The hype around Dominique Malonga was big when she first entered the WNBA. At only 19, she has one of the highest ceilings of any player in her draft class. Unlike other top picks, like Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen, Malonga didn’t start her career with a big role.
The Storm brought her along slowly. She came off the bench behind veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor and saw only limited minutes early in the season. Malonga learned quickly. By September, Malonga was a big part of Noelle Quinn’s rotation, regularly playing between 16 and 30 minutes. She even played meaningful minutes in the playoffs, going up against a strong Aces frontcourt.
Malonga was the youngest player in the WNBA last season. So, bringing her along slowly was a good decision. But Malonga is proving with her offseason performances that she is ready for a bigger role in the WNBA.
Considering that both Ogwumike and Magbegor are unrestricted free agents, that presents the Storm with a few tough choices to make. Do they go all-in on youth, building around Malonga and their next lottery pick or should they try to re-sign at least one of Ogwumike and Magbegor to provide a veteran presence next to Malonga? Of course, a lot of this will come down to which veteran will even want to re-sign with the Storm.
Malonga is thriving in Unrivaled
Malonga has played three Unrivaled games so far, going up against WNBA bigs Aliyah Boston, Kiki Iriafen, Monique Billings, Ezi Magbegor, Shakira Austin, and Azura Stevens. The youngster was up to the challenge.
Malonga recorded two straight double-doubles in the Breeze’s first two wins. She scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Phantom and finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds against the Hive. Against the Rose, the best team in the league at the moment, she recorded 20 points and 5 rebounds in just over twelve minutes of playing time.
Despite being the youngest player in a league full of stars, Malonga is playing well and showing off her immense promise. This is the worst Malonga will ever be. The more she plays against top competition early in her development, the faster she will grow into the Storm’s next big star.
So, once the new WNBA season starts, the Storm should make sure that Malonga can move along with the trajectory she has built up over her rookie season and this Unrivaled campaign. A bigger role would accomplish just that. It may not lead to much success, but considering that the Storm will add another lottery pick to the roster and hired a first-time head coach, that shouldn’t be a huge issue.