The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season is starting soon, with preseason games already happening. Seattle’s WNBA team is called the Seattle Storm. The Seattle Storm have won 4 championships in the past, with their most recent win in 2020. The Seattle Storm also won in 2004, 2010, and 2018.  

But the Seattle Storm from last season is different from now. On June 16, 2022, Sue Bird – one of the Storm’s best players ever – announced her retirement. She decided to retire once the 2022 season ended. Sue Bird got drafted by the Seattle Storm in the WNBA 2002 draft. Before that she was the New York State High School Player of the Year and played an undefeated season with UConn her senior year. Bird then went on to win 5 Olympic gold medals and 4 world championships.  

Another substantial change for the Seattle Storm is how Breanna Stewart left the team. Stewart was a free agent after the WNBA 2022 season ended. She decided to sign a contract with the New York Liberty for $175,000 – making her the fourth-highest paid WNBA player. Breanna Stewart played basketball with UConn from 2012-2016, then got drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2016. With Seattle, she won 2 WNBA titles and then won 2 Olympic gold medals for the USA in 2016 and 2020.  

Someone else you may see missing from the roster is number 5, Gabby Williams. She decided to take off a year from the WNBA and play with LDLC Asvel Feminin – a women’s basketball team in France. She chose to play with the French team because they are a part of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket league. Though there is no talk about her return to the Storm yet, we all have our fingers-crossed that she does come back.  

Some rookies replacing the fan favorites that have left the Seattle Storm include Ivana Dojkic, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, Jordan Horston, and Jade Melbourne. Ivana Dojkic is a guard from Croatia. Fun fact about Dojkic: she was born on Christmas Eve! Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu is a center originally from Cameroon. She then went to South Florida University to play college basketball. Jordan Horston is a forward who played college basketball at Tennessee. She was the ninth-overall pick in the WNBA draft. Jade Melbourne is a guard from Melbourne, Australia. She played for Australia in the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup and won second place with her team.  

Obviously, there have been so many changes to the Seattle Storm’s roster, but it should be a super fun season. Their first game is against the Las Vegas Aces (who they lost to in the playoffs last year) on Saturday, May 20th. The game will be played at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. The Seattle Storm is also in the process of building their practice facility in Interbay. This practice facility is one of a kind because it became the United States’ first facility built by more than 80% women. Go Storm!