2022 Seattle Storm season

The 2022 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association. This was the first season back in the newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena.^[1]

2022 Seattle Storm season
Coach	Noelle Quinn
Arena	Climate Pledge Arena
Attendance	10,632 per game
Results
Record	22–14 (.611)
Place	2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	4th seed; Lost in Semifinals to Las Vegas Aces
Team Leaders
Points	Breanna Stewart – 21.8 ppg
Rebounds	Breanna Stewart – 7.6 ppg
Assists	Sue Bird – 6.0 apg
← 2021 season 2023 season →

On June 16, 2022, Sue Bird announced that this season would be her final one and that she would be retiring after the season.^[2]

The Storm started the season with an opening day win, but went on to lose their next three games. They turned their fortunes around after the three game losing streak, and went on a four-game winning streak to end the month of May 5–3. June started with two straight losses, but then the team won four games straight. They won three of their last five games to finish June 7–4. They started July strong, losing one of their first six games in the month. The end of the month saw the team only get two wins out of six games, with five of those six games being on the road. They finished July 7–5 and clinched a playoff spot on July 30. The Storm went 3–2 in August, with their only two losses coming to the first place Las Vegas Aces. They finished the season 22–14, tied for fourth with Washington. They were awarded the 4th seed based on having a better regular season record vs. Washington.

In their First Round series, the Storm had home court advantage as the fourth seed, and faced off against the fifth seeded Washington Mystics. The Storm won a close game one 86–83. They took advantage of their home court and won game two by thirteen points, to sweep the series. In the Semifinals, they were up against the first seeded Aces. The Storm won another close game one, 76–73 in Las Vegas. However, they would go on to lose the next three games and lose the series three games to one. Most of the games in the series were close, with game two being decided by four points, game three going into overtime, and game four being decided by five points.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2022 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
2	17	Elissa Cunane	United States	NC State
2	18	Lorela Cubaj	Italy	Georgia Tech
2	21	Evina Westbrook	United States	UConn
3	33	Jade Melbourne	Australia	Canberra Capitals (Australia)

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Transaction
January 4, 2022	Extended Qualifying Offers to Stephanie Talbot, Jordin Canada, and Mercedes Russell[3]
January 14, 2022	Extended a Core Qualifying Offer to Jewell Loyd[4]
January 21, 2022	Hired Pokey Chatman and Ebony Hoffman as assistant coaches[5]
February 1, 2022	Re-Signed Jewell Loyd to a Two-Year Deal[6][7]
	Re-Signed Mercedes Russell to a Three-Year Deal[8][9]
February 2, 2022	Re-Signed Breanna Stewart to a One-Year Deal[10][11]
	Signed Briann January to a One-Year Deal[12][13]
February 3, 2022	Traded Katie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the 2022 WNBA draft to Los Angeles in exchange for Gabby Williams.[14]
February 4, 2022	Signed Stephanie Talbot to a training-camp contract[15]
February 5, 2022	Rescinded the Qualifying Offer to Jordin Canada[16]
February 18, 2022	Signed Sue Bird to a One-Year Deal[17]
February 24, 2022	Signed Lauren Manis to a training-camp contract[18]
March 21, 2022	Signed Jantel Lavender to a training-camp contract[19]
April 11, 2022	Traded the rights to Lorela Cubaj to the New York Liberty in exchange for a 2nd Round Pick in the 2023 Draft
April 14, 2022	Signed Elissa Cunane and Evina Westbrook to rookie-scale contracts
	Signed Paisley Harding, Jenna Giacone, and Raina Perez to training-camp contracts[20]
April 26, 2022	Waived Lauren Manis[21]
April 30, 2022	Waived Paisley Harding and Jenna Giacone[22]
May 2, 2022	Signed Reshanda Gray to a training-camp contract[23]
	Waived Elissa Cunane and Raina Perez[24]
May 4, 2022	Waived Evina Westbrook, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, and Kennedy Burke[25]
May 11, 2022	Signed Raina Perez to a Hardship Contract[26]
May 13, 2022	Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract[27]
May 16, 2022	Released Raina Perez from her Hardship Contract
May 18, 2022	Released Kaela Davis from her Hardship Contract
May 27, 2022	Signed Kiana Williams to a Hardship Contract[28]
May 28, 2022	Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract[29]
June 2, 2022	Released Kiana Williams and Kaela Davis from their Hardship Contracts
June 3, 2022	Signed Kiana Williams to a Hardship Contract
June 4, 2022	Released Kiana Williams from her Hardship Contract[30]
June 24, 2022	Waived Reshanda Gray[31]
June 28, 2022	Signed Tina Charles[32]

