Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're taking bets on who number two WNBA draft pick, Dominique Malonga will dunk on first. It's Wednesday, May fourteenth, and on today show, we'll be skipping the need to know and digging straight into the shoot around, previewing our next two WNBA teams, the Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury.
Ready for the starstak stats and stories.
A little bit of history, a little bit of lore, a little bit of gossip, and a little bit more well good because it's all coming up right after this, all right sliceas let's start by talking Seattle Storm, who bounced back from a losing season in twenty twenty three to finish twenty five and fifteen last season, their best regular season record since twenty eighteen. They went on to get swept by the Aces in the first round of the playoffs. Here's your need to know history of the
Seattle Storm. The team was founded in two thousand as a sister team to the Seattle SuperSonics the eight in Seattle when the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in two thousand and eight, as they were sold to Force ten Hoops LLC, a collection of Seattle businesswomen.
Sue Byrd, who.
Spent her whole w career with the team, joined the ownership group after retiring. The Storm had been consistently competitive, qualifying for the postseason in nineteen of twenty five seasons, and they've won the WNBA title in each of the four seasons that they went to the finals four twenty ten,
twenty eighteen, and twenty twenty. All time Storm grates include the aforementioned Bird, Lauren Jackson, Swin Cash, and Brianna Stewart, still playing but now with the New York Liberty, the twenty twenty five tag line for this team in their rebuild era. Now, the Storm should probably be a playoff team this season, but I wouldn't expect a deep run as they're dealing with a new look roster, young players
to develop, and a bad string of injuries. The team's offseason additions and losses, including trading away one of their biggest stars to get the number two draft pick, reveal a clear eye toward the future and point to a reset and rebuild starting this U season. So let's talk about losses. The biggest one that aforementioned star, Jewel Lloyd who went to the Aces in a three team deal that brought the Storm the number two draft pick to use on French national fenom Dominique Belonga, who could be
the team's next franchise player. At six', six this dunking teenager started her pro career at the ripe old.
Age of, fifteen now.
Nineteen this, year she made The all Euro Cup First team and Won European player of The year And center of The year for the tournament as. Well what about, Additions, well The storm acquired vet and friend of The Show Lexi brown via trade and were active in free, agencies Signing Katie Lou samuelson And Erica, wheeler both of whom
spent last year with the. Fever, Unfortunately samuelson is set to miss the season with AN acl, tear joining Teammates Jordan, horston injured In Athletes unlimited And Nika, mule who tour HER acl playing In. Turkey horston and mules contracts are, suspended But samuelson's deal is on the, books so The storm will likely carry less than the twelve allowed active players to start the season while they worked to create enough cap from the stand of the league's hard salary.
Cap the team also brought back three TIME wnba Champion Alisia, clark recently of The, aces who spent her first nine seasons In, seattle winning two of her titles with the. Team as For, Stars Neca ogumaka is entering just her second season on this, team but she's the Elder stateswoman
and face of the franchise all the. SAME A wnba, champ Former LEAGUE, mvp Former rookie of The, year nine Time All, star seven Time All Defensive team, selection member of THE wnba twenty Fifth Anniversary, team And president of The Players. Association she's been a star since she came into the league in twenty, twelve spending her first twelve seasons with THE La. Sparks Skyler diggins No, smith she's dropped her married name entering this, season is back for
her second season with The storm as. WELL a six Time All star And olympic gold, medalist she's been one of the league's best known players since her stellar career At Notre, dame helping The irish to back to BACK Ncaa championship. Appearances and then There's, malonga The french teenager who dunk in her very First storm practice and should be a big draw for fans this, season as she
projects to be a future superstar for the. Franchise we'll be keeping an eye on how head Coach Noel, quinn who's back for her fifth season at The, helm Rotates malanga and fellow Center ezzie Mag, bagore who was the third highest scorer returning from last year's team and is the last remaining player from The storm's twenty twenty, title but is expected to get fewer minutes With malanga in the. Mix to be, frank the stakes for The storm team
are relatively. Low they'll aim for the, postseason but they don't look prime to compete with the league's best this.
Season like a.
Lot of other, teams several of The storm's top names will be free agents next season in time for the NEW, cba Including Oguomakay, Diggins, clark And Gabby. Williams the focus will be on Developing maloga this. Season let's talk. Stats last, season The storm finished eighth and field goal percentage and had the worst three point percentage in the, league so
they'll look to improve on the offensive. End they took care of the ball last, year, though posting the second lowest turnover, rate the lowest opponent steel, rate and the lowest opponent block. Rate as for individual, stats we'll be watching Sky diggins for a bit of a bounce back, season especially since last year was her first back from maternity.
