Seattle opens the season Tuesday vs Minnesota at Climate Pledge Arena
SEATTLE — The Seattle Storm finalized its roster for the 2024 season opener as the team prepares for Opening Night presented by Providence Swedish on Tuesday, May 14, at Climate Pledge Arena.
The Storm opens the 2024 season with high expectations, returning the league’s leading scorer Jewell Loyd and young standout forward Ezi Magbegor. Loyd broke the WNBA’s single-season scoring record with 939 points last season and earned All-WNBA Team honors for the third time in her career. Magbegor, who turned 24 at the end of the season, was named to the All-Defensive team for the second time in her career after finishing second in blocks (1.9 bpg) and 10th in rebounding (8.1 rpg).
Joining Loyd and Magbegor are two of the top free agents this offseason: forward Nneka Ogwumike and guard Skylar Diggins-Smith. Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP and a six-time All-WNBA pick, is coming off another strong season, finishing sixth in both scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounds (8.8 rpg). Diggins-Smith, also a six-time All-WNBA selection, is one of the top point guards in the game, posting career averages of 16.7 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. She did not play in the 2023 season after giving birth to her second child.
Sami Whitcomb returns to the Storm to provide depth at the guard position. The three-point specialist averaged 9.7 points per game while connecting on 38.5% from beyond the arc in her return to the Storm in 2023. Kiana Williams and Nika Mühl round out the backcourt for Seattle. Williams, originally drafted by the Storm in 2021, looked sharp in Seattle’s final preseason game, scoring nine points on 3-of-6 shooting. Mühl was one of the top guards in the NCAA last season and the Storm’s first pick (2nd round, #14 overall) in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
In the frontcourt, Jordan Horston, Mercedes Russell, and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu return in 2024 joined by veteran addition Victoria Vivians. Horston became just the fourth Storm player to earn WNBA All-Rookie honors, averaging 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals during her inaugural campaign. Fellow rookie Fankam Mendjiadeu averaged 4.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Storm.
Russell returned to the court in 2023, averaging 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds off the bench. Russell was the WNBL Finals MVP with the Southside Flyers in Australia during the offseason. She led the league in field goal percentage and finished fifth in rebounding. Vivians comes to Seattle from Indiana where she spent five seasons with the Fever, averaging 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists during that time.
The Storm made its final roster move today, waiving forward Joyner Holmes. Holmes averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 34 games last season with Seattle, her fourth in the league overall. This year, Holmes played in both preseason games, posting a 13-point performance on 6-of-9 shooting in the Storm’s preseason opener in Edmonton.
Seattle opens the 2024 campaign on Tuesday, May 14, hosting the Minnesota Lynx at 7:00 p.m. at Climate Pledge Arena. The Storm then hits the road to play three games in four days beginning with a rematch with the Lynx in Minnesota, before returning home to face Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in front of a sold-out crowd on Wednesday, May 22.
Single-game tickets, Season tickets, Storm Mini Plans, and Group Experiences are still available for the 2024 season. For more information, visit http://stormbasketball.com, or call 206-217-WNBA (9622).
—— StormBasketball.com ——