> ## 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. # Erica Wheeler’s Explosive Play Fueling Storm’s Latest Surge - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/erica-wheelers-explosive-play-fueling-storms-latest-surge/ - Published: 2025-06-13T23:25:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T05:48:26.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Storm, Erica Wheeler, Alysha Clark \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1129"\] ![ Emerging as the engine that drives the 2025 Seattle Storm, Erica Wheeler has been the surprise of the season through 10 games. Credit: John Mac ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/54550830809_b6a764f933_k-format-original.jpg) Emerging as the engine that drives the 2025 Seattle Storm, Erica Wheeler has been the surprise of the season through 10 games. Credit: John Mac \[/caption\] Through 10 games, there has been no bigger surprise of the Seattle Storm’s season than Erica Wheeler. The 34-year-old, 10-year WNBA veteran has more than exceeded expectations after signing a training camp contract with the team this offseason. She’s now one of the team’s most important contributors. What began as a bench role with Wheeler coming in to provide an offensive spark has now seen her become a plus starter. Wheeler has shown up in the biggest games as well, most recently erupting for 20 points (7 of 13 FG), two rebounds, nine assists and a steal in the [Storm’s key win over the previously undefeated Minnesota Lynx](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/storm-hand-lynx-first-loss-fourth-quarter-surge) on Tuesday. In 2024, the Indiana Fever demoted Wheeler to the bench after seven straight seasons of starting nearly 88 percent of the games she played in. As a result, Wheeler posted career-low numbers in scoring and had the least time on the court since her rookie season in 2015\. Wheeler was unsurprisingly emotional after turning in a game-changing performance against one of the league’s top teams on Tuesday — placing her resurgence directly in the spotlight. “It’s not about me, it’s not about me,” Wheeler said during her postgame TV interview. “It’s about this team. It’s about us just sticking together, \[the\] coaches believing in us, and this s— feels good.” Tuesday’s win was Wheeler’s third start of the season, and second in a row. She has supplanted Alysha Clark — seemingly for good — in the starting lineup with her standout play. Whereas Clark has significantly underwhelmed so far this season, Wheeler has stepped into that spot without a hitch. Over [her last seven games](https://www.espn.com/wnba/player/gamelog/%5F/id/2491214/erica-wheeler?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com), Wheeler is averaging 13.3 points, 4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.9 steals in just over 25 minutes per game. She’s converting 56.3 percent of her shots (36 for 64), 77 percent of her free throws (10 of 13) and 50 percent of her 3-point attempts (11 for 22). It seems like every time Wheeler puts up a shot, it’s going in. And she’s doing it in the flow of the offense. Wheeler has two games with 20 or more points this season. She had two such games over the previous three seasons combined. Even when Wheeler was coming off the bench, she was the first to celebrate every bucket her Storm teammates made. She’s been a force multiplier for Seattle on and off the court, and it’s because of the environment she’s in. “Being on a team that appreciates everything that I do, a coach actually believing in me and allowing me to just be me, unapologetically. That’s why I was emotional,” Wheeler said of her initial postgame interview later on Tuesday during the team’s press conference. “The love from Seattle has just been crazy — it’s immaculate. “I just feel good here. I’m happy. Everything is just clicking.” The intangible contributions are almost as important as what Wheeler is doing on the court. Sometimes they overlap, like when Wheeler knocked down a triple with 46 seconds left in the game against Minnesota to extend Seattle’s lead to four — cueing as passionate of an on-court celebration as you’ll ever see. The Lynx didn’t score the rest of the game. > E-DUB DAGGER 😤😤😤 [pic.twitter.com/LnFoCGi1Le](https://t.co/LnFoCGi1Le?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com)— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) [June 12, 2025](https://twitter.com/seattlestorm/status/1933010557709529392?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) “You see her on the sidelines waving her towel, she’s always communicating with us and the team,” head coach Noelle Quinn said of Wheeler in early June. “On the court, she’s been really efficient in her minutes and what she’s doing on both ends of the floor offensively and defensively. It becomes contagious when your energy is positive and nets positive results.” The Storm needed Wheeler to step up. Clark, in her return to the Storm after three seasons elsewhere, hasn’t been the long-range shooting difference-maker she was expected to be. Seattle shot a league-low 28.8 percent from 3-point range last season, bringing in players like Lexie Brown, Clark and Wheeler to try and remedy that inefficiency. The Storm are second in the league in that area this season at 37.7 percent. Brown is yet to sink a 3-pointer and has played in just seven games. Clark is just [6 of 15 from beyond the arc](https://www.espn.com/wnba/player/gamelog/%5F/id/924/alysha-clark?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com), with the offense not suiting her catch-and-shoot play style so far this season. Wheeler has made 11 of 24 attempts and has scored 72 more points than Clark. If the Storm are going to continue beating top teams, Wheeler has to continue playing well. Seattle has been able to show teams multiple different looks with Wheeler, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams all frequently taking the point. Wheeler plays that spot well with her excellent ball handling, also. Nneka Ogwumike, Diggins and Williams will remain the top three scoring options. But Wheeler, as the fourth option, has arguably made the biggest difference in critical moments of games.