The reporting hasn't fully elucidated the why but it's clear they've backed themselves in a corner they can't talk their way out of anymore.
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The reporting hasn't fully elucidated the why but it's clear they've backed themselves in a corner they can't talk their way out of anymore.
I suppose this is less of a stretch than what Silver said about Aspiration, but not by much. There is a different process for buying a team and attempting to simultaneously move it, which happened with the Kings' rejected sale/move to Seattle. It's not being remotely followed by the league here.
Might have got there last night if not for the first-half foul trouble, yeah.
Quinn batted that question away last night. Setting aside whether you lose Ezi Magbegor by benching her at this point, my sense is they'd still rather not start Malonga from a foul trouble perspective.
Is Dominique Malonga the Storm's best player? Many are asking.
They rate that high because they are competitive now and have the ability to pivot via cap space within the three-year window.
There have been three WNBA winning streaks of nine games or longer this season. The Storm ended two of them at Climate Pledge Arena, the other being Minnesota's 9-0 start to the season.
My news story on the Storm rallying from down 14 to snap the Aces' 17-game winning streak and force a deciding Game 3 in their first-round series, including tracking data on 19-year-old Dominique Malonga defending three-time MVP A'ja Wilson: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Correction here: The largest Storm deficit was actually 14 points, the second-largest second-half comeback when facing elimination in the last 10 seasons, per ESPN Research.
An eye-opening stat: A'ja Wilson did not score in the game's final 7:06, taking just two shots in that span.
Jewell Loyd missed a good look at a tying 3-pointer and the Storm have completed the comeback, beating Las Vegas 86-83 to force a deciding Game 3 in their series on Thursday. The Storm's 10-point comeback was the second largest in franchise playoff history.
No foul from the Aces and Skylar Diggins hit a pull-up in the paint with 4.2 seconds left to give the Storm a three-point lead as they try to snap Las Vegas' winning streak and force a deciding Game 3 on Thursday.
Imagine Dominique Malonga playing a playoff game and not having a double-double
It just wouldn't be the 2025 Storm without a close finish at Climate Pledge Arena, now would it?
Dominique Malonga and-one and the Storm have taken the lead with 31.0 seconds left
It's a 7-0 Storm run to cut the deficit to two and Cimate Pledge Arena is alive
She's grown tremendously at the defensive end since the trade.
Not a flashy game from NaLyssa Smith, but she's been a difference maker in a seven-point game.
I haven't seen a lot of good challenges they've let go by. If anything, the opposite.
Per ESPN Research, A'ja Wilson is the first player in Aces history with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a playoff game.
But none of them have been challenged either ...
A tough finish from Jackie Young ahead of the third-quarter buzzer gives the Aces a 69-61 lead heading to the final period. Young had 14 points in the quarter and Vegas is 10 minutes away from a record-tying 18th consecutive win and seventh consecutive trip to the semifinals.
It's 18-7 Vegas in the second half and this one is in danger of getting away from the Storm, now down 12 with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Seattle is shooting just 14-of-36 (39%) on 2-point attempts.
The focus and intensity we saw from the Storm in the first half has not made it out of the locker room and they're fortunate to be down just five right now.
I don't think he's on BlueSky
youtu.be/WK7lIjFsGvg
Outstanding first half at Climate Pledge Arena. The Aces shot a sizzling 59% from the field, yet the Storm are down just one after a 7-0 surge to end the second quarter. The stars are out: 16 points from A'ja Wilson already, while Skylar Diggins (15) and Nneka Ogwumike (13) have combined for 28.
Two quick fouls on Dominique Malonga give her three in the first half. She's played the last 11.5 minutes, putting up six points and four boards. Ezi Magbegor will be back in after the under-3 media timeout.
Storm on an 0-minus-3 run during the timeout, as Dana Evans' 3-pointer was determined to have come after the shot-clock buzzer. That's the second shot-clock violation for the Aces, who still lead 32-29.
In large part thanks to 6-of-7 shooting on non-paint 2s, the Aces weathered the Storm's early energy and 11 points from Nneka Ogwumike to take a 22-21 lead after one quarter of Game 2. But Seattle is up for the fight tonight.
The midrange at Climate Pledge Arena hates to see Chelsea Gray coming
When Nneka Ogwumike talked after Game 1 about the Storm not being ready for the start, my sense is she meant more for Vegas' intensity and physicality than in terms of game plan. The Storm have matched and exceeded that in the opening minutes of Game 2.