Leave her fifteen point one points per game were her fewests since twenty, sixteen and her twenty nine point one percent shooting from three was her worst since twenty, fourteen but she did finish fourth in the, league averaging a
career high six point four. Assists the thirty four year Old Uguma kay may be a long time, vet but her sixteen point seven points and seven point six rebounds per game last season were still slightly better than her career, averages and last year marked a third Straight All star. Season we'll see if she can keep those numbers up
in year. Fourteen while there's a lot of storm lore around the many, championships the big story that stands out to me is just their relationship with the city Of, seattle a basketball crazed place that still dearly misses the Mnba's SuperSonics and is very dedicated to its very successful w. Team From afar to, me it feels like the team and Especially Sue, bird have been recognized and embraced across the city along with all the men's, teams in a
way that other cities are only now more recently. Doing The storm also built the first dedicated training facility for A wnba, team helping inspire the facility wars across the.
League fun fact for The.
Storm one of The seattle business women who owns the team Is Jinny, gilder a former collegiate And olympic, rower and while she was rowing At, yale the conditions for the women's team were so unsatisfactory that she was part of a noteworthy nineteen seventy six protest in which nineteen members of her team Wrote title nine on their naked bodies and went into the athletic director's office demanding better treatment and a locker room for their. Team pretty, badass, Meish what DID i forget About?
Seattle?
Oh you mentioned two pieces of WHAT i want to talk, About, sarah but you didn't quite put them.
Together And i'm gonna put them together for.
You Dominique belonga entering THE wnba with a veteran point guard Like Skylar, diggins the rest of the, league y'all messed, up y'all and messed up, now because who better to teach you from a guard's perspective how to read defenses in THE wnba than some who has been in all kinds of different positions with some of the best post players in the. League that is going to be a
stupid good pick and roll connection first and. Foremost and then you add to the mix that she's coming into a situation with Her french national team Teammate Gabby, williams so there's some familiarity there.
ALREADY i.
Understand it completely makes sense why this was the pick And Dominique mlungo was so excited to come To.
SEATTLE i just.
Worry if you're an, opponent worry you should be having, nightmares should be staying up all night already game planning for how you're gonna deal with.
THAT i get, It, LISTEN i get. It but, like we can't say this about every team in the. League every.
Team we. Can't every team can't be terrifying and a.
Contender AND i get what you say they can though there are pieces of, this and absolutely they should have nightmares about gettingdug.
Done we already saw some folks being, like ain't gonna be. Me i'm not gonna be the.
First player IN wnba history to get absolutely post. Terrized gonna be, someone gonna be. SOMEONE i get what you're, saying AND i agree with. You And i'm not saying that The storm are going to.
Be a bad.
Team i'm just trying to figure out to reconcile that every, team on, paper not every.
TEAM a lot of the teams that felt. Shady, sorry, Well i'm.
Looking right at your face and that jersey behind you for The washington but not every team seems like a. Contender BUT i agree with, you there are a lot of aspects about This storm team to be terrified.
About, YEAH i think that you're right in saying that maybe we expect the playoff, birth but past, that it just there's not enough. There there's not going to be enough. Cohesion and yet again a situation WHERE i.
WISH i don't wish that we weren't getting a NEW.
Cba i'm glad we're getting a NEW, cba BUT i do wish there was just more time to see this group come together and have a little bit more.
Chemistry All, right gotta take a quick.
Break when we come, back we'll chat about a new Look Phoenix mercury squad hoping to make its mark catch you on the other.
Side.
Welcome back.
Slices let's Talk Phoenix, mercury who finished nineteen and twenty one last year in their first season under head Coach Nate tibbets and their last with one of the goats of the, Game Diana. Trossi it was a third straight losing season for the, squad but they doubled their wins from the previous season and made it back to the, playoffs where they were swept by The Minnesota links in the first. Round here's The Phoenix mercury history you need to.
Know one of the w's eight original, teams The mercury began competing in nineteen ninety, seven operating as a sister squad to the Mnba's Phoenix, suns founded by Former sons Owner Jerry.
Clangelo Robert sarver purchased the.
