> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 4 End-of-Season Goals For Storm After All-Star Break - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/4-end-of-season-goals-for-storm-after-all-star-break/ - Published: 2026-07-26T21:29:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:35:39.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Analysis, Storm, Dominique Malonga, Flau'jae Johnson, Awa Fam, Natisha Hiedeman, Jade Melbourne, Ezi Magbegor, Sonia Raman \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2156"\] ![ The Seattle Storm huddle up during an 82-64 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday, July 6, at Crypto.com Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/260706_at-las_naegele-5-format-original-1.jpg) The Seattle Storm huddle up during an 82-64 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Monday, July 6, at Crypto.com Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm \[/caption\] The Seattle Storm are 6-23 overall and in last place in the WNBA standings at the All-Star break. With 15 games remaining in the season, it’s clear that the Storm are no longer vying for a postseason berth and are instead trying to maximize the development of their young stars. Dominique Malonga, the 2025 No. 2 overall pick, has taken a huge step from her rookie season and is the Storm’s lone representative in Saturday’s All-Star Game. Rookie top-8 picks Awa Fam and Flau’jae Johnson have shown glimpses of greatness, but haven’t found enough consistency to fuel Seattle to victories regularly. Free-agent signings Natisha Hiedeman and Jade Melbourne, both starters, have been solid bridge players and could still be role players in future seasons. There have also been major disappointments. Jordan Horston, who was a rising player before missing the entire 2025 season, was removed from the starting lineup as she has underperformed. Ezi Magbegor, the fifth-highest-paid player in the WNBA, has appeared in just four games as a result of two different injuries. So, entering the final stretch of the 2026 season, what are some primary goals for the Storm as they begin to look to 2027? ### M**ore consistency from Johnson, Fam** Malonga has proven she can handle the responsibility of being a No. 1 scoring option and ace rebounder. She’s going to be the undisputed centerpiece for the Storm moving forward. But every superstar needs a quality supporting cast to compete for championships. Johnson and Fam have All-Star DNA. We’ve seen it in flashes throughout the season, but it hasn’t always come with adequate efficiency. Johnson is shooting under 40% from the field and has occasionally been too careless with the basketball. Fam has been exceptionally efficient overall (48.1% FG) and from 3-point range (36.6% 3FG), but she hasn’t had as high of an offensive ceiling as Johnson. The 2026 No. 3 overall pick has produced one 20-point game to Johnson’s five, but she’s also averaging 6.0 rebounds — the second most on the team behind Malonga. There’s a lot more good between this duo than bad. But they have a lot of little things to clean up to start helping the Storm win more close games. They weren’t expected to be perfect as rookies. ### **Determine the future for Magbegor** There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding Magbegor’s future with the Storm. Of course, she’s one of the best rim protectors in the league, but it’s hard to justify her current $1.25 million salary in a specialist role. The contract didn’t make much sense at the time, even with it being a time of major change with the new CBA, and it seemed even more nonsensical when Magbegor’s average salary landed at the fifth-highest in the league (only A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Napheesa Collier average higher). Statistically, there is no comparison between Magbegor, the four players ranked ahead of her and the immediate five below her. The Storm locked themselves into an untradeable contract, and they now have to figure out how best to proceed. Obviously, nobody expected 2026 to be a completely lost season for the former All-Defensive First-Teamer. A foot injury during offseason play and a recent facial injury have severely limited her play, but it’s hard to know if the result would’ve been much different for the Storm had she been on the court most of the season. Magbegor didn’t start any of the four games she played in this season, as Fam had already proven herself worthy of a starting role. Whether Magbegor would start at all for Seattle moving forward is a major question mark. Some answers are needed there. ### **Keep empowering Malonga as the offensive leader** Head coach Sonia Raman has to keep imploring Malonga to be aggressive on offense. She should be consistently taking 15 shots per game, as that’s regularly led to her best performances of the season — even when she’s not quite as efficient as normal. Malonga’s shooting percentage has only fallen 7.5% this season (47.6% so far in 2026) despite averaging 7.4 more shots per game. Her 3-point shot attempts and percentage have both gone up. Malonga has undeniably been the Storm’s best player on both ends of the floor, and that’s exactly the track the franchise wants her on. As Malonga’s skills keep growing, coaching will be even more important. Raman has to pour into her top player and make sure she knows how important her role is for the team’s long-term success. ### **Win a close game … or two** The Storm are 0-11 in games decided by five points or less this season. Even winning five of those games would have them just outside the playoff picture heading into the final stretch of the season, rather than at the very bottom of the WNBA standings. Five of those close games have come in just the last eight games, and their last game against the Minnesota Lynx ended in a 10-point difference after they trailed by just one point late in the fourth quarter. That’s growth on its own, as the Storm are getting blown out far less frequently than they were for much of the season. But it’s too often the same story — late-game turnovers and poor clock management, primarily — that has led to Seattle having zero wins in such games. It might not be a hurdle this current roster can get over, but they have all the tools and talent to win at least one or two close games. Raman also has to put her team in positions to win, and so far she has struggled to do that. Half of the blame has to fall on the coaching. Raman’s fast-paced, full-court offense is great in the early- and mid-game, but it hasn’t proved effective enough in the late game. She has to find ways to turn those near losses into victories. ### **Up next** The Storm have one home game against the Indiana Fever (17-10) at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, at Climate Pledge Arena. Indiana is 2-0 against Seattle this season, with the last game being decided by just three points. After that, the Storm are off for a four-game road trip that begins against the Atlanta Dream (16-10) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 31.