Not too long ago, the Seattle Storm were a top-five team in the WNBA. They beat New York, Minnesota, and Phoenix, looking like a team that could make some noise in the playoffs. Things turned around quickly for the Storm. A bunch of losses, including a six-game losing streak in August, caused the Storm to drop in the standings.
Seattle is now eighth in the regular-season standings, occupying the final playoff spot in a close race for postseason positioning. They are 1.5 games behind the Golden State Valkyries and only 0.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks have been on a tear lately, winning seven of their last ten. Seattle, meanwhile, has only won two of its last ten games and is allowing Los Angeles to come perilously close.
After yet another tough loss, Storm head coach Noelle Quinn encapsulated the seriousness of her team’s situation in a simple statement.
“Time is running out and my team knows it,” Quinn said after the Storm’s 85-75 loss to the Atlanta Dream.
Seattle only has eleven games left in the season. That is not much time left to avoid falling out of the playoff picture and climb in the standings to secure a better matchup. The Storm may have beaten the Lynx and Liberty in the regular season, but those are still matchups they should try to stay away from in the playoffs.
The Storm still have tough games coming up
Noelle Quinn’s team desperately needs to end its losing streak, but their next two games won’t be easy either. First, the Storm get a chance at revenge against the thriving Dream. Then, they will have to take on the Mercury.
After that, the Storm will face the Sky and Wings—two of the worst teams in the league—and cannot afford to lose either game. In late August and early September, the Storm also still have tough games coming up against the Fever, Lynx, and Liberty, as well as the Sparks and Valkyries. The matchups against the latter two teams could very well decide the final playoff standings. The Storm are down 2-1 against both teams in the season series and cannot afford to give up the tiebreakers.
Missing the playoffs is the worst-case scenario for the Storm
A team featuring Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams, Ezi Magbegor, and Brittney Sykes is not meant to be a lottery team. With four All-Stars on the roster, this team should be competing for a championship. So, missing out on the postseason would be disastrous for the Storm. Not only would it be a massive underachievement for a star-studded roster, but it would also hand the Washington Mystics another lottery pick.
The Storm sent out a 2026 first-round pick in the deal that brought Sykes to Seattle. Sykes has a big game against the Sparks, scoring 27 points on 52.4 percent shooting from the field, but has otherwise been inefficient with the Storm. Maybe all the team needs is some extra time to build chemistry and find a rhythm. As Quinn said, time is running out, though.