Lexie Brown Indicates She Will Play For Storm in 2026 After Coaching Change

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In an appearance on the Good Follow podcast, Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown expressed excitement in the new coaching staff despite being frustrated with her role in 2025. Credit: John Mac [/caption]

Even with her comments after the 2025 season, Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown appears to be making it clear she plans to be with the team next season.

Brown, one of just four Storm players under contract in 2026, appeared on the Good Follow podcast with former Stanford point guard and current sports media personality Ros Gold-Onwude, discussing multiple aspects of last season and the future.

“I’m excited,” Brown said of the team hiring new head coach Sonia Raman. “We’ve been texting a little bit, we’re going to talk a little bit later this week. … [Raman is a] high IQ, intellectual basketball mind, and that’s me head to toe, so we can see eye to eye. I’m waiting for a coach that I can just build a really good relationship with — I just haven’t been able to find that in the WNBA yet. So, I’m hoping that she’s the one.”

The comments follow Brown being noticeably disappointed in her role on the Storm in 2025 under head coach Noelle Quinn. 

Brown, who dealt with health issues in 2023 and 2024, elected not to answer questions from the media during her exit interview. Instead, she read a pre-written statement that asserted she was healthy and not “given the opportunity I deserved here.”

Seattle traded for Brown during the 2025 offseason as part of a pick swap with the Los Angeles Sparks — a move that was supposed to bolster the Storm’s league-worst 3-point shooting percentage two seasons ago.

Arrival and faulty expectations

Brown played in just 24 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1.0 assists in 9.5 minutes per game in her first season with the Storm. She made just 10 of 37 attempts from 3-point range (27 percent).

But she was healthy, Brown asserted.

“They were so excited for me to be there,” Brown said. “[They told me] we need your shooting, we’re going to need this, this and this. I get there, and it’s just like everything changed. … We literally had papers in our lockers of everyone’s role, and my number one role was efficient 3-point shot maker. Nobody else on the team had that role but me … and the biggest struggle for us this season was 3-point shooting.”

It wouldn’t be fair to criticize Brown’s 3-point performance in 2025 as a complete sample. Shooters often need more rhythm in their playing time to actually maximize their potential.

However, the notion that the Storm’s biggest struggle was 3-point shooting isn’t correct either. While it wasn’t a featured strength, Seattle climbed to fifth in the WNBA in 3-point percentage (34.2 percent) this season after being dead last in 2024. 

They remained at ninth in average 3-pointers made, but made about one more per game (7.5). Erica Wheeler, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins were the standout shooters for the Storm.

Brown shot near or above 40 percent from 3-point range in 2022 and 2023, but dropped to 30.4 percent in 2024. She still can be a quality shooter if given the opportunity.

Regardless, Brown was frustrated with the previous regime. She believes she was told one thing and then experienced something else, leading to the feeling of false promises. Brown said she tried to enter a leadership role for the young players like Mackenzie Holmed and Dominique Malonga as a result.

“Y’all brought me here. I was cool in LA. I had a whole life in Los Angeles, and y’all picked me up just to not play me any minutes? Zero minutes, second game of the year against Dallas? … So it took me a little bit of time to just wrap my mind around what this season was going to look like for me personally. I just felt like, ‘Alright, let me pour into the young ones.’”

Excitement about new staff

Brown appears excited about the hiring of Raman, which indicates she plans to be with the Storm in 2026. However, the praise of Raman came with some more shade towards Quinn and the previous coaching staff.

“She’s been listening to my podcast,” Brown said. “Which, like, my coach last year [Quinn] never even mentioned my pod to me ever, but I knew she was listening. I could tell she was listening. But she never mentioned anything about it … [Raman] just reached out to me, mentioned the podcast. That was really special to me.”

If the Storm and Quinn didn’t part ways after the season, it’s likely that Brown would not be with the team next season. Now, it seems much more likely that she could be an integral piece of the roster in 2026 if Raman is already establishing a connection.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things about her, so I’m really excited,” Brown said of Raman.

Brown has a protected contract, and she is set to make a salary of $98,818 in her second season with the Storm.