It's not entirely unfair to say the Seattle Storm have had to dig deep this season, sometimes despite the best efforts of coach Noelle Quinn. The team locked into the No. 7 overall position with a 23-21 record heading into the postseason — a spot they had to fight for, all while battling growing calls from fans to replace Quinn and a discordant season that included preseason injuries and roster disruptions.
The Storm head into Game 2 against the Aces tonight. The team will host Las Vegas at home in Seattle, which could give them a slight edge that they'll need to take full advantage of. And in order to do that, longtime friends (and teammates since 2024) Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins will need to bring every fiber of their game to the court.
The duo aren't opposed to taking over when they need to get the job done, something they most recently demonstrated during an August 24 game against the Washington Mystics. Quinn called a play that would have given Diggins the last shot, but the veteran guard had other ideas.
Instead, she called over Ogwumike and noted that she'd been defending pick and rolls all night — if Ogwumike could get past a screen, she could land the final shot. That's exactly what happneed, with Ogwumike sinking a jumper and winning the game.
Winning against Las Vegas will be difficult
The Storm lost 102-77 when the teams met Sunday — their first postseason game. Las Vegas entered the postseason on a record-breaking tear, having won 16 consecutive games before the regular season concluded. And while there's plenty to say about the nearly impossible comeback A'ja Wilson and the Aces have been on, the Storm are still in the running, and they want to win.
Both players joined the Storm in 2024 after discord and unhappiness with their previous teams (Diggins had a public battle with the Mercury after missing a season after giving birth; Ogwumike departed the Sparks after both Chelsea Gray and Candace Parker did the same) and they seemed to quickly develop the kind of on-court dynamic that can take years. It's evident during games and press conferences before and after each match that the women are close off the court, but the way they've grown together as teammates has been a testament to their staying power — and the fact that both women still have plenty of years to give.
It's not clear what's in the Storm's future in a multitude of ways, but if the team does one thing right they'll make sure they hold on to this specific pairing — something that will end up serving Seattle well in the future if they do.