Things in Seattle have not been easy lately. The Storm won four WNBA championships with Sue Bird as the face of the franchise. Bird retired after the 2022 WNBA season, and one of her running mates, Breanna Stewart, left in free agency to join the New York Liberty. The move paid off for Stewart, who won the most recent WNBA championship with her new team.
For the Storm, it marked a drastic change in direction. In the 2023 season, Seattle missed the playoffs altogether and lost in the first round to the Las Vegas Aces in 2024, even after signing veteran All-Stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike. A team featuring Diggins-Smith, Ogwumike, Jewel Loyd, Ezi Magbegor, and Gabby Williams has higher aspirations than losing in the first round of the playoffs.
On top of that, the Storm are also facing some internal issues, as the coaching staff is under investigation for alleged player mistreatment. There might be some significant changes on the horizon for the Storm.
No matter what the organization’s plans for the future are, they will have to deal with the WNBA expansion draft and protect six of their players. For many teams, choosing which players to protect poses a real challenge. The Minnesota Lynx, for example, cannot protect their starting five and all of their young players.
The Storm do not have that problem, as the team is very top-heavy, and few players are actually under contract for the 2025 season at this point. Not being a deep team hurt the Storm in the playoffs but makes the expansion draft much easier, especially since Nneka Ogwumike is ineligible for the draft, opening up an extra spot on the Storm’s list of protected players.
Which players should the Storm protect in the expansion draft?
1. Jewell Loyd
For the second season in a row, Jewell Loyd led the Seattle Storm in scoring. She averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Despite a bad shooting season, it marked the second-highest scoring average of Loyd’s career. At 31, Loyd still has plenty left in the tank and it should be an easy decision for the Storm to protect her, no matter what the future holds for the franchise.
2. Skylar Diggins-Smith
Skylar Diggins-Smith led the Storm in assists per game and ranked third in scoring in her first season with the team. Even though Diggins-Smith may be aging out of her prime, she is the kind of productive veteran teams do not want to leave unprotected and available for the Golden State Valkyries.
3. Ezi Magbegor
The Seattle Storm were an old team during the 2024 season, featuring only three players 25 or younger. Out of that group, Ezi Magbegor was the most productive, averaging 11.7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game. She is a defensive menace and can be a cornerstone for the Storm going forward, even if they make some changes to the rest of the roster. Protecting her in the expansion draft should be an easy decision.
4. Jordan Horston
Jordan Horston was the only player younger than 25 who played significant minutes for the Storm during the 2024 season. The Storm drafted Horston ninth overall in 2023. Since then, she has established herself as an athletic guard and capable defender. The Storm undoubtedly want to continue developing her, which makes her a lock to be on their list of protected players.
5. Gabby Williams
Gabby Williams only played 12 regular-season games for the Storm last season but was the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs. Williams will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but the Storm still do not want to leave her unprotected in the expansion draft. Williams is a strong two-way player any team would love to have.
6. Nika Mühl
The first five players the Storm should protect were easy choices. The sixth one is a little trickier but should eventually end up being Nika Mühl unless the Storm desperately want to hold on to Mercedes Russell or Mackenzie Holmes.
Mühl did not play much during her rookie season and tore her ACL playing overseas not too long ago. She may not even be ready to play for the Storm in the 2025 WNBA season. This decision may be more about the long-term future than just next season, though.
Mühl is one of the few young players the Storm have and has some interesting potential. It seems, she just needs a chance to actually play. On top of that, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jewell Loyd are 34 and 31 years old respectively. The Storm need young guards to develop.