The Seattle Storm fell to the Phoenix Mercury but Awa Fam impressed in her first WNBA start on Wednesday night.
Third's the word for the Seattle Storm, which is fully embracing its Awa Fam era.
The third overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft hit another professional landmark on Wednesday night, appearing in the Storm's starting five for the first time. Seattle fell to the Phoenix Mercury 72-68 but Fam impressed with a team-best 18 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
Seattle (3-8) found positives in the featured Fam, who continues to impress as the team bides its time until Ezi Magbegor and Dominique Malonga can join her in the post. Wednesday marked Fam's fifth time on WNBA hardwood since her late arrival following fulfillment of international duties in her native Spain.
"She's a great player, been a great player, been playing with pros for a while," said teammate Natisha Hiedeman, who praised Fam and fellow freshman phenom Flau'jae Johnson for "staying poised with it all." "I feel like I've had high expectations of Awa just because I've seen what she's already done and I knew her game would translate really well over here. She had a hell of game, played really hard. I'm just happy to be on the court with her. Big target. She just stays aggressive. She can shoot the ball, get in there with [her] height, lay-ups. Just having her on the court makes a huge difference."
"She keeps growing every day," a "really pleased" Seattle head coach Sonia Raman said of Fam. "It's really remarkable, in the short amount of time, how much she's been able to process and take in what we're giving her. The little bits that we're kind of incorporating into what she does, [she's] able to really quickly transfer it and sort of marry that to her own personal talents and gifts that she has in bringing her game to us."
Awa Fam tonight 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 4, 2026
• 18 points
• 6 rebounds
• 2 blocks
• 2 assists
• 9/17 FG pic.twitter.com/I9eybogtcv
Seattle's Had A Little Fam
Seattle has wasted no time getting Fam acquainted with her fellow Pacific Northwesterners: she's one of seven WNBA rookies averaging at least 25 minutes a game and played 33 on Wednesday. It's a workload that Fam is glad to have earned rather been bestowed due to an early call on draft night.
"I know what I need to do on the court [and] I know how I can help my team," Fam said. "I need to help my team, I know if I'm doing this, I'm going to play more. I'm super glad about that."
The 6'4 Fam continued to throw her body around to generate space, continuing to diversify her shooting output despite mostly lingering under the net. Those efforts and more (such as continuing to add to a defensive rating second among rookies averaging at least 10 minutes, behind only Olivia Miles) were enough to give the Storm a fleeting second half lead after trailing by as much as 13 during the first 20.
A cutting double off the feed from Johnson got around the reach of DeWanna Bonner to put Seattle up 49-48 with just over six minutes gone by in the third period. On the next possession, Fam put up a step back in front of Alyssa Thomas to keep the run rolling and set up an infantile career-high in points.
"I think we are a team that can do [both] things," Fam said of a third quarter that Seattle won 22-16, holding the Mercury fruitless in four 3-point attempts. "We have fast players, too. We really did have a good effort, really fancy on defense, but we need to do this [more]."
New Formation For Storm's Clouds
Fam's comment about mixing the Storm's age with aggression playfully irked the 29-year-old Hiedeman, who jokingly told the rookie to "chill" when Fam questioned if she reached her 30s yet. It was perhaps a moment of levity for a Storm group seeking the shelter of consistency.
Fam reached double-figures for the first time since her WNBA debut on May 24, though a Bonner breakout steered the Storm toward its fourth consecutive defeat. Wednesday's landmarks are perhaps of little consolation to the current crop of Storm fans still looking to escape the post-Sue Bird/Breanna Stewart malaise but it still paints a pretty paint picture once they get on board with the returning veterans.
"I'm always thinking [about] how to help my team. I want to win games," Fam said. "It's more important winning games or [wondering] how I can help the team than being in the starting five or not. It's special, of course, I'm really glad of that. But it's more I need to help my team than being in the starting five."
Fam and the Storm engages in a showcase of youth on Saturday afternoon when they take on her pick predecessor Miles, the second overall choice, and the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (10 a.m. PT, ABC).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