Team alongside The suns in two thousand and, four and in twenty twenty, three both teams were bought, again this
time by Businessman Matt. Eshbia this is one of the most successful franchises in the, league making it to five, finals losing to the now Defunct Houston comets in ninety eight and losing to The Chicago sky in twenty twenty, one but hanging three championship banners and The rafters in, between winning titles in two thousand and, seven two thousand and, nine and twenty fourteen over the now Defunct Detroit, shock
The Indiana, fever and The, sky. Respectively phoenix has made it to the playoffs in eighteen of its twenty nine, seasons and all time legends who have helped him get there Include, tarasi her wife and former Teammate Penny, Taylor candice To, prix And Cappie, pondexter as well as active Players Britney, Griner Dwana, bonner And Skyler diggins who are all on other rosters. Now The mercury's twenty twenty five
tag line is a new. Start, listen you might not recognize The mercury team that takes the court in twenty twenty, five and WHEN i tell you about this team's offseason additions and, losses you'll understand. Why, first AS i, mentioned the team finally had to say goodbye to retiring Legend Diana, tarassi the league's all time leading scorer with ten, thy six hundred and forty six points in five hundred and
sixty five regular season. GAMES dt hung them up In, february after twenty seasons of hoops with the franchise that took her number one in two thousand and four out Of.
Yukon goes without.
Saying that those are big shoes to, Fill but it's not just the loss of D t that has This mercury squad looking brand. New this will also be the first season since twenty twelve without eleven year VETERAN Wnba, champ ten Time All, star two Time league Scoring, champ two Time Defensive player of The, year seven Time All Defensive team, member eight Time league.
Blocks later AND wnba twenty Fifth.
Anniversary team Member Britney, griner who The mercury drafted first overall out Of baylor in twenty. Thirteen all those stats Ann griner wears a men's size seventeen, shoe so, yeah, again big shoes to. Fill Point Guard Natasha cloud went to the reigning Champion New York liberty in a four team trade that also Sent Rebecca allen to The Chicago sky And Sophie cunningham to The, Fever but the franchise
did do some work with. Acquisitions that four team trade also brought five Time All star and six Time All Defensive team Member Alyssa, thomas Two phoenix from The Connecticut, sun The unicorn two Time All Star Sawtu, sobolei Plus Kalanie brown and Sevgae, uzen all of whom spent last season with The Dallas. Wings they also signed two time W Nba Champ Sammy, whitcombe who spent the last two
seasons In. Seattle despite the big name, departures this team still boasts a couple bona fide, stars INCLUDING Wnba, CHAMP Wnba FINALS, mvp four Time All, star and recent unrivaled Champ Kalia, copper plus the NEWBIES i Mentioned Alyssa, thomas one of the most consistent triple double threats in the league with a league record fifteen all, time and The Unicorn satusable who can do it all when she stays.
Healthy the stakes for this, team, Well we've mentioned during these previews that several teams carry a number of soon to be free, agents all of them trying to time their deals to the NEW cba next.
Year phoenix takes the.
Cake this team has just one contract that goes beyond twenty twenty Five Colonie. Brown she's going to be standing in an empty locker room day one of the, offseason looking like The Fresh prince.
Meme the good news, is, though they do have one.
Of the best recruiting tools in the, league a brand new one hundred million dollar practice, Facility so this year's stakes might be as much about winning as they are about sending a message to the league That phoenix is the place to be and a great team to work. For as for the, stats the team looks so different this. YEAR i think the thing that's most worth mentioning is what this team loses with dt And grinder. Gone the pair are The mercury's top two all time in scoring and.
Rebounding tarasi is the franchise leader and, Assists grinder's fourth on that, list And griner is the all time blocks, leader With taras's second in that. Category that's a lot of, points, boards dimes and blocks to try to. Replace they'll try to do it Playing Nate tibbet's style of high volume three point. Shooting the team averaged the fourth most attempts in the league last, year though they were middle of the pack in percentage shooting just thirty two point six.
Percent for all that, shooting the squad didn't corral a lot of boards on. Offense they were next to last in offensive, boards so a lot of one and done, possessions and they weren't great at rebounding, overall finishing eleventh in total Rebounds. Individually satusabli's one of just four players IN wnba history averaging at least fifteen, points seven, rebounds and three assists per, Game but she's also only played
more than twenty games in a season. Once in twenty twenty, Three we'll see if she can stay healthy and put up those numbers across an entire forty four game. Season the stories and lore for This Phoenix mercury.
Team where do we?
Begin maybe with that fancy practice FACILITY i mentioned taking the acl of Actress Aubrey plaz as a sacrifice during last Year's All star. Weekend how about Coach Nate timbitt's coming into the league with no head coaching experience and no women's basketball experience and immediately being made the highest.
Paid coach in the, league all while.
