Lexie Brown Could Be Seattle Storm’s Most Unexpected 2025 Star
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Former Minnesota Lynx and current Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown drives into the lane. [/caption]
The Seattle Storm's tumultuous 2024 season is now over. Following a disappointing first-round playoff exit, an investigation into head coach Noelle Quinn, and one of the franchise’s most prolific icons forcing her way out, the team has moved on to 2025.
Seattle wasted no time shaking up the roster. Not long after the Jewell Loyd trade that netted the Storm the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, Seattle’s front office re-signed Nneka Ogwumike, Alysha Clark, Gabby Williams and Katie Lou Samuelson — all of whom spent last season with the Storm or previously played for the team.
But the moves didn’t stop there. A flurry of signings added depth and the Storm made a second offseason trade, this time flipping draft capital to acquire Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown. That may have been the most underrated transaction of the offseason so far for Seattle.
Brown recently made headlines for an impressive shake-and-bake mid-range bucket while playing in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball league. AU is a start-up, unconventional league of 40 players. Teams are re-drafted every week over a four-week season, and individual players are crowned champions via a points system.
The play also stood out because of Brown’s response to the original post on X (formerly Twitter), quoting it with the reply: “Y’all can stop saying you forgot I hooped now.”
It’s been an arduous basketball journey for Brown in each of her last two WNBA seasons. She battled untreated and undiagnosed Crohn’s disease during the 2023 season while also managing to post career highs in most major statistics despite playing in just 12 games.
Then, in February 2024, Brown received a two-year contract extension from the Sparks, which appeared to be a silver lining in her efforts to overcome adversity.
“This is such a surreal moment for me,” Brown said at the time, per ESPN. “Anyone familiar with my career knows that it hasn't always been easy and finding a home with the Sparks organization has been such a blessing. They have allowed me to be myself and walk in my light since Day 1.”
But Brown appeared in just 16 games (eight starts) in 2024 because of continued issues related to the disease. Los Angeles dealt her to the Storm on Feb. 14.
Now, Brown appears to be back healthy during her season with AU. Among the 40 players in the league, Brown is currently seventh in MVP points and is averaging 16 points (fifth), 4 rebounds per game (24th), 2.4 assists (ninth) and 1.8 steals (third).
Brown could be exactly the spark the Storm need in their backcourt next to Skylar Diggins-Smith and whoever Seattle selects in the 2025 WNBA Draft — most likely to be either UConn star Paige Bueckers or Notre Dame’s do-it-all floor general Olivia Miles.
“Lexie is a prolific shooter and all-around great player that bolsters our backcourt,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said in the team’s press release about the trade. “Her tenacity to make plays on both sides of the ball and ability to stretch the defense with tremendous range are great additions to our roster and we are thrilled to welcome her to Seattle.”
The resume
Brown’s top WNBA season came in her 12-game 2023 season, averaging 12.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists on nearly 49 percent shooting from the field and a 41.5 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line.
Her assist numbers were up in an again-shortened 2024 season, but her shooting percentages dipped drastically while scoring just 8.1 points per game in an average of 23.7 minutes per contest.
Brown has shot above 87 percent from the free throw line each of the last two seasons — an area she struggled with in her first five seasons after the Connecticut Sun selected her No. 9 overall in 2018.
With the Storm, she won’t be asked to do it all. But she could perfectly fill the role of sharpshooter that she’s taken well to dating back to her college days. Brown shot at least 46 percent from the field in each of her final two college seasons at Duke.
Brown hasn’t been as dominant defensively since entering the pros, which is perhaps why expectations for her career largely haven’t been met. She was the 2018 ACC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 3.7 steals per game during the 2017–18 season but has only posted more than one pickpocket per game three times in her seven WNBA seasons.
Still, the shooting prowess is there, and she hasn’t completely lost that part of her game.
The role
It’s very early, and the draft hasn’t even happened yet, but the team’s backcourt has shaped up slightly. To examine the situation of highest likelihood, Seattle probably ends up with Miles at No. 2 overall and pairs her next to Diggins-Smith.
But those two have similar skill sets as distributors, which means Quinn will need shooters to regularly rotate in and out of the lineup.
That’s where Brown comes in. She will have to compete with guards Nika Mühl, Zia Cooke and Erica Wheeler for a roster spot, but barring further health issues it appears likely she will make that cut. She could even battle for a starting role if Quinn prefers allowing Miles time to develop and operate the offense off the bench while Diggins-Smith rests.
Brown offers the versatility and scoring potency that the Storm will need. As she continues to battle back from consecutive seasons marred by health issues, Brown could find her perfect situation moving forward with Seattle.
