2018 Seattle Storm season

2018 Seattle Storm season
WNBA champions
CoachDan Hughes
ArenaKeyArena
Attendance8,109 per game
Results
Record26–8 (.765)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finish1st seed; WNBA Champions, beat Washington Mystics 3–0 in 2018 WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
PointsBreanna Stewart – 21.8 ppg
ReboundsBreanna Stewart – 8.4 rpg
AssistsSue Bird – 7.1 apg
Media
TelevisionKZJO (JOEtv)

The 2018 WNBA season was the 19th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began May 20 and ended on August 19.

The Storm started the season strongly posting a 5–1 record in May. Their only loss came in the opening game of the season against the Phoenix Mercury. The storm had their worst month of the season in June, going 6–4. The team couldn't string together a run of wins, alternating between winning 2 and losing one. The team found their stride in July with a strong 9–2 record. The month started with a 4-game winning streak, and the team won 7 of its first 8. The only losses in July came in over time to Los Angeles and to eventual #2 playoff seed Atlanta. August was another good month for the Storm. The team went 6–1 in the month, with their only loss being at eventual #3 playoff seed Washington. The team's final record of 26–8 was their best since 2010. This record earned them the #1 seed in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs and a bye into the Semifinals.

The Storm faced off against the #5 seed Phoenix Mercury in the Semifinals. The series was a hotly contested series, with both teams making large runs in individual games. Eventually the home team won each game in the series, which meant the Storm advanced 3–2. In the WNBA Finals, the Storm swept the Washington Mystics in three games, securing the third championship in franchise history.[1]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2018 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 5 Jordin Canada  United States UCLA
3 29 Teana Muldrow  United States West Virginia

Trades and roster changes

Date Details
February 1, 2018 Re-signed G Sami Whitcomb[2]
February 2, 2018 Signed C Courtney Paris[3]
February 5, 2018 Re-signed G Noelle Quinn[4]
February 7, 2018 Acquired F Natasha Howard from Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the 17th pick in the 2018 WNBA draft. Minnesota also gains right to swap 1st round picks in 2019.[5]

Roster

2018 Seattle Storm roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 10 United States Bird, Sue 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 10-16-1980 Connecticut 15
G 21 United States Canada, Jordin 5' 6" (1.68m) – 08-11-1995 UCLA R
F 32 United States Clark, Alysha 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-07-1987 Middle Tennessee 6
F 6 United States Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 165 lb (75kg) 09-02-1991 Florida State 4
F/C 1 United States Langhorne, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 10-27-1986 Maryland 10
G 24 United States Loyd, Jewell 5' 10" (1.78m) 148 lb (67kg) 10-05-1993 Notre Dame 3
F 23 United States Mosqueda-Lewis, Kaleena 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 11-03-1993 Connecticut 3
C 3 United States Paris, Courtney 6' 4" (1.93m) 250 lb (113kg) 97-21-1987 Oklahoma 8
G 45 United States Quinn, Noelle 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 01-03-1985 UCLA 11
G 2 United States Russell, Mercedes 6' 6" (1.98m) – 07-27-1995 Tennessee R
F 30 United States Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 08-27-1994 Connecticut 2
G/F 33 Australia Whitcomb, Sami 5' 10" (1.78m) 145 lb (66kg) 07-20-1988 Washington 1
Head coach
United States Dan Hughes (Muskingum)
Assistant coaches
United States Gary Kloppenburg (UC San Diego)
United States Crystal Robinson (SE Oklahoma State)
Athletic trainer
United States Tom Spencer (Central Washington)


