Breanna Stewart
Ht: 6-4
Age: 24
How acquired: No. 1 overall pick (2016)
Storm tenure: Third season
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Stats: 21.8 ppg., 8.4 rpg., 2.5 apg., 1.4, bpg., 1.3 spg.
Note: Starting what looks to be a brilliant career that already includes a league MVP, a Finals MVP, a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star berths and now a WNBA title.
Jewell Loyd
Ht: 5-10
Age: 24
How acquired: No. 1 overall pick (2015)
Storm tenure: Fourth season
2018 stats: 15.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg., 3.7 apg, 1.2 spg.
Note: Her scoring average has fallen in each of the past three seasons, but she made it to her first All-Star Game this year. Athletic scorer who get to rim and a streaky shooter, but when her shot is on the Storm is nearly impossible to beat.
Sue Bird
Ht: 5-9
Age: 37
How acquired: No. 1 overall pick (2002)
Storm tenure: 16th season
2018 stats:
Note: The oldest player in the WNBA who turns 38 next month has been remarkably consistent throughout her career. The WNBA’s all-time assist leader who averaged a career-best 7.1 assists this year became the Storm’s all-time leading scorer.
Natasha Howard
Ht: 6-2
Age: 27
How acquired: Trade from Minnesota (2018)
Storm tenure: First season.
2018 stats: 13.2 ppg., 6.4 rpg., 1.0 apg., 1.3 spg., 2.0 bpg.
Note: Moved into the starting lineup in the second game and stayed there the rest of the season while notching career highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks and minutes en route to winning the league’s Most Improved award. Scored 29 points and collected 14 rebounds – both career playoff highs – in the Game 3 clincher to win the WNBA title.
Alysha Clark
Ht: 5-10
Age: 31
How acquired: Free agent (2012)
Storm tenure: Seven seasons.
2018 stats: 7.4 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 1.9 apg., 1.0 spg.
Note: A defensive stalwart who shut down Washington’s Kristi Toliver (5 points) in the finals opener and kept Phoenix’s Diana Taurasi in check during the semis. Also came up big in both series clincher while tallying 13 points and 13 rebounds in Game 5 of the semis and 15 and 9 in Game 3 of the Finals.
Sami Whitcomb
Ht: 5-10
Age: 30
How acquired: Free agent (2017)
Storm tenure: Second season
2018 stats: 2.9 ppg., 36.2% 3FG
Note: Didn’t play in the first two postseason games, but proved to be an indispensable bench performer during the run to a title. Provided clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarters in Game 5 of the semifinals and Game 3 of the Finals.
Jordin Canada
Ht: 5-6
Age: 23
How acquired: No. 5 overall pick (2018)
Storm tenure: First season
2018 stats: 5.7 ppg., 1.5 rpg., 3.3 apg.
Note: The rookie point guard was a consistent performer off the bench who played in every postseason game and had a few shining moments. Scored a personal playoff high 12 points and dished out three assists in Game 2 of the semifinals. Then had 11 points and four assists in Game 3, followed by nine points and four assists in Game 4.
Crystal Langhorne
Ht: 6-2
Age: 32
How acquired: Trade with Washington
Storm tenure: Fifth season
2018 stats: 4.6 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 13.9 mpg., 50% FG
Note: A 12-year veteran and two-time All-Star who missed eight games early in the season due to a rib injury and moved to the bench for the first time since her rookie season. Provided a big lift in Game 2 of the semifinals with 10 rebounds and tallied 11 points in her next outing in Game 3.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
Ht: 5-11
Age: 25
How acquired: No. 3 overall pick (2015)
Storm tenure: Fourth season
2018 stats: 5.1 ppg., 1.5 rpg., 13.4 mpg., 42% 3FG
Note: Deadly perimeter shooter who scored a season-high 18 points to lead the Storm to a 103-92 win over Connecticut on June 15. Started four games in place of injured Clark. The Storm is 9-1 when Mosqueda-Lewis makes at least two three-pointers.
Courtney Paris
Ht: 6-4
Age: 30
How acquired: Free agent (2018)
Storm tenure: First season
2018 stats: 2.1 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 10.6 mpg., 53% FG
Note: An immovable 6-4 low-post defender who played every regular-season game. The Storm added the nine-year veteran to bolster its front line and Paris was the second post player off the bench. She collected a season-high nine rebounds against Las Vegas.
