Seattle Storm Roster Roundup: Can Nneka Ogwumike Keep Rolling in 14th Season?
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Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike during a game against the Minnesota Lynx on June 9, 2024. Credit: John McClellan [/caption]
The Seattle Storm are nearing the WNBA Draft on Monday, April 14 and will begin their preseason soon after on May 4. It will be head coach Noelle Quinn’s fifth season leading the franchise and the first without franchise legend Jewell Loyd, ushering in a new era of Storm basketball.
As the 2025 season approaches, we profiled every player currently on Seattle’s roster not expected to be suspended due to injury, and explored the best- and worst-case scenarios for each player while examining realistic expectations. Then we will discuss the team’s draft selections and what they could add to the team.
Entering what is essentially her age 35 season, forward Nneka Ogwumike will try and keep adding to her extensive WNBA resume. Can she help lead Seattle back to a playoff berth?
Background
Ogwumike (6-foot-2), born in Tomball, Texas, played at Cy-Fair High School and averaged 16.8 points, 8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game in her senior season. She committed to Stanford as part of the 2008 recruiting class.
Playing 145 career games (121 starts) for the Cardinal over four seasons, Ogwumike is third in program history in points (2,491) and fourth in rebounds (1,226). In her senior season, Ogwumike dominated with averages of 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She earned her second Pac-12 Player of the Year award that season in 2012 and was also named an AP First Team All-American.
Ogwumike played with her sister, Chiney, in her final two seasons. Though Chiney Ogwumike had a more prolific college career at Stanford, she had a shorter and less productive WNBA career partially due to injuries.
The Los Angeles Sparks selected Ogwumike first overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft — beginning a legendary 12-year run with the franchise that included one league title, an MVP award, eight All-Star nods and one All-WNBA First Team recognition. Ogwumike also earned four All-Defensive First Team nods with the Sparks.
Ogwumike’s 2016 MVP season coincided with her first and only WNBA championship. She averaged 19.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting an unheard-of 66.5 percent from the field. Ogwumike’s next best shooting season was in 2020, converting 56.9 percent of her attempts — illustrating how prolific her 2016 season was.
LA finished the regular season 26-8 and met the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals. In a series-deciding Game 5, with the Sparks trailing 76-75, Ogwumike grabbed two offensive rebounds before scoring the game-winner from four feet away with two seconds remaining. She also won a EuroLeague championship with Dynamo Kursk (Russia) in 2017.
After 12 seasons in LA, Ogwumike signed with the Storm ahead of the 2024 season. She still played at a high level, averaging 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals, earning another All-WNBA Second Team and All-Star nod each. Ogwumike, now 34, re-signed with the Storm on another one-year deal on Feb. 8. She will be 35 in early July.
Best Case Scenario
Entering her 14th WNBA season, Ogwumike has nothing left to prove. She’s been at the pinnacle of the basketball world, been the one to decide her team’s fate and has pulled in virtually every award and honor possible. Any accolades or championships at this point in her career are to bolster her place in basketball history.
But the Storm’s season will depend on how much gas Ogwumike still has in the tank. Seattle hopes it can get something out of its No. 2 overall pick, and it has a good balance of rising stars coupled with aging veterans still playing good basketball. Ogwumike staying in All-WNBA and All-Star contention would be the best-case scenario for how it would translate to the team’s success.
Worst Case Scenario
At this point in her career — like Storm point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith — one has to wonder when the decline will come for Ogwumike. She’s played at an elite level for 13 years and has averaged more than 30 minutes per game in eight of those seasons.
Seattle may be able to have others step up if it appears Ogwumike can’t handle the load of a full-time starter anymore. But that, coupled with a statistical fall-off, would be the worst-case scenario for the LA Sparks legend. It would also be a big blow to a franchise trying to return to title contention.
What to Expect in 2025
Ogwumike showed no signs of slowing down in 2024. She only missed three regular season games and played more than 31 minutes per game for the fourth straight season. The variable won’t be whether she’s asked to play that much, but whether she still can while avoiding injury. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her play a few fewer games, as she has a career average of 30 games played per season since schedule extensions didn’t arrive in 2022 and 2023.
Seattle will need Ogwumike’s production. Outside of Ezi Magbegor, the Storm don’t have much youthful bench depth in the paint. Three of the team’s projected starters will be 30 or older this season. If the veterans start to decline, it’ll be hard for the Storm to push into the postseason.
However, based on previous season trends, expect Ogwumike to keep it rolling. The main question will be whether she can keep it going beyond 2025.