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 8 Phoenix W 73–69 3 Tied (15) Howard (6) Tied (3) KeyArena
3,502 		1–0
2 May 12 Phoenix W 84–61 Canada (17) Stewart (8) Bird (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
4,535 		2–0
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 26–8 (Home: 13–4; Road: 13–4)
May: 5–1 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 20 Phoenix L 82–87 Stewart (22) Stewart (15) Bird (5) KeyArena
8,602 		0–1
2 May 23 @ Phoenix W 87–71 Loyd (29) Stewart (11) Bird (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,068 		1–1
3 May 25 Chicago W 95–91 Loyd (29) Howard (10) Bird (9) KeyArena
5,866 		2–1
4 May 27 @ Las Vegas W 105–98 Stewart (23) Stewart (9) Loyd (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center
7,662 		3–1
5 May 29 Washington W 81–77 Loyd (27) Loyd (8) Bird (7) KeyArena
4,453 		4–1
6 May 31 Las Vegas W 101–74 Stewart (21) Russell (8) Bird (9) KeyArena
5,235 		5–1
June : 6–4 (Home: 4–2; Road: 2–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
7 June 2 @ Dallas L 90–94 Stewart (28) Howard (9) Canada (9) College Park Center
5,191 		5–2
8 June 7 @ Los Angeles W 88–63 Clark (17) Howard (9) Bird (8) Staples Center
9,204 		6–2
9 June 10 Atlanta L 64–67 Howard (15) Howard (15) Tied (3) KeyArena
6,345 		6–3
10 June 12 Chicago W 96–85 Stewart (30) Paris (8) Tied (5) KeyArena
4,353 		7–3
11 June 15 Connecticut W 103–92 Howard (25) Stewart (9) Tied (5) KeyArena
7,094 		8–3
12 June 19 Las Vegas L 77–87 Stewart (27) Tied (8) Loyd (7) KeyArena
6,395 		8–4
13 June 22 Indiana W 72–63 Loyd (25) Howard (9) Bird (7) KeyArena
8,142 		9–4
14 June 24 @ Dallas W 97–76 Stewart (28) Stewart (12) Bird (10) College Park Center
4,084 		10–4
15 June 26 @ Minnesota L 79–91 Stewart (27) Paris (8) Bird (9) Target Center
8,634 		10–5
16 June 28 Los Angeles W 81–72 Stewart (27) 3 Tied (8) Bird (11) KeyArena
8,447 		11–5
July : 9–2 (Home: 3–1; Road: 6–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
17 July 1 Connecticut W 84–70 Howard (13) Howard (8) Bird (9) KeyArena
9,307 		12–5
18 July 3 @ New York W 77–62 Tied (21) Stewart (8) Bird (11) Westchester County Center
1,749 		13–5
19 July 6 @ Atlanta W 95–86 Stewart (29) Howard (11) Bird (10) McCamish Pavilion
3,935 		14–5
20 July 8 Washington W 97–91 Stewart (25) Stewart (10) Bird (5) KeyArena
8,724 		15–5
21 July 10 Los Angeles L 75–77 (OT) Howard (18) Stewart (13) Bird (8) KeyArena
9,686 		15–6
22 July 14 Dallas W 91–84 Stewart (35) Stewart (10) Loyd (6) KeyArena
9,686 		16–6
23 July 18 @ Chicago W 101–83 Stewart (30) Loyd (10) Bird (11) Wintrust Arena
10,024 		17–6
24 July 20 @ Connecticut W 78–65 Loyd (31) Tied (6) Bird (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,908 		18–6
25 July 22 @ Atlanta L 74–87 Stewart (31) Stewart (8) Bird (6) McCamish Pavilion
4,916 		18–7
26 July 24 @ Indiana W 92–72 Stewart (26) Stewart (10) Bird (11) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,908 		19–7
27 July 31 @ Phoenix W 102–91 Loyd (29) Howard (10) Bird (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
10,005 		20–7
August : 6–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
28 August 3 Minnesota W 85–75 Stewart (20) Stewart (7) Bird (11) KeyArena
12,064 		21-7
29 August 6 @ New York W 96–80 Stewart (32) Howard (10) Tied (7) Madison Square Garden
12,488 		22-7
30 August 7 @ Indiana W 94–79 Howard (19) Stewart (12) Tied (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,401 		23-7
31 August 9 @ Washington L 77–100 Tied (15) Langhorne (5) 3 Tied (4) Capital One Arena
6,808 		23-8
32 August 12 @ Minnesota W 81–72 Howard (21) Stewart (17) Loyd (6) Target Center
9,123 		24-8
33 August 17 New York W 85–77 Stewart (22) Stewart (15) Bird (6) KeyArena
10,873 		25-8
34 August 19 Dallas W 84–68 Tied (15) Russell (9) Canada (5) KeyArena
12,574 		26-8
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log
Total: 6–2 (Home: 5–0; Road: 1–2)
WNBA Semifinals: 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 August 26 Phoenix W 91–87 Stewart (28) Stewart (7) Bird (10) KeyArena
9,686 		1–0
2 August 28 Phoenix W 91–87 (OT) Stewart (27) Langhorne (10) Bird (6) KeyArena
9,686 		2–0
3 August 31 @ Phoenix L 66–86 Howard (19) Stewart (11) Bird (11) Talking Stick Resort Arena
15,185 		2-1
4 September 2 @ Phoenix L 84–86 Stewart (22) Bird (9) Bird (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
8,137 		2–2
5 September 4 Phoenix W 94–84 Stewart (28) Clark (13) Bird (5) KeyArena
8,992 		3–2
WNBA Finals: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 7 Washington W 89–76 Loyd (23) Clark, Howard, Loyd (5) Bird (7) KeyArena
11,486 		1–0
2 September 9 Washington W 75–73[permanent dead link‍] Stewart (19) Howard (11) Bird (4) KeyArena
14,212 		2–0
3 September 12 @ Washington W 98–82[permanent dead link‍] Stewart (30) Howard (14) Bird (10) EagleBank Arena
9,164 		3–0
2018 playoff schedule


Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Breanna Stewart WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week June 18, 2018 [6]
Sue Bird WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [7]
Jewell Loyd
Breanna Stewart
Breanna Stewart WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month - July August 1, 2018 [8]
Alysha Clark WNBA Cares Community Assist Award - July August 17, 2018 [9]
Breanna Stewart WNBA Most Valuable Player Award August 26, 2018 [10]
Natasha Howard WNBA Most Improved Player Award August 26, 2018 [11]
Sue Bird Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award August 26, 2018 [12]
Breanna Stewart WNBA Finals MVP September 12, 2018 [13]

Standings

# Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Seattle Storm (1) 26 8 .765 – 13–4 13–4 11–5
2 Phoenix Mercury (5) 20 14 .588 6 9–8 11–6 8–8
3 Los Angeles Sparks (6) 19 15 .559 7 11–6 8–9 9–7
4 Minnesota Lynx (7) 18 16 .529 8 9–8 9–8 9–7
5 Dallas Wings (8) 15 19 .441 11 10–7 5–12 7–9
6 e –Las Vegas Aces 14 20 .412 12 8–9 6–11 4–12

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name
x – Qualified for playoffs
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

Main article: 2018 WNBA Playoffs
First round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Aug. 23)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
1Seattle Storm9191668494
4Connecticut Sun865Phoenix Mercury8787868684
5Phoenix Mercury1015Phoenix Mercury961Seattle Storm897598
8Dallas Wings833Washington Mystics767382
2Atlanta Dream8478817681
3Washington Mystics963Washington Mystics8775769786
6Los Angeles Sparks756Los Angeles Sparks64
7Minnesota Lynx68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Breanna Stewart 34 34 31.6 .529 .415 .820 8.4 2.5 1.4 1.4 21.8
Jewell Loyd 34 34 29.7 .423 .370 .851 4.6 3.7 1.3 0.1 15.5
Natasha Howard 34 33 25.6 .547 .327 .798 6.4 1.0 1.3 2.0 13.2
Sue Bird 31 31 26.6 .466 .448 .828 1.7 7.1 1.1 0.1 10.1
Alysha Clark 31 30 26.2 .480 .392 .846 3.5 1.9 1.0 0.1 7.4
Jordin Canada 33 2 16.5 .357 .182 .738 1.5 3.3 0.9 0.0 5.7
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 33 4 13.4 .412 .420 .917 1.5 0.8 0.1 0.0 5.4
Crystal Langhorne 26 1 13.9 .500 .000 .889 3.0 0.3 0.3 0.2 4.6
Sami Whitcomb 31 0 8.5 .349 .362 1.000 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.1 2.9
Courtney Paris 34 0 10.6 .533 .000 .529 3.9 0.6 0.2 0.3 2.1
Mercedes Russell 22 0 4.6 .484 .000 .500 1.4 0.1 0.0 0.1 1.6
Noelle Quinn 20 1 9.1 .302 .235 .000 0.9 0.7 0.1 0.1 1.5

References

  1. ^ "2018 Seattle Storm schedule". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  2. ^ "Sami Whitcomb Re-Signs with Seattle Storm". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  3. ^ "Seattle Storm Inks Courtney Paris to Multi-Year Contract". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 2, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Noelle Quinn Re-Signs with Seattle Storm". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 5, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "Seattle Completes Trade with Minnesota, Acquires Natasha Howard". storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 7, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Elena Delle Donne, Breanna Stewart Named Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "Atlanta's Hayes, Seattle's Stewart Named WNBA Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Seattle's Alysha Clark Receives July WNBA Cares Community Assist Award". wnba.com. WNBA. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  10. ^ "Seattle's Breanna Stewart Named 2018 Most Valuable Player". wnba.com. WNBA. August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Seattle's Natasha Howard Named 2018 WNBA Most Improved Player". wnba.com. WNBA. August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  12. ^ "Seattle's Sue Bird Wins 2018 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award". wnba.com. WNBA. August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
  13. ^ Standig, Benjamin (September 12, 2018). "Stewart, Storm surge past Mystics 98-82 for WNBA title". wnba.com. The Associated Press. Retrieved September 13, 2018.