Noelle Quinn
Ht: 6-0
Age: 33
How acquired: Trade with Phoenix (2016)
Storm tenure: Fourth season
2018 stats: 1.5 ppg., 0.9 rpg., 0.7 apg., 9.1 mpg.
Note: A veteran floor general who saw her playing time diminished after the Storm drafted Canada. But the 12-year veteran started a game in place of an injured Bird and appeared in two playoff games.
Mercedes Russell
Ht: 6-6
Age: 23
How acquired: Free agent (2018)
Storm tenure: First season
2018 stats: 1.6 ppg., 1.4 rpg., 4.6 mpg., 48.4% FG
Note: A promising post player, who signed as a free agent on May 30. The former Tennessee star didn’t see a lot of playing time, but potentially she gives the Storm a sizable defensive stopper to go against the league’s top post players. Notched career-highs eight points and nine rebounds in regular-season finale against Dallas.
TOP 10 MOMENTS
May 31 — WNBA record 17 three-pointers: Seattle had its most dominant performance of the season — a 101-74 victory over Las Vegas — for its fifth straight win on a record-setting night at KeyArena. Read more »
June 7 – Statement win in LA: Seattle jumped out to a 24-9 lead in the first quarter, led 42-33 at halftime and outscored Los Angeles 31-20 in the third en route to a convincing 88-63 win at the Staples Center. It the Storm’s first road win in LA in three years. Alysha Clark had a season-high 17 points and personal-best five steals. Read more.
July 8 — Seattle’s top scorer and WNBA Finals preview: With 21 points in a 97-91 over the Washington Mystics, Bird became the eighth player in WNBA history to join the 6,000-point club and overtook Lauren Jackson as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. The Storm (15-5) had a five-game winning streak and sat alone on top of the WNBA standings. Read more »
July 28 — Three Storm All-Stars: The Storm sent three players to the WNBA All-Star Game, including Bird, who made her league-record 11th appearance. Third-year forward Stewart played in her second All-Star Game, while fourth-year guard Jewell Loyd made her first appearance. Loyd scored 12 points, Stewart had 10 and Bird contributed eight assists. Read more »
Aug. 12 – Statement win in Minnestota. In its regular-season road finale, the Storm snapped a19-game losing streak at Minnesota with an 81-72 victory over the reigning WNBA champions at the Target Center. Natasha Howard scored 21 points, Breanna Stewart had 17 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. Seattle capped a 4-1 East Coast trip and had played nine of its previous 10 games on the road. Read more.
Aug. 19 — Stewart scoring record: Stewart broke Lauren Jackson’s single-season record as the Storm cruised past the Wings, 84-68, in the regular season finale. The third-year star finished with 742 points, and Jackson 739 tallied in 2007 — her seventh season.Read more »
Aug. 26 — M-V-P: In her third WNBA season, Stewart averaged 21.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game on her way to becoming the second Storm player to win MVP and helping Seattle secure the league’s best record. And she’s just getting started. Read more »
Game 5, Sept. 4 — Bounce back for Finals berth:Stewart scored 28 points and Bird, wearing a facemask, scored 14 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Storm fought back late in the game to clinch a WNBA Finals berth. It was a comeback for the ages. Phoenix scored 11 of the game’s first 13 points, 16 of the first 26 and led by as much as 11. With Phoenix up 73-69 with 6:06 left, Bird’s onslaught began. On the next possession, she made a three-pointer. A minute later, she knocked down a step-back jumper to put the Storm on top 76-75. After Phoenix tied the score, Bird hit a 28-footer that gave the Storm the lead for good at 79-76 with 4:01 left. Bird even impressed herself: “I don’t know if I had a fourth quarter like this in as big of a game in my life, to be honest.” Read more »
Game 3, Sept. 12 — The champs are back: The Storm dominated this game from start to finish. Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 30 points to power Seattle’s offense and help the Storm clinch its third title. Sue Bird, who played an instrumental role in the Storm’s 2004 and 2010 championship campaigns, scored 10 points and won her third WNBA title, cementing herself as a legend in Storm franchise history. Read more »
Sept. 16 – Party down First Avenue: A parade starting at the Space Needle, winding through the downtown streets of Seattle and ending at KeyArena is planned for Sunday to celebrate the team’s third WNBA championship. Read more.