Storm Enter Do-or-Die Mode in Regular Season Finale
One more game. That’s all the Seattle Storm have remaining to claim their spot in the WNBA playoffs as the eighth seed.
The situation is simple: If Seattle (22-21) beats the Golden State Valkyries (23-19) on Tuesday night, the Storm will clinch the final seed over the Los Angeles Sparks. Los Angeles still has a chance if Seattle loses, but they will have to defeat both the Phoenix Mercury (27-15) on Tuesday and the Las Vegas Aces (28-14) on Thursday, Sept. 11.
Since the Sparks hold the tiebreaker, a Seattle loss and two straight Los Angeles wins would eliminate the Storm.
To make things even more interesting, the Sparks and Storm both tip off in their Tuesday games at 7 p.m. Los Angeles will have no idea if they are still in the running for the postseason until its game concludes.
Seattle was incredibly fortunate that the Sparks haven’t matched up well with the Atlanta Dream all season. Atlanta dealt Los Angeles two straight losses from Sept. 3-5, while the Storm have also dropped two consecutive games.
Friday’s game against the New York Liberty, with Sabrina Ionescu absent, was a golden opportunity for Seattle, as they entered the game having won both previous matchups this season. However, after leading by as much as nine midway through the third quarter, the Liberty stormed back via a 14-6 run to close out the period.
The Liberty went on to outscore the Storm 25-16 in the fourth quarter. New York had a combined 45 points from Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich. Nneka Ogwumike carried the load once again with 20 points (8 for 15 shooting) and nine rebounds.
With the talent the Storm have on the roster, it shouldn’t be coming down to the final game of the season to clinch a playoff spot. Last season’s 25-15 result (5th seed in the playoffs) was enough of a disappointment, but the 2025 team is arguably better on paper.
If Seattle doesn’t make the playoffs, the front office is going to have to take a hard look at whether to move on from Noelle Quinn. Even if they make the playoffs but don’t move past the first round, that will have to be an offseason discussion. Entering the season, it wasn’t hard to make a case for Seattle being a title contender.
Of course, if they sneak in, that will still be a possibility. They’re the best team in the league, but a matchup with the Minnesota Lynx isn’t the worst outcome for Seattle. The Storm split the season series with the Lynx 2-2. In a three-game series, that’s a feasible win for Seattle.
The stakes are at their highest. Quinn, Ogwumike and the Storm will need to handle their business on Tuesday if they want to avoid relying on Sparks' losses to seal their fate.