The team proudly called him a girl dad in the social media post announcing is. Higher what About Diana tarassi's infamous episode with the door in The chicago skylocker room after The mercury lost in the finals in twenty twenty.
One speaking, up by the, way.
More info soon to come on the unveiling of Our Diana tarassi commemorative bench In Door.
COUNTY i promise.
Fun fact about The. Mercury, ah you gotta go with some hoops and gay shit. Here So Alyssa thomas and Fiance Duana bonner spent the last five seasons together on The Connecticut sun the perfect love and basketball. Situation but Now i'll have to see how time a part affects the power. Couple With thomas on The mercury And bonner on The Indiana, fever can their love go the?
Distance, also who follows who?
First when their teams meet for the first time On july. Thirtieth my money's On. Bonner all, right that's most of, IT i think for The, mercury what DID i?
Forget, Sarah phoenix is.
Tough phoenix is tough for, Me i've got some question marks around this. Squad they got a little, better but they also got a little. Worse so WHAT i mean by that Is Nate tibbetts in his first year at the home in twenty twenty, four said that one of his main points of emphasis was for his team to get up a lot of, shots specifically a lot of three. Pointers and they did that.
Right they did.
That they didn't hit it at the clip that they wanted. To but With Alyssa, thomas now somebody who is you, know a four, traditionally but she can assist one of the best of sisters in the. League like she's gonna be able to help out in drawing attention defensively because she can score the basketball as. Well but she's an excellent, pastor has great court vision in the, half in the full, court so she'll be able to feed the Cock coppers and The Satu sabilis who are out on the wing
open for. Threes but they also got a little worse Than mercury did because bench, WISE i just don't know that there's enough of a spark. THERE i don't know if there's enough role players who come in and you know what you're gonna. Get SO i don't first see this team going very. FAR i think they're gonna have some tight games with some of the top teams in the in the. League for, sure but will it be? Sustainable will it be? Consistent THAT i don't.
Know couldn't agree more.
Mash this is definitely a wait and see team for, me WHERE i just, LIKE i want to see how all the pieces fit, together because no doubt they've got, talent but how quickly does that talent mesh? Together how quickly do they find whatever their new identity? Is and not to, mention there's just so little experience on this team once you get beyond the starting, lineup so it's gonna be a lot of wait and see for me on This Phoenix mercury.
Squad all, right we got to take another break when we come. Back did you hear the News i'm an. Author welcome, Back.
Slices we love that you're, listening but we want you to get in the game every day. Too so here's our good game play of the. DAY i come before you once More, slices humbly requesting that you pre order my Book runs in The.
Family.
Y'all official release date keeps getting closer and. Closer june. Third it's almost, here AND i just can't wait for you to dig into this incredible. Story i'd hate for you to miss out on. It in, Fact i'm doing you a favor by telling you about, it And i'm doing you another favor by putting the link to preorder the book right in our show. Note you can read, it you can listen to the audiobook, version whatever you.
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Slices it's.
Easy Watch Dominique malonga arriving with a bang or SHOULD i say, stuff rating tens across the.
Board Review.
Now i'm a little, late BUT i finally watched the Video The Seattle storm posted last week of number two draft Pick malonga throwing one down in her very first practice with her new. Squad we'll link to it in our show notes if you haven't seen.
It because. LISTEN i just have to say.
THIS i do not think the women's game is missing anything without. Dunks at the end of the, day whether you shoot it or slam, it you get two points for finishing around the. Rim but damn, IT i would be lying IF i, said it isn't incredible to see HOW w players continue to evolve and become more explosive and dynamic. Athletes we are seeing teenagers now that are dunking with, ease teenagers Like, milonga WHO i can't wait to see do.
This in a.
Game AND i also can't help but think about what would have been possible if we'd started studying women athletes and women's bodies a long time, Ago like let me find out we got springs during our, cycle and we've just been standing on the ground not even trying to dunk like soup a.
Period we don't. Know we just don't. KNOW i could have been reverse slamming it all this. Time now it's your jurd, Y'all rate and.
Review thanks for, listening see you tomorrow when we Talk Dallas wings And Los Angeles sparks. Basketball Good, Game, Seattle Good, Game. Phoenix you to the fact we still have to wait Until friday to watch our first regular SEASON w.
Game all these previews have got me itching for some.
Hoops Good game With Sarah spain is An iHeart women's sports production in partnership With Deep Blue sports And. Entertainment you could find us on The, iHeartRadio, App Apple podcasts or wherever you get your.
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