The word that best describes the Storm’s upcoming 2026 WNBA season is opportunity.
“That’s a great way to sum up what we have right now,” three-year veteran forward Jordan Horston said. “We lost some really big pieces, and now this year, we all have to step up. It’s an opportunity for everybody to showcase and do what they do best.
“You don’t have to be anybody but yourself. That’s what they’re preaching. Just be you, within the concepts, of course. But with us missing and not having those veterans, everybody has to step up.”
On WNBA draft night three weeks ago, general manager Talisa Rhea seemingly put season expectations into perspective after the Storm collected Awa Fam, Flau’jae Johnson and Taina Mair in the first round.
“It was a great time to just reset the foundation,” she said.
So, what does “reset” mean for a team that brought in nine newcomers and retained five holdovers?
“Competing to win every single night,” first-year coach Sonia Raman said. “In terms of standings and record and all that, you know, we haven’t talked about that. It’s a day-to-day process. So, we just want to be as good as we can possibly be tomorrow and build from there. It’s just going to be this one-day-at-a-time thing.
“That’s really important no matter what type of team you have. When you have a young team, the sky is (the) limit. The ceiling is so high and we don’t want to put limits on it. We don’t want to make predictions. We want to take tomorrow as it comes. Give it our best shot, right? Play really hard. Try to get stops, try to run, and then just keep getting better from there.”
Most league observers picked the Storm to finish near the bottom of the 15-team league and miss the eight-team playoffs for the first time since 2023 when they finished 11-29.
“It’s hard to say because things are still so new here,” said seven-year veteran forward Ezi Magbegor, the longest-tenured Storm player, when asked if there are any similarities between the 2026 team and the 2023 squad. “Each year and each team have their own unique identity and personality, so it’s hard to compare in that sense.
“Yes, we lost some key pieces (in 2023) in Sue (Bird) and (Breanna Stewart), and in that sense, its similar to losing everyone we lost from last year. … I’m excited to see how good we can be this year.”
Magbegor is sidelined for the first few weeks of the season due to a right foot injury suffered while playing for Australia in the 2026 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers. She’s expected to sit out at least 10 games and will be re-evaluated in June.
The Storm are also missing prized rookie center Awa Fam, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, who is in Spain playing for Valencia Basket.
Without Magbegor and Fam, second-year center Dominique Malonga is expected to be featured in a lineup that will include five new starters.
Admittedly, she struggled during the first half of her rookie season before a strong finish that included a back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“After the All-Star (break), I was way more comfortable, but overall toward the end of the season, I was still learning,” said Malonga, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 42 games as a reserve and garnered All-Rookie honors. “Even when I was playing more, I was still learning a lot. You don’t know when you get comfortable. You just go out there and play. You don’t have time to think about, ‘Am I comfortable or not?’ Just try your best.
“One time it happens, and you feel really good. I couldn’t even tell you a game where I was like, ‘OK, now I’m ready.’ Every game I stepped on the court, I was, ‘I’ll do my best.’ Then it went from there.”
When asked what advice she’ll give to Johnson before her first WNBA regular-season game, Malonga said: “Flau’jae has so much energy and she’s a great teammate. I would tell her to just be who you are and do what you do. She’s a great player, but not only that, she’s a great person with a great heart.”
Johnson, who led the team with a 16.0 scoring average in the preseason, is unbothered by the Storm’s tepid preseason expectations.
“This is a fresh start for all of us,” she said. “That’s what the veterans have been telling me. We can be anything we want. Whether you’re a vet, rookie or whatever, it’s kind of like it’s wide open because we’re all new to this team and what (Raman) wants from us.
“That’s what makes me so excited. I really don’t care what anyone else thinks about what we can or cannot do. I really don’t. All I’m thinking about really is this next practice and doing what I need to do. Honestly, if we do that, we’ll be fine and we’ll end up where we’re supposed to end up.”
