SEATTLE – On a July evening in Chicago, the Seattle Storm got a blowout victory and a breakout performance from Dominique Malonga. 

Playing the second game after the WNBA All-Star break, the Storm were looking to get back into a winning groove after a homecourt loss to Dallas two nights earlier. 

It didn’t take long. Just beyond the midpoint of the first quarter, Seattle had a double-digit lead on the way to a 38-point rout, 95-57. 

Malonga subbed in during the first quarter for what would become over 17 minutes of action. By game’s end, the 6-foot-6 rookie center had scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

Not only was that her first career double-double but her point total also included the 100th of her career. That made the still-19-year-old Malonga the youngest player in the history of the league to reach both milestones. (A week later, she became the youngest with 100 rebounds.) 

“It shows her potential of what she can do in this league,” Skylar Diggins said after the game. “But it also shows what she can do right now.” 

The native of Cameroon, who moved to France at age 15 to begin her career, is now a contender for the WNBA’s Sixth Woman of the Year award, which is presented to a player deemed the most valuable for her team coming off the bench. 

At the end of the 2025 regular season, Malonga ranks first among all WNBA reserves in six statistical categories: field goals made, rebounds, blocked shots, points in the paint, second-chance points and double-doubles. She is second in total points. Among rookies, the No. 2 overall pick this past April is top five in all of those areas except total points (sixth). 

“Confidence comes with reps, and I’m getting more and more reps,” Malonga said after a double career-high of 22 points and 12 rebounds on Aug. 8 at Las Vegas. “My coaches trust me more and more. Now, when I step on the court, I just know what I can bring.” 

“I just try to do the simple things, do what I’m good at: finishing in the paint, rebounding the ball, set good screens, and just do really well,” she added. “I just step on the court and focus on that, and it’s working, so I just keep doing that.” 

Prior to her July 24 performance in Chicago, Malonga had played in 23 of the Storm’s first 24 games, averaging just 9.0 minutes and 4.1 points on 46.7% shooting from the floor and 2.9 rebounds. 

In her 17 games since then, she is averaging 20.6 minutes, 12.5 points on 59.5% shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. 

On the heels of that 22-and-12 effort at Vegas, she came back two days later with 20 points and 11 rebounds at Los Angeles on Aug. 10. That made her the 11th all-time rookie to post back-to-back double-doubles and the first to do it shooting 70-plus percent in both games (72.7% at the Aces; 75% at the Sparks). 

“It’s a process, and she understood that process,” Head Coach Noelle Quinn said after the double-double against the Aces. “She’s learning the league, learning how to find a way to play well and within herself and within our system and the way we want to do things defensively. She has put in the work on the court and in film sessions to understand what we need from her.” 

“She has grown up before our eyes.” 

During various interactions with the media, Malonga will acknowledge what she has been achieving. But just as often, she dishes credit to teammates and the Storm coaching staff. 

That game in Chicago was a prime example. 

“It felt good, but we got the win today and that was the most important part, to bounce back and start the road trip, and I’m happy for that,” Malonga said. “It was a good game for my teammates and everybody did their job well, and that’s what helped me have a good game today. I give the credit to my teammates, because I can’t do that by myself.” 

No Storm player has ever won the Sixth Woman award. Bonner, in 2009 with Phoenix, is the only player to win it as a rookie.