Nneka Ogwumike to re-sign with the Storm
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Free agent forward Nneka Ogwumike is expected to re-sign with the Seattle Storm, first reported by her sister, Chiney Ogwumike of ESPN on Sportscenter today just hours after the WNBA’s free agency show.
The nine-time All-Star left the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024 after 12 seasons. In her first season in Seattle, Ogwumike averaged 16.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 2.3 APG while shooting 53 percent on twos and 40.5 percent on threes.
When Ogwumike entered free agency for the first time in her storied career, she met with several teams from the New York Liberty to the Chicago Sky. There was only one team that met her requirements and that was the Storm.
“Deciding that I was going to leave LA was the biggest part of me making my decision,” she said in exit interviews following the 2024 season. “Then of course being more open to what other organizations could offer, and also being apart of franchises that want to lead the pack. And obviously I ended up in Seattle and and I’m very grateful that I did. And ultimately really being in a new place, but also being represented with the coaching staff. That’s something that I’ve never experienced and they made me a better player and professional for it. Especially being coached by a Black woman who played in this league, who is being positioned by mostly woman owners. That spoke to my ethos and I think it also speaks to the progress I hope to see within myself and also part of the organization.”
Storm head coach Noelle Quinn is currently the only Black woman leading the front of a bench in the WNBA. Next to her are longtime WNBA figures Pokey Chatman and Ebony Hoffman. Ogwumike has known Chatman for years and played with Hoffman in Los Angeles. The familiarity with the staff and the feeling of representation in powerful, decision-making positions ultimately won Ogwumike over.
The Storm’s state-of-the-art practice facility, the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance, was also a key selling point. For the first 12 years of her career, Ogwumike never experienced what she considered was normal for professional athletes, but not all WNBA players.
“I think I went through a stage in my free agency of being okay with saying things like that aren’t important. We’ve [WNBA players] been pushed into such a corner ‘you have to make more money, you have to do this and that.’ I do think when I had taken my visit here, let me tell you, they were working in there. They [Storm leadership] were like, ‘This is going to get done.’ I felt the energy of its completion, I felt the energy of its investment, and I felt the energy of its engagement.”
Skylar Diggins-Smith joined the Storm for the same reasons as Ogwumike. The chance to play with former Notre Dame teammate Jewell Loyd tipped the scale in Seattle’s favor. As expected when superstars join forces, expectations were high for the Storm in 2024. Loyd, Ogwumike, and Diggins-Smith took the opportunity in stride, but the three talents never appeared to fit chemistry-wise on the court. Roster construction and a lack of three-point shooting ended Seattle’s second half last season before it got off the ground in post-Olympic play where they finished with an 8-7 record after a 17-8 stretch to start as they were swept aside in the first round of the playoffs by the Las Vegas Aces.
An investigation into the coaching staff for reports of player mistreatment didn’t help matters either.
With that said, Ogwumike returns to a core of third-year forward Jordan Horston, 2024 Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Ezi Magbegor, and Diggins-Smith. Forward Gabby Williams has reportedly been cored by the team, but there isn’t much information besides that as of now and Li Yueru was included in the three-team trade where Seattle sent away Loyd.
As the start of the WNBA season looms in the distance, Seattle has several decisions to make regarding the No. 2 overall pick received in the Jewell Loyd trade with the Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks, and fixing their shooting woes while trying to fill out their bench. The Storm owned the worst three-point shooting percentage in the WNBA last season (28%). General manager Talisa Rhea and the rest of the Storm front office have their hands full when it comes to reassembling this Seattle roster.
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