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# Storm G Nika Mühl to Miss 2nd Straight WNBA Season With Torn ACL
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/storm-nika-muhl-miss-2nd-straight-wnba-season-torn-acl/
- Published: 2026-04-01T23:02:38.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T06:15:21.000Z
- Author: Connor Benintendi
- Tags: News, Analysis, Storm, Nika Mühl, Sonia Raman

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="5334"\]

![  Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl during the game against the LA Sparks at    Crypto.com    Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/seattle-storm-guard-nika-muhl-during-the-game-against-the-la-sparks-at-crypto-com-arena--mandatory-credit-3a-kirby-lee-imagn-images-format-original.jpg)

Seattle Storm guard Nika Muhl during the game against the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images \[/caption\]

Seattle Storm guard Nika Mühl underwent successful surgery on Tuesday, March 31, to repair a torn ACL she suffered while playing for Croatia — her home country — in the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers, the [Storm announced on Wednesday](https://storm.wnba.com/news/nika-muhl-undergoes-successful-surgery-to-repair-torn-acl?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com).

It’s another [massive blow to Mühl’s professional basketball career](https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/home/can-nika-muhl-still-be-a-game-changer-for-storm), as she will miss a second-straight WNBA season. Mühl missed the 2025 season also due to a torn ACL, which was also suffered while playing overseas.

By the end of the 2026 season, Mühl, a 2024 second-round pick in the WNBA Draft, will have appeared in just 16 games in three seasons since joining the Storm.

### **Injuries are plaguing a once-promising career**

Mühl was a defensive and playmaking star for UConn from 2020-24, earning two Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards (2022 and 2023). She also set the program’s career assists (686), single-season assists (284) and single-game assists records (15).

She quickly became a fan-favorite in Seattle, particularly as the team was looking for a defensive anchor on the perimeter. But former head coach Noelle Quinn brought her along slowly, and Mühl averaged just 3.6 minutes per game as a rookie.

Mühl has consistently played overseas in the offseason, and she suffered her first ACL tear after her rookie WNBA season. This offseason, she had already sustained a torn ligament in her ankle at the end of Croatia’s EuroBasket qualifying game against Greece on Nov. 12.

After missing multiple weeks, she returned to play in early February. The Storm reported Mühl tore her ACL on March 11, just over a month later.

### **What now?**

With each passing year, it’s becoming more unlikely that Mühl will be able to carve out a role in the WNBA. Her ability to stay healthy since reaching professional competition is beyond the point of concern, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Storm’s new regime under Sonia Raman handles it.

The Storm will more than likely want to suspend her contract for a second straight year. Since it’s before the season, they should be able to do that without issue to move her salary off the cap.

Mühl will have tough decisions to make on overseas play moving forward, especially with the new CBA agreement carrying much larger salaries for WNBA players. If she ever wants to be healthy heading into a WNBA season, sacrifices might have to be made.

Regardless, it creates a very uncertain future for Mühl and the Storm, who likely did not protect her in the upcoming expansion drafts on Friday, April 3, if they already knew about her injury. The Storm should expect to maintain her rights, but possibly never see her on the court in a Storm uniform again. That’s the big question moving forward.