Despite missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, the Seattle Storm can exit the 2023 WNBA season with a sense of optimism. An 11-29 record should not obscure how Seattle successfully sowed the seeds of the next, great Storm team.
Here’s what went right, what went wrong and what’s next for the Storm:
What went right?
Jewell Loyd got buckets. Lots of them.
Loyd not only won the 2023 WNBA Peak Performer Award for scoring after averaging a league-leading 24.7 points per game, but she also set the all-time record for points in a single season, scoring 939 points across 38 games played. Always capable of scoring in bunches, Loyd leveled up this season, providing the consistent offensive production characteristic of superstars (or MVPs).
More impressively, she did all this despite dealing with nagging, season-long injuries. saying at the Storm’s exit interviews, “I’ve only played five games this season healthy, maybe 4.5…it was very taxing for me….I would do it again for my teammates.”
With this spirit of commitment, she signed a…
