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The Storm will make its debut at the University of Washington’s Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday, June 23 at 4 p.m. Including Seattle’s 2010 and 2018 titles, the first four Storm home games will feature five teams that have combined to win the last 10 WNBA Championships. Montgomery has connected on multiple threes in a game 15 times this season. For the third time this season,Jordin Canadaled the team in scoring with a career-high 21 points. The Most Improved Player of the Year candidate swiped five steals, bringing her season total to 61, matching the previous Storm single-season record . A sellout for a basketball game at Climate Pledge Arena is 18,100.
Bird missed several games with a left knee bone bruise, but came back for the playoffs, in which the Storm didn't lose a single game. With Bird out, Canada stepped into the starting point guard role, finishing 2019 third in the WNBA in assists per game (5.5) and second in steals per game (2.3). Meanwhile, without Stewart and with Loyd missing seven games with an injury of her own, Howard became the focal point of the Seattle offense, scoring a career-high 18.1 points per game.
Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion including with Sonics, dies at 79
While the Storm managed to force a game 3 by winning in the KeyArena at double overtime, a last-second attempt by Jackson went off the rim and the Lynx took the series-winning by just one point, 73-72. In the 2018 season, the Storm would elevate from a mediocre playoff team to a title contender. Bird, Loyd, and Stewart were all voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, creating a "big three" on the Storm's roster. Bird also broke records in 2018 by becoming the franchise leader in scoring and the league's all-time regular-season assists leader. With Bird's leadership and the continued development of Loyd and Stewart, the Storm finished 26-8 with the number 1 seed headed into the WNBA Playoffs. Stewart who averaged 20.0 ppg and 8.8 RPG won the 2018 Most Valuable Player award.
In January 2016, the team revealed a branding update that eliminated the use of red. The team logos retained the same overall design, but used the simplified color scheme. Along the way, Lauren Jackson was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week five times, and Western Conference Player of the Month three times, on her way to being named WNBA MVP for the third time. On November 30, 2007, Anne Donovan resigned as head coach, and was replaced by Brian Agler on January 9, 2008. The Everett arena will also host a battle between the Storm and the Washington Mystics, who Seattle swept 3-0 in the WNBA Finals in September, on Friday, Aug. 2.
A gloomy start (2000–
Taking their cue from the Sonics' team colors at the time, known colloquially as the "wine and pine" era of the team, the Storm's original team colors were pine green, maroon red, bronze, and white. The Storm, however, retained their colors as a way to uniquely market the team. The Storm have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in sixteen of its twenty-one years in Seattle.
Stewart would become an all-star for the first time in her career and was one of two all-stars representing the Storm in the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game along with Sue Bird. The Storm finished as the 8th seed with a record but would lose yet again in the first round elimination game by the Phoenix Mercury. With the same lineup as the previous year, the Storm had much expectation for the 2011 WNBA season. But right in the second round a two-year home invincibility was broken by the Minnesota Lynx, who even left the Storm scoreless for the first seven minutes.
Storm 2019 draw snapshot
On April 16, 2015, Seattle drafted Jewell Loyd #1, UCONN sharpshooter Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis #3, Vicky McIntyre #20 and Nneka Enemkpali #26 in the 2015 WNBA Draft. In the 2015 WNBA season, despite missing out on the playoffs with a record, the number-one drafted Jewell Loyd would win the Rookie of the Year Award. As the #6 seed, Seattle hosted the #7 seed Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the playoffs. The Storm were able to advance to the second round with a ten point win.
The Dream and Liberty ended up having the worst records in the WNBA. However, they finished the month with a 12–9 overall record, and an eye toward a playoff berth. The month ended on a high note when they secured a playoff berth on August 29. They finished the season strong, going 3–1 in September to lock up the number six playoff seed. Like several early WNBA teams, the Storm was owned by their NBA counterpart, the Seattle SuperSonics, and closely related to the team.
9/1/2019In 2012, with Jackson absent for the early season training with the Australia national team and injuries to most of the team, including Bird, only Camille Little and Katie Smith played on all the games of the regular season. Upon her return, Jackson missed some games due to a hamstring injury but reached 6,000 points on her WNBA career playing against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The record put the Storm fourth in the West, facing the Lynx, who posted the league's best record during the regular season, in the playoffs.
The 2019 campaign includes 34 regular season games from May 25 to September 8. Due to KeyArena renovations, the Storm will host five regular season games at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington; all other home games will be played at the University of Washington’s Alaska Airlines Arena. Beginning January, Storm 360 Members will have priority on the best seat locations at Angel of the Winds Arena.
Though Seattle did not make the playoffs in the 2001 season, Jackson's impressive rookie performance provided a solid foundation for the franchise to build on. The Storm will host three-time WNBA All-Star Game MVP Maya Moore and the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. Last season, Breanna Stewart joined Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles as two of only six players in WNBA history to win regular season MVP and Finals MVP honors in the same year. The Storm moved to their new home at Climate Pledge Arena for the 2022 season and played their regular season game there on May 6, 2022.
On April 21, 2010, the Storm and the WNBA announced a sponsor agreement with Bing, a search engine from Microsoft, to place the company's logo on their jerseys for the 2010 season. The Bing sponsorship ended after the 2013 season, and the Storm played without a sponsor for two seasons, before signing a new uniform deal with Swedish Medical Center for the 2016 season. On January 8, 2008, Bennett sold the team to a Seattle group of women called Force 10 Hoops, LLC. The sale was given unanimous approval from the WNBA Board of Governors on February 28, 2008. This kept the team in Seattle and disconnected it from the Sonics. The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City in July, during the WNBA season.
With Climate Pledge Arena to be closed during its renovation into a venue suitable for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League, the Storm were forced to seek a temporary venue for their 2019 season. Since Washington's arena lacks air conditioning, and the WNBA requires that all games be played in air-conditioned venues, portable air conditioning units will be used during Storm games. The team later announced that five of its 17 regular-season home games in 2019, including the home opener, would be at Angel of the Winds Arena. The 2020 season saw the Storm play their games in Bradenton, FL. In the 2017 season, both Loyd and Stewart continued to get better and lead the Storm into playoff contention.
Injuries hit multiple players, especially Lauren Jackson, who had to undergo hip surgery and missed most of the season. The regular starting five resumed play only in the last five games, but Sue Bird and Swin Cash kept the Storm competitive, finishing second in the WNBA with 21 wins and 13 losses. On the playoffs, a Mercury buzzer beater at the KeyArena eliminated the Storm in round 1.
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