Roster

2022 Seattle Storm roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 10 Bird, Sue 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1980-10-16 Connecticut 18 C 31 Charles, Tina 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 1988-12-05 Connecticut 12 G 20 January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m) 148 lb (67kg) 1987-01-11 Arizona State 13 F 14 Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 1988-11-12 Ohio State 10 G 24 Loyd, Jewell 5' 10" (1.78m) 148 lb (67kg) 1993-10-05 Notre Dame 7 C 13 Magbegor, Ezi 6' 4" (1.93m) 176 lb (80kg) 1999-08-13 Australia 2 G 11 Prince, Epiphanny 5' 9" (1.75m) 179 lb (81kg) 1988-01-11 Rutgers 12 C 21 Russell, Mercedes  6' 6" (1.98m) 195 lb (88kg) 1995-07-27 Tennessee 4 F 30 Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-08-27 Connecticut 5 F 7 Talbot, Stephanie 6' 2" (1.88m) 192 lb (87kg) 1994-06-15 Australia 4 F 5 Williams, Gabby 5' 11" (1.8m) 172 lb (78kg) 1996-09-09 Connecticut 3	Head coach / Noelle Quinn (UCLA) Assistant coaches Pokey Chatman (LSU) Ebony Hoffman (USC) Perry Huang (Fresno Pacific) Athletic trainer Caroline Durocher Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Tina Charles	Ezi Magbegor Mercedes Russell
PF	Breanna Stewart	Jantel Lavender
SF	Gabby Williams	Stephanie Talbot
SG	Jewell Loyd	Epiphanny Prince
PG	Sue Bird	Briann January

