2019 WNBA Team Preview: Seattle Storm
The 2018 WNBA Champion Seattle Storm will look almost the same as they did last season, losing only one player from the championship-winning team for non-injury reasons. However, they will be missing the regular season MVP and Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, who tore her Achilles while playing overseas. According to the team, Sue Bird is out indefinitely with a knee injury.
2018 Recap
The Storm finished the regular season with a record of 26–8 and convincingly swept the Washington Mystics to win the championship last season.
One key to the team’s success last season was their three-point shooting; they led the league with 31.1% of their points coming from behind the arc. The team also led the league in assists last season with 21.2 per game, including a career-high 7.1 per game from Sue Bird.
Their defensive rating was also the second best in the league, 101.5.
Projected 2019 Starting Five
The starting five will look a lot different without Stewart and Bird leading the team, but the injuries will allow some new faces to make a name for themselves in the highly competitive league.
Jordin Canada- [2018 Stats: 5.7 PPG, 3.3 APG, 16.4 MPG]
With Sue Bird out for the foreseeable future, Canada will likely assume the role of starting point guard. She struggled at times last season, but with a year of experience under her belt, she has hopefully gained the confidence to return to her shoot-first mentality that was evident while she was at UCLA.
Jewell Loyd- [15.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, 1.3 SPG]
Loyd is the only All-Star left from last season’s team and is the player most likely to step up and begin to feel the void left by Stewart and Bird. With two of the team’s best three-point shooters injured, Loyd and her 37% three-point percentage will help the team immensely. Her efficiency has stayed high despite an increase in shot volume. She has increased the number of threes she shot in every pro season and is shooting almost four times as many threes as her rookie year, a good sign for the Storm.
Natasha Howard- [13.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.0 BPG]
Howard was the WNBA 2018 Most Improved Player and posted career highs in points, rebounds, 3P%, and threes made/attempted last season.
One key for her will be to stay out of foul trouble, as she averaged 3.7 fouls in 25.6 minutes per game. With Stewart out, it will likely have to be Howard that steps up on the boards for the Storm as she was second on the team in rebounds last season.
Alysha Clark- [7.4 PPG, 1.9 APG, 39.2 3P%]
Clark has provided consistent and quality minutes for Seattle over the last four seasons, averaging a few buckets, rebounds and assists per game, though she had a down year last season. The injuries to Stewart and Bird open up the opportunity to increase her scoring role. In 2017 she shot 52.5% from the floor while averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game.
Crystal Langhorne- [4.6 PPG, 3. 0 RPG, 50.0 FG%]
Langhorne saw a decrease in her minutes last season, averaging under 15 per game for the first time in her career. She also averaged just 4.6 points per game, also the lowest of her career. In 2017 she averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in 28.4 minutes per game, while shooting 64.7% from the floor. The loss of Stewart and Bird should allow Langhorne to step into a bigger shooting and rebounding role this season.
Key Additions
With very few losses from last season, there was not much room for key additions, however, the Storm did sign Shavonte Zellous, who has spent the last three seasons with the New York Liberty. Zellous has averaged 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 23.3 minutes per game over the course of her career. Her toughness will be helpful for the Storm this season, especially while one roster spot is held for Sue Bird while she recovers from her knee injury.
Key Losses
Prior to April, none of the losses for the Storm seemed to be season-changing. Noelle Quinn retired and joined the coaching staff. She averaged just 1.5 points in 9.1 minutes per game. However, the losses of Stewart and Bird are obviously going to affect the team all season.
Their 2019 first-round pick Ezi Magbegor is also still under contract with her team in Australia and will not be able to join the team until 2020. The draft was prior to Stewart and Bird’s injuries so while the pick was a reflection of the team looking toward the future, it’s unfortunate they do not have her in camp this season.
Question to Address
Who will step up?- The obvious answer is Loyd.
Howard will need to step up on the boards and Canada will need to step up in how she runs the offense, but Loyd is the most likely player to be the star of their offense. However, the true test will be what happens when someone gets into foul trouble and Courtney Paris, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Sami Whitcomb have to play more important minutes.
Outlook for 2019
It might be a long season for the Storm. No Stewart. No Bird (at least for the foreseeable future). The reigning champs are looking at an uphill battle to get back to the playoffs this season. However, the rest of the team remains mostly intact, and if a couple of players step up, they will be able to compete.
However, if Bird comes back sooner rather than later, the team would have a much better chance of making the playoffs, and possibly even make a playoff run.
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