Seattle Storm

For the soccer team of the same name, see Seattle Storm (soccer).
Seattle Storm
Conference Western
Founded 2000
History Seattle Storm
(2000–present)
Arena KeyArena
City Seattle, Washington
Team colors Yellow, Green
         
Owner(s) Force 10 Hoops LLC
General manager Alisha Valavanis
Head coach Jenny Boucek
Assistant coaches Rob Fodor
Ryan Webb
Championships 2 (2004, 2010)
Conference titles 2 (2004, 2010)
Mascot Doppler
Official website storm.wnba.com

The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC, which is composed of three Seattle businesswomen: Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder.

The Storm has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in eleven of its sixteen years in Seattle. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as former UConn stars Sue Bird and Swin Cash, 2004 Finals MVP Betty Lennox and Australian power forward Lauren Jackson, a three-time league MVP. In 2004 and 2010, the Storm went to the WNBA Finals; they won each time, beating Connecticut in 2004 and Atlanta in 2010.

The team cultivates a fan-friendly, family environment at home games by having an all-kid dance squad, which leads young fans in a conga line on the court during time-outs, to the music of "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler, a maroon-furred creature with a cup anemometer on its head; the theme song for Storm home games is AC/DC's "Thunderstruck"; and its newsletter is called Stormwatch.

The Storm was the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics until February 28, 2008, when the latter team was sold to an independent ownership group in Seattle.[1]

Franchise history

A gloomy start (2000–2002)

The Storm's predecessor was the Seattle Reign, a charter member of the American Basketball League (ABL), operating from 1996 through December 1998, when the league folded. Luckier than most localities that had an ABL team, Seattle was quickly awarded a WNBA franchise and began play less than two years later.

The Seattle Storm would tip off their first season (the 2000 WNBA season) in typical expansion fashion. Coached by Lin Dunn and led by guard Edna Campbell and Czech center Kamila Vodichkova, the team finished with a 6–26 record. The low record, however, allowed the Storm to draft 19-year-old Australian standout Lauren Jackson. Though Seattle did not make the playoffs in the 2001 season, Jackson's impressive rookie performance provided a solid foundation for the franchise to build on.

Sue Bird's arrival and the road to the WNBA Finals

Sue Bird, on offense

In the 2002 draft, the Storm drafted UConn star Sue Bird, filling the Storm's gap at the point guard position. With Bird's playmaking ability and Jackson's scoring and rebounding, the team made the playoffs for the first time in 2002, but were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Coach Anne Donovan was hired for the 2003 campaign. In Donovan's first year, Jackson would win the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, but the team had a disappointing season (with Bird injured for much of the year), and the Storm missed the playoffs.

The 2004 Storm posted a then franchise-best 20–14 record. In the playoffs, the Storm made quick work of the Minnesota Lynx, sweeping them in the first round. The Storm then squared off against an up-and-coming Sacramento Monarchs team in the West Finals. The Storm would emerge victorious, winning the series 2–1. In the WNBA Finals, the Storm would finish off the season as champions, defeating the Connecticut Sun 2 games to 1. Betty Lennox was named MVP of the Finals. The win made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.

A consistent postseason contender (2005–2009)

Key players from the Storm's championship season were not on the team in 2005. Vodichkova, Tully Bevilaqua, and Sheri Sam moved on to other teams. In addition, the pre-season injury of Australian star and new acquisition Jessica Bibby hampered the team's 2005 season. While they matched their 2004 record and made the playoffs, the Storm's title defense was stopped in the first round by the Houston Comets, 2 games to 1.

In 2006, the Storm would finish 18–16, good enough to make the playoffs. The Storm put up a good fight in the first round against the Sparks, but would fall short 2–1. In 2007, the Storm would finish .500 (17–17), good enough to make the playoffs in a weak Western Conference. The Storm would be quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Mercury.

On November 30, 2007, Anne Donovan resigned as head coach, and was replaced by Brian Agler on January 9, 2008.[2][3]

Although most of Seattle's major sports teams endured poor seasons during 2008, the Storm would be the only standout team in Seattle that year, posting a franchise-best 22–12 record and finishing with a 16–1 record at home, also a franchise-best. But the No. 2 seeded Storm lost to the #3 Los Angeles Sparks in the first round of the playoffs in three games, and ended Seattle's season at 23–14 overall.