The speed with which multiple Storm players and Noelle Quinn signaled for a transition take foul on Las Vegas (which was called).
Ahead of tipoff of Game 2, running back my story on the Storm's stars Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike and a friendship that dates back to when they were teenagers.
I think it depends on the team. For rebuilding teams, cap space is unlikely to pay dividends within the window we're covering. For the contenders maintaining flexibility, I do think it's likely to benefit them even if it's by converting the space to players under contract via expiring deals.
Always appreciate the heads-up!
D'oh!
Teamed up with @timbontemps.bsky.social and Bobby Marks for the latest edition of the NBA's future power rankings, covering the upcoming three seasons: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...
Wrote about the longtime friendship for Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike that led them to team up with the Storm, a pairing that has helped them both remain All-Stars but not yet led to the team success they hoped: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Geno Smith erasure
Amidst a lost night for the Storm, it was fun to see Malonga adapt to the playoffs in real time. After shooting 1-of-8 in the first half, she was 3-of-3 with a pair of 3-pointers (a career high) after halftime and finished with a double-double in her playoff debut.
Insightful story from my ESPN colleague @kumaraishwarya.bsky.social looking at the making of Dominique Malonga and how the No. 2 pick handled a small role early in her rookie season while continuing to develop behind the scenes: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Yeah, I think 5-5-7 is probably the next step.
I agree that was an issue this year in the context of their late-game struggles whether they entered with a lead or not, but by my numbers the Storm were a league-best 16-1 in 2024 when they led by double-figures.
The Aces were plus-30 in Jewell Loyd's 26 minutes of action. That's her second-best plus-minus in a playoff game after plus-31 against Las Vegas in Game 1 of the 2020 WNBA Finals.
It's hard to justify the second half of this season but the Storm would be misguided to think a coaching change can solve everything that went wrong.
For the coaches' poll?
As disappointing as the Storm's second half was, it really hasn't been about non-competitive games like tonight is shaping up. They've lost by more than 10 just twice since the start of July.
Particularly after adding Brittney Sykes, the Storm have straddled the line between energy and chaos. Tonight they've pushed too far into chaos.
Looking at the play-by-play, they did rule it a loose-ball foul, yeah.
I think referees were right not to give that call to Satou Sabally when she was unahppy about what was a plausible basketball play, but the one on Brittney Sykes looked like it should have been a transition take without the benefit of replay.
Avoiding turnovers is probably the single biggest key for the Storm in this series. Naturally, they have four in as many minutes.
They could, but that would be a lot more expensive and it would also require them treating the WNBA as important as the NBA in their referee development. The latter doesn't seem realistic any time soon.
The illegal screen on Fagbenle? If so, I think that should have stood as those plays where the screener thrusts their shoulder into the defender have the potential to be dangerous.
Going to be a challenge to figure out how much later they can play without arena availability becoming a big problem going up against NBA/NHL regular seasons.
Can we make Liberty-Mercury best-of-5? This is the third WNBA semifinal.
Especially with the news out of the NBA that more plays will reviewed by the offsite replay center, the comparison is more jarring.
The WNBA has plenty of bigger problems to solve this offseason, but we can't possibly get a review center in this league soon enough.
Good news, neither does this crew
As the WNBA playoffs begin, we've got tons of group content to help you prepare. - Team previews: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_... - Top 25 players: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_... - Series picks and key questions: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Defintely true in generalities, though. The more creative I had to get, the better you are as a team.
Chicago was a concept, so the rule isn't perfect!
Wrote about the biggest hole for every NBA roster ahead of training camp, a task that's easier with some teams than others: www.espn.com/nba/story/_/...
Of course, a very different look to Storm-Aces this season with Jewell Loyd on the other side of the matchup from the previous three.
This will be the second consecutive year of Storm-Aces in the opening round, their third meeting in the last four years and the fourth in the last six dating back to the 2020 WNBA Finals. In fact, 2021 is the only time in that span Seattle has made the playoffs and not faced Las Vegas.
They've played Vegas pretty well, although three of those four matchups are basically ancient history now.
Satou's dropped off quite a bit as a No. 2 but Phoenix does have six of the top 46.
Had the same thought. Moe Harkless would never.
Yep, already a pretty rare combo of usage/efficiency/playmaking.
The offense and defense ratings are per-possession. The WAR estimate incorporates playing time.
