The Seattle Storm have four players under contract for the 2026 WNBA season: Lexie Brown, Dominique Malonga, Jordan Houston, and Nika Mühl. Brown is the odd one out in that group since she is the only player not still on her rookie contract. In fact, Brown is one of only two veterans under contract for the 2026 season. Everyone else will be a free agent to benefit from the new CBA.
While Brown is under contract, it didn’t seem like she had much of a future with the Storm after the season ended. The Storm traded for Brown to provide the 3-point shooting the team sorely lacked. However, Noelle Quinn ended up not playing Brown much. She averaged only 9.5 minutes per game and got several DNPs. Brown has been dealing with Crohn’s disease, but made it clear in her exit interview that she had been healthy all season long and simply hadn’t been “given the opportunity she deserved.”
It seemed like Brown was on her way out either via the expansion draft or an offseason trade. However, with Noelle Quinn out and Sonia Raman coming in as the team’s new head coach, things already look very different.
Lexie Brown is excited about Sonia Raman
Brown appeared on the November 20 episode of Good Follow with Ros Gold-Onwude and spoke about Athletes Unlimited, her time with the Storm, the ongoing CBA negotiations, and Sonia Raman. Brown is already a fan of the Storm’s decision to hire Raman—a first-year head coach with experience as an assistant coach in the NBA and the WNBA.
“I’m excited,” Brown said about Raman. “We’ve been texting a little bit…I’m waiting for a coach that I can just build a really good relationship with. I just haven’t been able to find that in the WNBA yet, so I’m hoping that she’s the one. I heard nothing but great things about her.”
She later added, “She told me she’s been listening to my podcast. My coach last year never even mentioned my pod to me ever…She just reached out to me, mentioned my podcast. That was really special to me.”
While Brown was focused on praising Raman, we can easily detect some digs at Noelle Quinn in her comments—which isn’t very surprising given Brown’s exit interview. Brown isn’t the only Storm player to clash with Quinn either. In 2024, the Storm hired a law firm to investigate accusations of player mistreatment by the coaches. The investigation came up empty, but Jewell Loyd, who reportedly filed a complaint, still requested a trade and was sent to Las Vegas.
Letting go of Quinn and hiring a first-time head coach after two years without playoff success despite having a star-studded roster hints at a new chapter for the Storm. It’s still uncertain if they can and will re-sign all of their All-Stars or if the roster will experience a serious overhaul. Brown could secure a bigger role in either scenario. The Storm lacked floor spacing around their stars last season. Erica Wheeler was the only successful volume shooter, converting 37.3% of her 4.6 3-point attempts per game. If the Storm choose to focus on young talent instead, Brown could be a valuable veteran presence.