Schedule

Preseason

2022 pre-season game log Total: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
April: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 April 23 Los Angeles W 81–68 Breanna Stewart (20) Ezi Magbegor (8) Breanna Stewart (4) Climate Pledge Arena 5,734 1–0 2 April 28 @ Phoenix W 82–78 Breanna Stewart (16) Breanna Stewart (7) Bird Stewart (4) Footprint Center 2,759 2–0
2022 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 22–14 (Home: 13–5; Road: 9–9)
May: 5–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 6 Minnesota W 97–74 Loyd Stewart (17) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (9) Climate Pledge Arena 12,904 1–0 2 May 8 @ Las Vegas L 74–85 Breanna Stewart (21) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 6,212 1–1 3 May 11 @ Phoenix L 77–97 Jewell Loyd (26) Lavender Loyd Magbegor Williams (5) Sue Bird (6) Footprint Center 6,098 1–2 4 May 14 Phoenix L 64–69 Jewell Loyd (26) Stephanie Talbot (14) Bird Loyd Talbot (3) Climate Pledge Arena 12,453 1–3 5 May 18 Chicago W 74–71 Ezi Magbegor (21) Stephanie Talbot (7) Sue Bird (7) Climate Pledge Arena 7,450 2–3 6 May 20 Los Angeles W 83–80 Breanna Stewart (28) Ezi Magbegor (11) Sue Bird (8) Climate Pledge Arena 10,103 3–3 7 May 27 New York W 79–71 Breanna Stewart (31) Lavender Stewart Williams (9) Prince Stewart (4) Climate Pledge Arena 10,001 4–3 8 May 29 New York W 92–61 Jewell Loyd (22) Jantel Lavender (10) Jewell Loyd (6) Climate Pledge Arena 10,228 5–3
June : 7–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 9 June 3 Dallas L 51–68 Breanna Stewart (27) Breanna Stewart (8) Briann January (7) Climate Pledge Arena 8,023 5–4 10 June 5 Connecticut L 86–93 Ezi Magbegor (19) Ezi Magbegor (7) Jewell Loyd (7) Climate Pledge Arena 11,330 5–5 11 June 7 Atlanta W 72–60 Jewell Loyd (26) Magbegor Stewart (7) Sue Bird (6) Climate Pledge Arena 7,262 6–5 12 June 10 @ Dallas W 89–88 Breanna Stewart (32) Breanna Stewart (11) Gabby Williams (9) College Park Center 3,292 7–5 13 June 12 @ Dallas W 84–79 Breanna Stewart (25) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (7) College Park Center 3,273 8–5 14 June 14 @ Minnesota W 81–79 Breanna Stewart (29) Gabby Williams (10) Gabby Williams (8) Target Center 6,031 9–5 15 June 17 @ Connecticut L 71–82 Breanna Stewart (19) Breanna Stewart (7) Breanna Stewart (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,088 9–6 16 June 19 @ New York W 81–72 Gabby Williams (23) Stewart Williams (9) Jewell Loyd (7) Barclays Center 6,859 10–6 17 June 23 Washington W 85–71 Jewell Loyd (22) Breanna Stewart (9) Sue Bird (8) Climate Pledge Arena 9,884 11–6 18 June 25 Los Angeles L 77–85 Breanna Stewart (28) Breanna Stewart (7) Sue Bird (6) Climate Pledge Arena 9,955 11–7 19 June 29 Las Vegas W 88–78 Jewell Loyd (24) Ezi Magbegor (8) Sue Bird (6) Climate Pledge Arena 9,499 12–7
July : 7–5 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 20 July 1 Indiana W 73–57 Breanna Stewart (20) Tina Charles (8) Jewell Loyd (7) Climate Pledge Arena 8,565 13–7 21 July 3 @ Atlanta L 76–90 Breanna Stewart (19) Ezi Magbegor (7) January Prince (4) Gateway Center Arena 3,138 13–8 22 July 5 @ Indiana W 95–73 Jewell Loyd (25) Ezi Magbegor (11) Sue Bird (5) Indiana Farmers Coliseum 2,585 14–8 23 July 7 @ Los Angeles W 106–69 Breanna Stewart (23) Ezi Magbegor (11) Jewell Loyd (7) Crypto.com Arena 6,389 15–8 24 July 12 Dallas W 83–74 Breanna Stewart (19) Tina Charles (9) Sue Bird (7) Climate Pledge Arena 9,486 16–8 25 July 17 Indiana W 81–65 Breanna Stewart (25) Stewart Williams (8) Sue Bird (6) Climate Pledge Arena 9,970 17–8 26 July 20 @ Chicago L 74–78 Breanna Stewart (24) Charles Williams (6) Bird Loyd (4) Wintrust Arena 8,893 17–9 27 July 22 @ Phoenix L 78–94 Breanna Stewart (22) Breanna Stewart (14) Bird Loyd Williams (5) Footprint Center 14,162 17–10 28 July 24 Atlanta W 82–72 Tina Charles (27) Tina Charles (15) Sue Bird (5) Climate Pledge Arena 12,654 18–10 29 July 28 @ Connecticut L 83–88 Breanna Stewart (17) Tina Charles (10) Sue Bird (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 9,137 18–11 30 July 30 @ Washington W 82–77 Breanna Stewart (18) Tina Charles (9) Sue Bird (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200 19–11 31 July 31 @ Washington L 75–78 Breanna Stewart (23) Charles Stewart (5) Sue Bird (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200 19–12
August : 3–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 32 August 3 Minnesota W 89–77 Breanna Stewart (33) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (6) Climate Pledge Arena 13,500 20–12 33 August 7 Las Vegas L 81–89 Breanna Stewart (35) Breanna Stewart (10) Bird G. Williams (6) Climate Pledge Arena 18,100 20–13 34 August 9 @ Chicago W 111–100 Breanna Stewart (25) Breanna Stewart (9) Sue Bird (8) Wintrust Arena 9,314 21–13 35 August 12 @ Minnesota W 96–69 Tina Charles (23) Breanna Stewart (10) Gabby Williams (7) Target Center 12,134 22–13 36 August 14 @ Las Vegas L 100–109 Jewell Loyd (38) Breanna Stewart (15) Sue Bird (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,015 22–14
2022 season schedule

Playoffs

2022 playoff game log
First Round vs. Washington Mystics Won Series: 2–0 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 18 Washington W 86–83 Breanna Stewart (23) Breanna Stewart (12) Gabby Williams (6) Climate Pledge Arena 8,917 1–0 2 August 21 Washington W 97–84 Breanna Stewart (21) Breanna Stewart (10) Sue Bird (10) Climate Pledge Arena 12,490 2–0
Semifinals vs. Las Vegas Aces Lost Series: 1–3 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 28 @ Las Vegas W 76–73 Jewell Loyd (26) Tina Charles (18) Sue Bird (12) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,944 1–0 2 August 31 @ Las Vegas L 73–78 Breanna Stewart (32) Tina Charles (9) Sue Bird (6) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,755 1–1 3 September 4 Las Vegas L 98–110 (OT) Breanna Stewart (20) Breanna Stewart (15) Sue Bird (8) Climate Pledge Arena 15,431 1–2 4 September 6 Las Vegas L 92–97 Breanna Stewart (42) Tina Charles (9) Sue Bird (8) Climate Pledge Arena 11,328 1–3
2022 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	26	10	.722	–	15–3	13–5	13–5	9–1
2	x – Chicago Sky	26	10	.722	–	15–3	14–4	12–6	9–1
3	x – Connecticut Sun	25	11	.694	1.0	11–7	13–5	12–6	5–5
4	x – Seattle Storm	22	14	.611	4.0	10–8	13–5	9–9	6–4
5	x – Washington Mystics	22	14	.611	4.0	11–7	12–6	10–8	5–5
6	x – Dallas Wings	18	18	.500	8.0	8–10	8–10	10–8	5–5
7	x – New York Liberty	16	20	.444	10.0	10–8	9–9	7–11	6–4
8	x – Phoenix Mercury	15	21	.417	11.0	7–11	11–7	4–14	3–7
9	e – Minnesota Lynx	14	22	.389	12.0	8–10	7–11	7–11	4–6
10	e – Atlanta Dream	14	22	.389	12.0	5–13	8–10	6–12	3–7
11	e – Los Angeles Sparks	13	23	.361	13.0	6–12	7–11	6–12	3–7
12	e – Indiana Fever	5	31	.139	21.0	2–16	3–15	2–16	2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

