The Seattle Storm has been forced to endure a rare rebuild but Awa Fam and Dominique Malonga have set a sterling tone.
Beyond the WNBA's fateful eight lies a searching seven.
Though the FIBA World Cup break has paused the 2026 WNBA season but the eight-team playoff field has been established with four games left on every group's docket. The remaining seven are left to pick up the pieces for next season, however, forced to ponder their fates as they watch the league's 30th postseason from the sidelines.
With that in mind, BIL looks into the futures of these voyages of the damned and what kind of waters they'll traverse on the trip ahead. This will be presented in the order of each team's elimination from playoff contention.
Our looks to the hardwood horizon begin in the Pacific Northwest with the SEATTLE STORM ...
Team: Seattle Storm
Record: 8-32 (and counting)
Last Playoff Appearance: 2025
Date of Playoff Death: August 7
What Went Wrong
There was literal quiet before the Storm ... alas it lingered on the free agent front.
Seattle essentially embraced rebuild life after Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart, letting a good number of its veterans walk after a full season of Gabby Williams and a trade deadline move for Brittney Sykes failed to produce much beyond taking eventual champion Las Vegas to the brink in the opening round. That spelled the end of Noelle Quinn in the head coaching spot, where she admirably replaced Dan Hughes in-season during the title defense before going 4-8 in postseason play.
Once the free agency frenzy began, Sykes, Williams, Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, and Erica Wheeler all went elsewhere. Their walking was a muted yet vocal hint that they were ready to embrace rebuilding after failing to get any closer than the semifinal round since their 2020 championship in the Bradenton bubble.
In their place came veteran role talents like Stefanie Dolson, Natisha Hiedeman, and Jade Melbourne. The emphatic statement that the Storm was willing to let 2026 be a developmental gap year came at the draft when it not only selected Awa Fam third overall but also traded for Flau'jae Johnson in a deal with the Golden State Valkyries. Leading the operation was first-time professional head coach Sonia Raman, known for her analytical work with both the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Liberty.
Despite a career-best season from Hiedeman, Seattle has lacked its typical offensive cohesion after most of its contributors fled for elsewhere. At the FIBA break, the Storm is second-to-last in offensive rating and assists and they've allowed the second-most fastbreak points per game. That spelled doom for a rebuilding club in the ridiculously top-heavy Western Conference and the losses piled up in numbers.
Unable to keep pace, the Storm became the first non-expansion team to carry two double-figure losing streaks in the same season. The situation was no doubt at least partly exacerbated by the absence of homegrown veteran Ezi Magbegor, who was forced to miss time with injuries endured both before and during the season.
Top Silver Lining
Things look pretty brutal considering that the Storm is the only team in the league still stuck in single digits of wins. But they've done reasonably well with the concept of style points: more than half of their 32 losses to date (including 11 of the last 14) have come by 10 points or less, showing that they have the right bit of developmental spunk that one desires in a year such as this.
A good bit of that is attributed to the fact the Storm has so far nailed it with the homegrown talent: Fam, the only rookie averaging at least 10 points and five rebounds this season, proved to be worth the wait after her WNBA debut was delayed by the fulfillment of international duties.
But the most optimistic signal of sustained hope has to be the continued emergence of Dominique Malonga, Seattle's lone bit of representation at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game. Granted an immediate opportunity to build upon last year's season-ending momentum with Ogwumike out and Magbegor missing, Malonga siezed it and then some, showcasing a renewed on-floor confidence and improved averages in almost every mainstream metric.
DOM MALONGA DUNK pic.twitter.com/VJR2oV9646
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) July 26, 2026
Malonga perhaps formally introduced herself at All-Star's main event, putting down an emphatic dunk that served as one of the exhibition's major highlights. Seattle would no doubt like to see her curb her turnovers (more than double from last season) and work on smarter shooting (0-of-15 from three in her last five games) but the fact she's reached such a dominant point of her development at just 20 years old has to bode well for her future prospects.
In terms of rookie momentum, Johnson picked up where Malonga left off after an awkward draft night. Entering the final four, the eighth overall pick of last spring's draft is one of two rookies to put up at least 500 points and 100 assists (next to the mighty Olivia Miles) and is second in steals per game behind only top choice Azzi Fudd.
Looking Ahead
Unrestricted Free Agents: Stefanie Dolson, Jade Melbourne
Restricted Free Agents: Zia Cooke, Jordan Horston
Exclusive Rights Free Agents: Mackenzie Holmes
Last year's playoff cameo might hurt Seattle in what's presumably going to be the JuJu Watkins sweepstakes but the Storm sits reasonably well in terms of both continuity and development from elsewhere.
With Fam and Malonga accounted for on their respective rookie deals, the quest now becomes finding lasting backcourt help that hasn't been consistent since the departures of Bird and Jewell Loyd. Johnson is at least a solid start in that quest and a (likely) top five draft pick will likely afford them a choice between Talaysia Cooper, MiLaysia Fulwiley, S'Mya Nichols, and Mikaylah Williams. They also have another year of Hiedeman under their belts, which should come in handy in either further backcourt work or a potential asset-gaining trade, especially if she builds upon her aforementioned personal bests.
One intriguing possibility has to be the status of free agent-to-be Kelsey Plum: having previously pumped the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington, Plum would be by far the best way for the Storm to hit fast forward on their backcourt development.
Is There Hope?
It may not show in the standings columns quite yet, but so far so good for a rare rebuild from the Storm. Fam and Malonga are far from finished projects but they at least paint a prettier picture in the relative unknown.
The key now becomes bolstering the backcourt and Johnson has done her part to get that project rolling. Hiedeman has performed well in the spot but it feels like her Pacific purpose is to be either a stopgap or a depth star in anticipation of the better time ahead. Either way, it feels like there's a light at the end of this tunnel, even if there are a few more oncoming trains to endure beforehand.
Seattle won't truly be ready to re-establish its dominant self until the backcourt situation is fully solved. Fortunately for the Storm, it has put itself in a position to reach the recognition of such a goal sooner rather than later.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
