Seattle Storm 2025 Season Grades: Erica Wheeler

The 2025 WNBA season is over. With a pending agreement on what will be a transformative collective bargaining agreement between the players and league, this offseason will bring sweeping change prior to the 2026 campaign.

But before all that, there’s still plenty to recap on last season. 

The Seattle Storm finished the regular season with a 23-21 record and lost to the would-be WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the playoffs. Seattle has just four players under contract for next season, including rookie phenom Dominique Malonga.

With all that in mind, The Emerald City Spectrum will be dishing out grades for each player who stepped on the court for the Storm in 2025 on offense, defense and overall value.

Possibly the biggest surprise of the season, veteran guard Erica Wheeler helped fuel the Storm’s offense and was arguably the most clutch player on the roster in her 10th WNBA season.

Road to 2025 season

Wheeler has played for four other WNBA franchises in her long-winding career, and she has been with the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever twice each. She was with the Fever from 2023-24 before coming to the Storm in 2025.

Previously a starter in her first season with Indiana, Wheeler lost her starting role in 2024 and played just 14 minutes per game. She wasn’t a full-time starter in 2025 with the Storm, but she did average 25.6 minutes per game in a much more featured role.

Offense

At times, Wheeler was the most important part of the Storm’s offense. She was regularly the spark that would get them back on track, and she led the team in 3-point percentage (37.3 percent) among players with at least 50 attempts.

She finished the season fifth on the team in points per game (10.3), but her impact stretched well beyond the box score. Wheeler had 22 games with at least 10 points and four with at least 20 points, and she also averaged 3.3 assists per game.

Of all her game-winners and buzzer beaters, there was none more important than her pull-up jumper in the regular season finale to send the Storm to the playoffs. Wheeler also fueled the Storm’s comeback in Game 2 of their series against the Las Vegas Aces with an 11-point effort in the fourth quarter.

Wheeler was one of the most valuable bench players in the league and performed well in a starting role before the team acquired Brittney Sykes.

Grade: A

Reasoning: Outside of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, Wheeler was arguably the most important offensive piece for the Storm. She had a unique role spurring comebacks, and her timely buckets left little room for critique.

Defense

Though she was much more effective on offense, it was Wheeler’s energy that made her effective on defense. She hustled to loose balls, put her body on the line and averaged at least 1.3 steals for just the third time in her career.

Sykes was an upgrade as an all-around perimeter defender, but Wheeler wasn’t a liability when she or Diggins had to come off the court. The Storm traded for Sykes to get more depth in that area — not to replace the impact of Wheeler.

It may not be the most hailed part of her game, but it’s not a weakness either. Wheeler was a key piece for Seattle in locking down the WNBA’s top guards.

Grade: B

Reasoning: Wheeler didn’t have the defensive impact of an Ezi Magbegor or Gabby Williams, but she was a sound player on that side of the court. That’s all the team needed with three other starters who were also disruptive in that area.

Overall value

Wheeler was written off entering her age-34 season, but the Storm gave her a chance. In the end, Wheeler gave far more to the team than it did to her. She was bought in, and it showed on a nightly basis. The veteran was the shining example of leaving it all on the floor.

Even if the Storm opt for a youth movement in 2026 (building around Dominique Malonga and their two first-round picks), Wheeler would be a welcome player back on the team next season. She is the kind of veteran who can transform a team's complexion in the right situation.

With Noelle Quinn gone, however, that may not be the case. For now, the league and players have to work on sorting out the collective bargaining agreement so that they can even discuss a reunion.

Grade: A-

Reasoning: For all the reasons stated above, Wheeler was a unique piece of the 2025 Storm team. If she weren’t on the roster, they may have performed even further below expectations this past season. That alone boosts her grade massively.