In 2009, the Storm were 20–14 and finished second in the Western Conference for the second straight year. In the playoffs, the Storm again lost to the #3 Los Angeles Sparks in 3 games, which ended their season in the first round for the fifth consecutive season.

A second championship (2010)

In the 2010 season, the Storm were almost unstoppable with a record-tying 28 wins and 6 losses in the regular season, including a perfect 17–0 at KeyArena. This was the most home wins in the history of the WNBA.

Along the way, Lauren Jackson was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week five times, and Western Conference Player of the Month three times, on her way to being named WNBA MVP for the third time. Agler was also named Coach of the Year.

In the playoffs, the Storm dramatically reversed their fortunes from the previous five seasons. They started with a sweep of the Sparks, the team that previously knocked them out of the playoffs every time they met. Then they swept Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury in the conference finals, and the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals. With two league championships, the Storm became Seattle's most successful pro sports team by that measure.

Postseason pains (2011-2014)

With the same lineup as the previous year, the Storm had much expectation for the 2011 WNBA season. But right in the second round a two-year home invincibility was broken by the Minnesota Lynx, who even left the Storm scoreless for the first seven minutes.[4] Injuries hit multiple players, especially Lauren Jackson, who had to undergo hip surgery and missed most of the season. The regular starting five resumed play only in the last five games, but Sue Bird and Swin Cash kept the Storm competitive, finishing second in the WNBA with 21 wins and 13 losses. On the playoffs, a Mercury buzzer beater at the KeyArena eliminated the Storm in round 1.[5]

In 2012, with Jackson absent for the early season training with the Australia national team and injuries to most of the team, including Bird, only Camille Little and Katie Smith played on all the games of the regular season. Upon her return, Jackson missed some games due to a hamstring injury, but reached 6,000 points on her WNBA career playing against the San Antonio Silver Stars. The 16-18 record put the Storm fourth in the West, facing the Lynx, who posted the league's best record during the regular season, in the playoffs.[6] While the Storm managed to force a game 3 by winning in the KeyArena at double overtime, a last-second attempt by Jackson went off the rim and the Lynx took the series winning by just one point, 73-72.[7]

After losing in the first round of the 2013 playoffs to the Lynx following a .500 regular season, the Storm missed the playoffs in 2014. This was the first time the Storm missed the playoffs since 2003.

A New Era of Storm Basketball (2015-present)

Following seven-year head coach & GM Brian Agler's hiring in Los Angeles, the Storm elevated President Alisha Valavanis to President & GM, and two weeks later, hired Jenny Boucek as the fourth head coach in franchise history. Valavanis and Boucek promptly got to work, trading Shekinna Stricklen and Camille Little to Connecticut for the #3 and #15 2015 WNBA Draft picks, along with Renee Montgomery. Storm free agent Tanisha Wright signed with the Liberty, and a month later, Valavanis shipped the #15 pick to the Mystics for Quanitra Hollingsworth and the #20 pick in the 2015 WNBA Draft. Valavanis also signed Australian forward Abby Bishop that month.

Fast forward to April 2015, the month of the WNBA Draft, where Seattle now held the #1, #3, #20 and #26 picks. Days before the draft, Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd and Minnesota center Amanda Zahui B shook up the draft order, both forgoing NCAA eligibility and declaring for the WNBA Draft. On April 16, 2015, Seattle drafted Jewell Loyd #1, UCONN sharpshooter Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis #3, Vicky McIntyre #20 and Nneka Enemkpali #26 in the 2015 WNBA Draft. After having the worst record in the WNBA the Storm ended up with the first overall pick again using it to select Breanna Stewart from the University of Connecticut.

Name, logo and team colors

The Storm name was chosen because of Seattle's reputation as a rainy city, as well as the aggressive nature implicit in the name. Though the team conducted an exhaustive trademark search for options, Storm was always their preferred choice. The name had once been trademarked by an amateur soccer club, FC Seattle Storm, in the mid-1980s, but by 2000 it was free for the WNBA to take ownership. The team had planned a formal announcement, along with a presentation of the logo and official team colors, at a January 2000 gala event for the inaugural season ticket holders. However, a Miami newspaper revealed the name two weeks early while announcing all four of that season's expansion franchises.[8]

Logo

Original team logo, 2000-2015

The logo features an iconic Seattle landmark, the Space Needle, set against the backdrop of a storm cloud. In dynamic font and fashion, the team name stretches in an angled rise from left to right. Pointed jags meant to evoke lightning bolts streak through the team name from right to left. A basketball orbits the Space Needle through the cloud.