See also: 2022 WNBA Playoffs

	Round One: Best-of-3					Semifinals: Best-of-5					Finals: Best-of-5
	1	Las Vegas Aces	2
	8	Phoenix Mercury	0
						1	Las Vegas Aces	3
						4	Seattle Storm	1
	4	Seattle Storm	2
	5	Washington Mystics	0
											1	Las Vegas Aces	3
											3	Connecticut Sun	1
	2	Chicago Sky	2
	7	New York Liberty	1
						2	Chicago Sky	2
						3	Connecticut Sun	3
	3	Connecticut Sun	2
	6	Dallas Wings	1

Bold Series winner

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	30.9	.472	.379	.837	7.6	2.9	1.6	0.9	21.8
Jewell Loyd	36	36	30.3	.396	.385	.893	2.6	3.4	1.1	0.2	16.3
Tina Charles≠	18	10	25.2	.477	.341	.885	7.4	1.8	0.6	0.6	12.6
Kaela Davis‡	1	0	18.0	.571	.667	1.000	2.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	11.0
Ezi Magbegor	33	23	24.8	.550	.345	.736	5.6	1.4	0.9	1.8	9.5
Sue Bird	31	31	26.4	.403	.389	1.000	1.9	6.0	1.2	0.1	7.8
Gabby Williams	36	36	25.6	.444	.257	.778	5.0	3.1	1.5	0.4	7.5
Stephanie Talbot	34	1	16.1	.464	.397	.583	3.1	1.3	0.7	0.3	5.0
Epiphanny Prince	33	0	12.3	.355	.356	.840	1.0	1.8	0.6	0.1	3.9
Jantel Lavender	27	4	12.2	.409	.208	.667	3.3	0.9	0.1	0.1	3.8
Briann January	36	5	16.9	.377	.311	.826	1.0	2.4	0.6	0.2	3.7
Reshanda Gray‡	11	0	7.7	.500	.667	.833	2.2	0.1	0.2	0.0	2.5
Mercedes Russell	5	0	10.8	.500	.000	.667	1.8	0.2	0.0	0.0	2.0
Kiana Williams‡	3	0	9.0	.250	.250	.000	0.7	1.7	0.0	0.0	1.7
Raina Perez‡	1	0	2.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Breanna Stewart	6	6	38.8	.513	.520	.892	9.5	4.2	1.0	1.8	27.0
Jewell Loyd	6	6	37.0	.389	.357	.929	2.3	2.5	0.5	0.0	19.2
Tina Charles	6	6	26.2	.431	.231	.286	8.8	1.8	0.5	0.5	11.5
Sue Bird	6	6	35.7	.431	.433	1.000	2.2	7.7	0.8	0.2	10.2
Gabby Williams	4	4	25.3	.667	.333	.857	4.0	2.8	1.5	0.3	10.0
Stephanie Talbot	6	2	21.3	.448	.500	.600	4.3	1.7	0.5	0.5	6.2
Ezi Magbegor	6	0	15.5	.583	.000	.667	2.7	1.0	0.7	1.0	5.0
Briann January	6	0	7.2	.500	.000	.000	0.5	1.2	0.0	0.0	1.0
Epiphanny Prince	6	0	5.7	.200	.000	.000	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.3

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Breanna Stewart	Western Conference Player of the Week	June 13	[33]
	WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain	June 22	[34]
	Western Conference Player of the Month - June	July 5	[35]
	Peak Performer:Points	August 15	[36]
	All-Defensive First Team	August 30	[37]
	All-WNBA First Team	September 15	[38]
Sue Bird	WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain	June 22	[34]
Jewell Loyd	WNBA All-Star Selection	June 28	[39]
Gabby Williams	All-Defensive Second Team	August 30	[40]
Ezi Magbegor