The Seattle Storm suffered a fourth consecutive loss at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces. While it was a massive disappointment to see another close game slip away from the Storm, there was one clear bright spot: Dominique Malonga’s performance.
Malonga is the youngest player in the WNBA, and her youth and inexperience were obvious early in the season. She looks much more comfortable now. Her performance against the Aces wasn’t just a statement from Malonga but also from head coach Noelle Quinn.
Quinn played Malonga for 25 minutes—almost as much as starting forwards Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor. That decision made Quinn’s stance on Malonga going into the homestretch of the season crystal clear: she trusts the rookie to play big minutes in close games now. After the game, Quinn even said, “Dom is going to continue to be one of those players who is going to be spearheading that attack coming off the bench.”
Dominique Malonga played her best game of the season
Dominique Malonga got to play 25 big minutes and made the most of her time on the court. She finished the game with 22 points on 8-11 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds, and one steal. She made her presence known on both ends of the floor and looked especially comfortable on offense despite playing against a frontcourt that features A’ja Wilson.
It was by far Malonga’s best game of the season. She scored twelve points in the two previous games and got a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Sky in late July. However, she had never cracked the 20-point mark before or converted eight shots in a game.
Malonga entered the 2025 WNBA Draft as one of the youngest prospects but was quickly lauded as the best player available after Paige Bueckers. Some experts even predicted that Malonga would end up being the best player out of her draft class in a few years.
Against the Aces, Malonga showed everyone why she was such an exciting draft prospect at only 19 years old. Now that she has evidently earned Quinn’s trust, Storm fans should expect more impressive performances from Malonga.
This is just the beginning for Malonga
Malonga’s success against the Aces was one of the main stories in the Storm’s postgame press conference. Noelle Quinn and Gabby Williams were adamant to stress that this is just the beginning for Malonga.
“She’s growing up right before our eyes and going to get better,” Quinn said after the game.
Williams voiced a similar sentiment, saying, “[She is] just playing above and beyond her age and experience right now and she’s a huge reason that we’re able to stay in these kinds of games. She’s only going to get better from here.”
Malonga is the only teenager currently playing in the WNBA. Plenty of players in the league have been working on their game since Malonga was a toddler. Going up against players with that much more experience is a challenge. The more time Malonga spends on a WNBA court, the better she will get.