In January 2016, the team revealed a branding update with a change to the official team colors. The logo retains the same design but uses the new color scheme.[9]

Team colors

Like a number of early WNBA teams, the Storm were owned by their NBA counterpart, the Seattle SuperSonics, and closely related to the team. Taking their cue from the Sonics' team colors at the time, known coloquially as the "wine and pine" era of the team, the Storm's original team colors were pine green, maroon red, bronze, and white. When a new ownership group led by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz purchased the Sonics and Storm in 2001, the NBA club rebranded with the traditional green and golden yellow colors that had identified the team for the majority of its 41 years. The Storm, however, retained their colors as a way to uniquely market the team. Following another change of ownership in 2006, the team was then sold to Force 10 Hoops LLC in 2008 when the Oklahoma City interests that owned the Sonics announced intentions to relocate the NBA club to the Sooner State. Force 10 also retained the original colors.

The January 2016 branding update changed the official team colors. Adopting a scheme similar to their former NBA brother team, the new colors are green and yellow. White and grey will feature as accent colors.[9]

Off-court activity

2006 and 2008 sales

Following disagreements between the Basketball Club of Seattle (the former owners of the Sonics and Storm) and the city of Seattle concerning the need to renovate the KeyArena, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Seattle Storm were sold to an Oklahoma City group led by Clay Bennett on July 18, 2006.[10] Bennett made it clear that the Sonics and Storm would move to Oklahoma City at some point after the 2007–08 NBA season, unless an arena for the Sonics was approved by Seattle leaders before October 31, 2007. During this period of uncertainty, the Storm announced that they would play their 2008 WNBA season in Seattle at KeyArena.[11]

On January 8, 2008, Bennett sold the team to a Seattle group of women called Force 10 Hoops, LLC.[12] The sale was given unanimous approval from the WNBA Board of Governors on February 28, 2008.[13] This keeps the team in Seattle and disconnected it from the Sonics, which was dissolved with the 'new' basketball franchise and assets relocated to Oklahoma City.

Uniform sponsor

On April 21, 2010, the Storm and the WNBA announced a sponsor agreement with Bing, a search engine from Microsoft, to place the company's logo on their jerseys for the 2010 season.[14][15]

Championship ring for President

In June 2011, President of the United States Barack Obama invited the 2010 WNBA champion Seattle Storm to the White House. He stated that the franchise provided a good example for young girls with big dreams. He praised the Storm for the community service they perform and stated that being champions did not end when they step off the court. The Storm presented the President with a championship ring.[16]

Season-by-season records

Season Team Conference Regular season Playoff Results Head coach
W L PCT
Seattle Storm
2000 2000 West 8th 6 26 .188 Did not qualify Lin Dunn
2001 2001 West 8th 10 22 .313 Did not qualify Lin Dunn
2002 2002 West 4th 17 15 .531 Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 0–2) Lin Dunn
2003 2003 West 5th 18 16 .529 Did not qualify Anne Donovan
2004 2004 West 2nd 20 14 .588 Won Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 2–0)
Won Conference Finals (Sacramento, 2–1)
Won WNBA Finals (Connecticut, 2–1)		 Anne Donovan
2005 2005 West 2nd 20 14 .588 Lost Conference Semifinals (Houston, 1–2) Anne Donovan
2006 2006 West 4th 18 16 .529 Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Anne Donovan
2007 2007 West 4th 17 17 .500 Lost Conference Semifinals (Phoenix, 0–2) Anne Donovan
2008 2008 West 2nd 22 12 .647 Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Brian Agler
2009 2009 West 2nd 20 14 .588 Lost Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 1–2) Brian Agler
2010 2010 West 1st 28 6 .824 Won Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 2–0)
Won Conference Finals (Phoenix, 2–0)
Won WNBA Finals (Atlanta, 3–0)		 Brian Agler
2011 2011 West 2nd 21 13 .618 Lost Conference Semifinals (Phoenix, 1–2) Brian Agler
2012 2012 West 4th 16 18 .471 Lost Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 1–2) Brian Agler
2013 2013 West 4th 17 17 .500 Lost Conference Semifinals (Minnesota, 0–2) Brian Agler
2014 2014 West 6th 12 22 .353 Did not qualify Brian Agler
2015 2015 West 5th 10 24 .294 Did not qualify Jenny Boucek
Regular season 272 266 .506 2 Conference Championships
Playoffs 19 20 .487 2 WNBA Championships

