Storm Acquire All-Star Brittney Sykes From Mystics in Huge Mid-Season Deal

The Seattle Storm acquired All-Star guard Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics on Tuesday in a multi-player deal that included a 2026 first-round pick. Credit: John Mac

The Seattle Storm acquired All-Star guard Brittney Sykes in a blockbuster pre-trade deadline deal with the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, bolstering their backcourt. Seattle sent Washington one of their 2026 first-round picks, guard Zia Cooke and small forward Alysha Clark in the multi-player deal.

Sykes, 31, immediately boosts the Storm’s backcourt with a do-it-all skill set. She earned the first All-Star nod of her nine-year career this season and is currently averaging 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 31 minutes. Sykes had started 25 of the Mystics’ 28 games this season, but Washington appears to be selling near the Aug. 7 deadline as they are two games below .500 (13-15).

The Storm, on the other hand, were expected to be buyers as they try to shake a two-game losing streak at the worst time. Seattle is now 16-13, in sixth place in the WNBA standings and just two games out of eighth place. With three first-round picks to play with, the Storm had plenty of draft capital to throw around. They now get better in 2025 and retain two first-round selections.

In addition to her impact offensively, Sykes fits the Storm’s defensive mentality — leading the WNBA in steals in 2021 and 2022, while posting the second-most in the league in 2023. Sykes is a two-time All-WNBA First Team selection (2021, 2023) and two-time Second Team selection (2020, 2022). The Storm have the league’s current leader in steals in Gabby Williams, who is averaging 2.6 per game.

Sykes figures to slot immediately into the starting lineup in place of Erica Wheeler, who will likely drop back to the bench.

One thing the Storm needed to prioritize in a potential trade was 3-point shooting, as they’re in the middle of the league in shooting percentage from that range (33.4 percent) and are ninth in 3-point attempts per game (22). Sykes is not a particularly high-volume or efficient 3-point shooter (career 30.4 percent from three and 2.7 attempts per game), but she should at least be a factor.

Conversely, Cooke was one of the Storm’s top 3-point shooters this season, and she’s now been shipped to Washington. Cooke, in just 10.4 minutes per game, was shooting 38.2 percent from three this season on 1.4 attempts per game. She concluded her time with the Storm, averaging 3.3 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in 24 games played.

Clark, a two-time WNBA champion with the Storm in 2018 and 2020, unceremoniously ends her second (and likely final) stint in Seattle. After beginning the season as a starter, Clark was forced to the bench due to poor play and a rising Wheeler.

She hadn’t played more than 20 minutes in a game since June 20, and was posting one of the worst long-range shooting seasons of her career at just 29.1 percent. That was why the Storm brought her back in the first place, but the 38-year-old has struggled mightily in her 13th season. Instead, Clark concludes her 2025 season with the Storm averaging 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes per game.

The Storm will look to snap a two-game skid with a hopefully improved lineup at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7, when they host the WNBA’s best Minnesota Lynx (24-5).