt after inking a training camp deal with her hometown team. “There’s no WNBA team that I’d rather play for, and to get the opportunity, it’s pretty surreal.”
McPhee has always been a native of the Emerald City. She was born in Seattle on Jan. 12, 1996, grew up in Normandy Park, Wash., and attended high school in Des Moines, Wash., at Mt. Rainer.
She helped lead Mt. Rainier High School to a third-place finish at the 4A state tournament her junior season, and a second-place finish her senior season. She left as the program’s all-time leading scorer and also the state’s second all-time leading scorer at 2,815 points.
The three-time Washington Gatorade Player of the Year chose to play at the college level for Stanford, a place she always dreamed of playing as soon as she saw them play for the first time.
At Stanford, she had quite the career, averaging 16.7 points and 5.4 rebounds her senior season. After a stellar final season with the Cardinal, she earned USA Today Third Team All-America and All-Pac-12 First Team plaudits, and she was also named the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.
McPhee has loved hoops for as far back as she can remember, which is no fluke considering her family history.
It’s pretty simple – basketball runs in her blood.
Her mother, Alice, played at Eastern Washington and professionally in Australia. Her father Bryce, and uncle, Jim, both played at Gonzaga, and her Grandfather, Bill, played at Saint Martin’s.
McPhee’s siblings also continued the basketball tradition. Her brother Bryce Jr., played at Western Washington and her twin sister, Jordan, stayed local, playing at Seattle Pacific, which also houses the Storm’s practice facility.
With six relatives playing collegiately in the state of Washington, McPhee was thrilled she was able to continue the tradition of hoops in the state of Washington at the professional level with the Seattle Storm.
“It’s just where I always wanted to end up, in Washington,” said McPhee. “Obviously, all my family played here from Western Washington to Spokane, so to play here is really exciting.”
McPhee even mentioned she had such a desire to be with the Storm that as soon as she got the offer, she didn’t even explore any other potential deals.
“I couldn’t sleep that night because I just couldn’t believe that it had happened,” said McPhee. “I was really pumped.”
McPhee’s sister, Jordan, said that she and the rest of her family were excited to have her back in town, and that she couldn’t be happier that Brittany is taking the family tradition a step further to the professional level.
“It’s amazing I think, she’s worked hard so obviously she’s really good,” said Jordan. “But just taking that next step is huge, and we just always knew she had it in her. I think she always had that drive, so it was cool to see it come to fruition. I know it’s been a dream of hers since we were little.”
Her family’s connection to hoops and the state of Washington aren’t the only perks for McPhee. She’s familiar with the area, especially the campus of Seattle Pacific.
“I’ve played in open gym in the summer with SPU in the past. I think some of the players were confused when I introduced myself. When I said my sister played here, they were like ‘oh.’ They’ve seen my face around, so I’m pretty familiar,” said McPhee.
Although the Storm is just three days into camp, McPhee has been able to learn a lot and has appreciated being able to play with some of the Storm veterans.
“It’s just really great because they have so much experience and so much knowledge that they can share with us and you can just learn constantly when your around them,” said McPhee.
McPhee mentioned her goal for camp was just to work as hard as possible, and she can’t wait for the possibility of representing the Storm on the court in front of her hometown friends and family.
“I’ve played in the KeyArena for Pac-12 tournaments, but not on the Seattle Storm court, so it would be a whole new level,” said McPhee. “The atmosphere is so fun and the fans are so great, it would just be a phenomenal experience.”
Seattle tips off the preseason on May 8 against the Phoenix Mercury at Noon PT at KeyArena.