Players

Current roster

Seattle Storm roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 10 United States Bird, Sue 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 10-16-1980 Connecticut 13
F/C 5 Australia Bishop, Abby 6' 3" (1.91m) 180 lb (82kg) 11-29-1988 Australia 2
F 32 United States Clark, Alysha 5' 10" (1.78m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-07-1987 Middle Tennessee 4
G 11 United States Dietrick, Blake 5' 10" (1.78m) 150 lb (68kg) Princeton R
F -- Niger Enemkpali, Nneka 6' 1" (1.85m) – 10-8-1992 Texas R
C 9 United States Gatling, Markeisha 6' 5" (1.96m) 255 lb (116kg) 07-14-1992 North Carolina State 2
G 3 United States Goodrich, Angel 5' 4" (1.63m) 127 lb (58kg) 02-24-1990 Kansas 3
C 13 United States Hollingsworth, Quanitra 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 11-15-1988 Virginia Commonwealth 5
F/C 1 United States Langhorne, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 10-27-1986 Maryland 8
G 24 United States Loyd, Jewell 5' 10" (1.78m) 148 lb (67kg) 10-05-1993 Notre Dame 1
F 23 United States Mosqueda-Lewis, Kaleena 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 11-03-1993 Connecticut 1
G 4 Australia O'Hea, Jenna 6' 1" (1.85m) 174 lb (79kg) 06-06-1987 Australia 5
C 30 United States Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 08-27-1994 Connecticut R
C 34 United States Thomas, Krystal 6' 5" (1.96m) 195 lb (88kg) 06-10-1989 Duke 4
F 7 Japan Tokashiki, Ramu 6' 3" (1.91m) 176 lb (80kg) 06-11-1991 Japan 1
G 0 United States White, Davellyn 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-14-1991 Arkansas 2
G/F 22 United States Wright, Monica  5' 10" (1.78m) 182 lb (83kg) 07-15-1988 Virginia 6



East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LA • MIN • PHO • SA • SEA
Head coach
United States Jenny Boucek (Virginia)
Assistant coaches
United States Leah Drury (Alabama)
United States Ryan Webb (Seattle)
Athletic trainer
United States Tom Spencer (Central Washington)
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Melissa Hardin (Western Washington)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

WNBA roster page

Other rights owned

Nat. Name Years pro Last played Drafted
Australia Abby Bishop 1 2010 N/A
Spain Silvia Dominguez 0 N/A N/A
United States Keisha Hampton 0 N/A 2012
Australia Lauren Jackson 2012 2001
Czech Republic Jana Vesela 1 2010 N/A

Former players

Coaches and staff

Owners

Head coaches

Seattle Storm head coaches
Name Start End Seasons Regular season Playoffs
W L PCT G W L PCT G
Lin Dunn July 22, 1999 September 3, 2002 3 33 63 .344 96 0 2 .000 2
Anne Donovan December 18, 2002 November 30, 2007 5 93 77 .547 170 8 8 .500 16
Brian Agler January 8, 2008 January 5, 2015 7 136 102 .571 238 11 10 .524 21
Jenny Boucek January 20, 2015 Current 1 10 24 .294 34 0 0 .000 0

General managers

Directors of player personnel

Assistant coaches

Statistics

Media coverage

Currently, some Storm games are broadcast on KONG, which is a local television station for the area of Seattle. More often than not, NBA TV will pick up the feed from the local broadcast, which is shown nationally. Broadcasters for the Storm games are Dick Fain and Adia Barnes.

