Phoenix Mercury Guard Diana Raksi (3) fights with Seattle Storm, which on September 19, 2024 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix (3) for the ball (3). Nneka Ogwumike looks good as it sets up for its second season with Seattle Storm, which gives the 2025 WNBA campaign a tip on the road against Phoenix Para on Saturday.
The nine-time all-star said that taking steps to Seattle from Los Angeles has proved beneficial.
“I really feel that going to Seattle put a battery in my back,” Ogwumike told GQ Magazine. “To be able to do all the things I like to do, and learn myself as an athlete in a different and new way, it’s really great.”
One of the four returning players of the previous season, Ogwumike made an average of 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as the Storm improved its win to 14 matches, which improved the biggest year-to-year in the history of the franchise. Seattle finished 25–15.
Skylar Digins, Easy Magbegore and Gabi Williams also return from last year’s squad. Digins set a franchise record for assistance with 257 – and also became the first guard in league history to rack at least 50 stolen and 35 blocks in a season.
Phoenix (19-21 in 2024) finished seventh in the league, two spots behind Seattle, and try to clean things aggressively in front of their opener. Para changed the ball 20 times against Golden State on Sunday at his Presiden Finale.
What is in the air for Phoenix in the opener, this is the condition of Kahli copper. The third major scorer at WNBA was not played against the Golden State due to a back injury in the last season.
Copper (21.1 PPG) is the only returning starter of Phoenix-now when 11-time all-star Diana Raksi has retired and 10-time all-star Brittany Grinner has gone to Atlanta-so the head coach Nat Tibets expects high expectations from their star player, which was playing for 2021 DEBA MVP.
“We have a new group, but this year my entire challenge for it is to lead, lead, and it’s not just what you say. What you do,” said Tibbets. “It is about all the small things that differentiate between a good and bad outfit.”
-Bield level media
