New-Look Storm Fall Narrowly Short Against Valkyries in Preseason Opener

Despite holding an eight-point halftime lead, the Seattle Storm’s group of young, developing players narrowly fell to the Golden State Valkyries, 78-76, in the first 2026 preseason game on Saturday, April 25, at the Chase Center.

The Storm had 12 of their 19 players step onto the court in the game, getting a decent look at a mostly new group that has had just six days of practice together thus far.

Of that group who played, eight were not with the Storm in 2025 and four were rookies.

Even in a loss, there were plenty of bright spots for Seattle as we begin to see what the new-look Storm will look like. We won’t see the entire lineup until Ezi Magbegor is healthy and Awa Fam joins the team, but it was a glimpse at some of the exciting acquisitions.