All games (excluding blackout games, which are available on ESPN3.com) are broadcast to the WNBA LiveAccess game feeds on the league website. Furthermore, some Storm games are broadcast nationally on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The WNBA has reached an eight-year agreement with ESPN, which will pay rights fees to the Storm, as well as other teams in the league.[17]

All-time notes

Regular season attendance

Regular season all-time attendance
Year Average High Low Sellouts Total for year WNBA game average
2000 8,912 (6th) 10,840 7,656 0 142,594 9,074
2001 5,954 (16th) 9,232 3,821 0 95,257 9,075
2002 6,986 (14th) 12,327 3,715 0 111,774 9,228
2003 7,109 (11th) 9,686 4,528 0 120,857 8,800
2004 7,960 (9th) 14,884 4,527 0 135,320 8,613
2005 8,906 (4th) 11,726 6,910 0 151,410 8,172
2006 8,538 (4th) 11,221 5,741 0 145,142 7,476
2007 7,974 (6th) 10,891 6,752 0 135,553 7,742
2008 8,265 (7th) 12,079 6,116 0 140,503 7,948
2009 7,874 (7th) 10,137 6,588 0 133,858 8,039
2010 8,322 (5th) 11,012 6,612 0 141,472 7,834
2011 8,659 (5th) 13,659 6,179 0 147,196 7,954
2012 7,486 (7th) 9,686 5,819 0 127,266 7,452
2013 6,981 (8th) 9,686 4,579 0 118,671 7,531
2014 6,717 (8th) 9,686 4,863 0 114,181 7,578
2015 6,516 (8th) 9,686 4,352 0 110,767 7,184

Draft picks

Trades

All-Stars

Olympians

Honors and awards

  • 2002 All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2003 Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2003 Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2003 All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2003 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2004 Finals MVP: Betty Lennox
  • 2004 Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2004 All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2004 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2005 All-WNBA First Team: Sue Bird
  • 2005 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2005 All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2006 All-Decade Team: Sue Bird
  • 2006 All-Decade Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2006 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 Peak Performer (Scoring): Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 Peak Performer (Rebounds): Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2007 All-Defensive First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2008 All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2008 All-WNBA Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2008 All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009 All-Star Game MVP: Swin Cash
  • 2009 Peak Performer (Assists): Sue Bird
  • 2009 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009 All-Defensive First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2009 All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2010 Most Valuable Player: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010 Finals MVP: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010 Coach of the Year: Brian Agler
  • 2010 All-WNBA First Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2010 All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2010 All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2010 All-Defensive Second Team: Lauren Jackson
  • 2011 All-Star Game MVP: Swin Cash
  • 2011 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award: Sue Bird
  • 2011 All-WNBA Second Team: Sue Bird
  • 2011 All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2011 All-Defensive Second Team: Swin Cash
  • 2013 All-Defensive First Team: Tanisha Wright
  • 2015 July Rookie of the Month: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015 Rookie of the Year: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015 All-Rookie Team: Jewell Loyd
  • 2015 All-Rookie Team: Ramu Tokashiki

References

  1. ↑ wnba.com – WNBA Approves Sale of Seattle Storm to Local Owners – 2008-02-28
  2. ↑ Anne Donovan resigns as Head Coach
  3. ↑ Brian Agler named Head Coach
  4. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/wnba/news?slug=ycn-8620939
  5. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/storm/history/2011recap.html
  6. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/playoffs120927.html
  7. ↑ http://www.wnba.com/games/20121002/SEAMIN/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore
  8. ↑ Evans, Jayda (January 6, 2000). "Wnba". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  9. 1 2 "Seattle Storm change colors". KING5.com. January 6, 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  10. ↑ seattlepi.com – Sonics sold to ownership group from Oklahoma City – 2006-07-18
  11. ↑ wnba.com – Storm Announces Plans To Play 2008 Season at KeyArena – 2007-09-21
  12. ↑ espn.com – AP – Season-ticket holders buy team; Agler reportedly selected coach – 2008-01-09
  13. ↑ wnba.com
  14. ↑ streetinsider.com – "Bing Takes Seattle by Storm" – 2010-04-21
  15. ↑ Storm signs sponsorship deal with Bing
  16. ↑ http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Obama-honors-WNBA-Seattle-Storm-s-championship-run-1445957.php#photo-1086289. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ "WNBA Extends TV Rights Deal with ESPN and ABC". Sports Business. June 18, 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-04.

External links

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WNBA Western Conference Champions
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2004 (First title)
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