‘I Really Care’: Sonia Raman Bringing People-First Approach to Seattle Storm
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New Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman emphasized her player-coach relationships in her introductory press conference on Wednesday. Credit: Joe Murphy (NBAE/Getty Images) [/caption]
An emphasis on player-coach relationships, player development and analytics were the overarching themes for the new regime as recently hired Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman was introduced to the media on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Raman was officially announced as the team’s new coach on Oct. 28. She is replacing Noelle Quinn, whom the team parted ways with this offseason after five seasons at the helm.
Quinn’s tenure was tumultuous, particularly due to the allegations that eventually led to franchise legend Jewell Lloyd’s departure. Comments from players like Tiffany Mitchell and Lexie Brown after the 2025 season also highlighted a disconnect between some players and the coaching staff.
But a lack of success overall (97-89 regular season record, 4-8 in playoffs) didn’t help the off-court issues.
Hiring Raman brings the Storm a clean slate and assurances that she is putting her relationships with the players before anything else. The Storm have multiple young stars the franchise hopes to develop and keep long-term, and they are now entrusting those futures with Raman.
“We were looking for someone that’s been a leader and been a head coach, and Sonia has done that for over a decade during her career,” Storm general manager Talisa Rhea said during the press conference on Wednesday. “Someone that can really connect with players and help get them to the next level that they want to be.”
Raman, when asked what makes her unique in her ability to build those relationships, gave an encouraging response.
“I really care about every single player that I’ve ever coached and that I ever will coach,” she said. “I care about them as people first. I think that’s really important.”
Righting the ship
The Storm are coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons. Entering 2024, Seattle was loaded and ready for a title run. A 25-15 finish made them the fifth seed, and a sweep at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces made for an even bigger disappointment.
With Lloyd gone after the season, Seattle was able to retain most of its veteran talent (namely the big pieces like Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams) and added to that group with No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga and free agents.
It was another exciting roster, potentially poised for a championship run. Instead, they barely squeezed into the playoffs, even with a late-season trade for All-Star Brittney Sykes. Things finally began coming together in the postseason, pushing the Aces to three games, but it was clear change was needed. That’s where Raman comes in.
“I think our team has a lot of really great players coming off of last season — a lot of great pieces in the foundation to really build and move forward,” Rhea said. “I think we were close last year to getting over that hump, and had some really good moments and some moments we wish could’ve gone another way. But looking back, I think we continue to build year over year a really strong foundation, and so really excited to partner with Sonia and get to know what kinds of players would best fit her system and be able to make those changes this offseason.”
The Storm are unlikely to look similar to last season. Seattle has just four players under contract for next season, and three of them are deemed critical to the team’s future.
Jordan Horston, the ninth overall pick in 2023, was potentially going to take on a bigger role last season until she tore her ACL before the WNBA season began. Malonga was an All-Rookie Team selection and is expected to be the future face of the franchise. Nika Mühl has the potential to be an elite two-way point guard, but she also tore her ACL before the season.
“Really excited, of course, for the whole team, but in particular [for Malonga and Horston],” Raman noted. “[They are] both really special players, unique talents, almost positionless. You can play them anywhere on the floor, and they have so much that they can bring, and they’re so young. So, what can they be? The future of what they can be individually and what we can all do collectively was really enticing.”
Maximizing the potential of the Storm’s young players and continuing to build around them will be Raman’s top task.
Marrying coaching with analytics
Throughout her career, Raman has been highly touted for her “forward-thinking” — as Rhea put it — use of analytics in coaching basketball. Following her experience as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA and New York Liberty, Raman now has a chance to apply that expertise to her head coaching role.
Still, Raman understands a basketball game is played on the hardwood, not in the numbers.
“It can’t just be analytics; you have to balance it,” she said. “I think that one of the things I bring in is a strong analytics background, but I’m a basketball coach. I learned basketball before I knew anything about analytics. I think analytics is a really great tool to use — it’s one of many tools. But you have to really know the game and have a feel for the game, and understand what you’re coaching, understand what the exceptions are.”
Family, franchise ties and making history
Raman is married to Milena Flores, who grew up in Snohomish, Washington, before playing college basketball at Stanford and eventually having a brief WNBA career. There was familiarity between Raman and the Storm already, as she has attended practices in prior seasons.
With those ties, and what Rhea called “real alignment” between Raman’s agenda and the front office’s, the franchise felt she was the best fit.
Additionally, Raman is making history as the first WNBA head coach of Indian descent, which she called “a tremendous honor and privilege.”
“I’ve said this before: I am the first, but I don’t want to be the last. … It’s really important that I’m showing up every day, that I’m pouring into the players and the organization and then to the greater community,” Raman said. “And that I’m doing my best so that I can create these opportunities, open these doors, or just allow this next generation to see what’s possible.”
