The Seattle Storm will be without starting center and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ezi Magbegor for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Las Vegas Aces, the team announced. Magbegor remains sidelined with a concussion, and it’s unclear if she’ll be ready for Game 2 on Tuesday.
Magbegor suffered her concussion against the Dallas Wings on Sept. 13 and has not played since then. There is no official timeline for her return.
Her absence will be a major loss for the Storm, who are up against the back-to-back champions and MVP A’ja Wilson. While no one can singlehandedly stop Wilson, who just became the first player ever to score 1,000 points in a season, Magbegor has all the tools to at least make her work.
The 6-foot-4 Magbegor, who has made an All-Defensive Team in each of the last two seasons, and is likely going to earn that honor again this season, averaged 1.1 steals and 2.2 blocks per game. She finished third in the league in the latter category and was one of just three players to average at least one…