FYI, be sure to click on the post or the chart so you can see its entirety since the preview may cut off the top.
Good heads-up!
There is now an NBA SCHNORP metric for joke purposes
Speaks to their lack of depth outside the top seven -- and top five, before the Sykes trade/Malonga's in-season development.
Including data here from my WARP metric, @positiveresidual.com's Estimated Contributions, @deanolytics.bsky.social Net Points and a Box Plus-Minus metric.
The great @zachlowenba.bsky.social often refers to using "VORPs and SCHNORPs" in award evaluation. I put together a similar set of data for WNBA awards and wanted to share the top offense/defense ratings and overall wins above replacement from averaging four advanced metrics.
Wrote about what's at stake on the final day of the WNBA regular season in terms of seeding and also a subtle draft pick situation involving Seattle (via Los Angeles) and Washington: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
The Valkyries got a few good players because of the Lynx/Liberty depth and the Fever's mistake, but that alone wasn't enough to expect an above-.500 record. Nobody projected them anywhere close to that and they overperformed their line by almost twice as much: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
I'm not taking that chance!
Maybe if the Sun had played the Dream a fourth time in a week they'd be aware of finding Rhyne Howard behind the arc.
Was mentioned last night that the Storm clinched their 20th playoff appearance. That ties Seattle with Los Angeles and New York for most in WNBA history in three fewer seasons. Only the expansion Valkyries (1-for-1) have made it a higher percentage of the time than the Storm.
Was mentioned last night that the Storm clinched their 20th playoff appearance. That ties Seattle with Los Angeles and New York for most in WNBA history in three fewer seasons. Only the expansion Valkyries (1-for-1) have made it a higher percentage of the time than the Storm.
Brionna Jones was their big FA signing! Smesko has had a terrific year but was starting with a pretty good core of players that did add an All-Star. The Valkyries started from scratch.
I don't think it's fair to say none of what A'ja has done in the last month matters because her team's seeding has changed drastically.
I don't agree that she has had more success. As I noted in the piece, I now think Wilson's season is equivalent or even better on a per-minute basis in addition to the minutes edge.
I don't think you posted the replacement level discussion over here for me to respond to but the question I'm asking is would you rather have Collier + (before last night, which I would discount for clinching reasons) 152 minutes of replacement-level play or Wilson?
I would say some of Seahawks fandom has set the bar at an MVP-caliber season.
I didn't write our Most Improved section today (www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...) but to me the question is whether *anyone* has ever improved as much as Burton from one WNBA season to the next.
Shared my WNBA awards picks as part of our final update along with @kendra-andrews.bsky.social, @alexaphilippou.bsky.social and @michaelvoepelespn.bsky.social: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
News story on the Storm securing the final playoff spot -- and a lottery pick from the Sparks -- with Erica Wheeler's game-winning shot in the final 30 seconds Tuesday against Golden State: www.espn.com/wnba/story/_...
Seattle can still move up to the No. 7 seed if the Minnesota Lynx beat the Golden State Valkyries in Thursday's season finale, which gives the top-seeded Lynx the opportunity to pick their opponent if they want.
Wild finish as the Storm survived a pair of Janelle Salaun go-ahead shots in the final 22 seconds to have Erica Wheeler's pull-up hold up as the game-winner and (at long last) playoff clincher. Perhaps more importantly, it assures the Storm will get a lottery pick from Los Angeles next April.
Say what you want about the Storm's inability to lock up a playoff spot before their season finale, it has certainly produced plenty of drama tonight as both games come down to wire -- albeit without Phoenix's starters against L.A.
We don't spend enough time talking about how the Connecticut Sun left Veronica Burton -- who will make my All-WNBA second team ballot -- unprotected in the expansion draft. Nobody saw *this* coming, but I had her on my version of the Connecticut protected list.
The Storm's defensive intensity has helped survive a slow shooting start. Seattle has forced two Golden State shot-clock violations and the Valkyries avoided a third only because play continued after the Storm secured the rebound as the clock hit zero.
Yup, might only be four extra games.
Thanks!
Storm hosting the Valkyries tonight in their regular-season finale with a chance to clinch a playoff spot by winning or by Phoenix beating Los Angeles in a game also tipping off at 7 p.m. Pacific.
I think one of the surprising things about WNBA economics is that teams historically have tended to draw better gates during the regular season than the playoffs because of group sales. We'll see if that starts to flip.
The pessimist is always right or pleasantly surprised and that's my outlook here.