Storm Star Skylar Diggins-Smith Playing at Elite Level Entering 11th Season
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Arlington, Texas, USA. 13th Sep, 2024. Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (4) shoots a jump shot over Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) during a WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings at College Park Center. Storm win 83-81. [/caption]
Seattle Storm veteran guard Skylar Diggins-Smith still has it. Even at 34 years old, Diggins-Smith is coming off an impressive first season in Seattle and is dominating in the offseason in Unrivaled, a new three-on-three professional women’s basketball league.
Diggins-Smith posted a career-high 6.4 assists per game in the 2024 WNBA season to go along with 15.1 points per game on 42.7 percent shooting, 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. It was precisely the kind of season the Storm expected from the six-time WNBA All-Star and four-time All-WNBA First-Teamer.
The former 2013 No. 3 overall pick will be a key roster member heading into 2025. Seattle hopes to make a deeper run in the playoffs than they did last season — a first-round exit at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces, the reigning league champions at the time.
But the 25-win season, the most by the team since the 2018 title-winning campaign, was spoiled by the early playoff exit. Seattle had championship aspirations after assembling a star-studded lineup that included Diggins-Smith, six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd, nine-time All-Star and former league MVP Nneka Ogwumike, rising defensive talent Ezi Magbegor and others.
Even though the ensuing investigation into the Storm’s coaching staff discovered “no findings of policy violations,” the team was forced to reset when Loyd requested a trade. Loyd was dealt to the same team that knocked Seattle out of the postseason.
The Storm now have a rare opportunity with the No. 2 overall pick, which was acquired in the Loyd trade. Seattle is expected to take one of two superstar guards, depending on availability: Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles or UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
Diggins-Smith’s likely impact in 2025 will be continuing to lead the team’s backcourt, and mentoring whichever talent the Storm selects. If the pick is Miles, both have similar floor general skill sets, further emphasizing Diggins-Smith’s value. Diggins-Smith also played college ball at Notre Dame, providing another potential connection between the two.
The possible mentorship Diggins-Smith could provide doesn’t discount her role on the court. Through 14 games in Unrivaled, she’s averaging 17.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Unrivaled, despite being three-on-three, is no pushover league, either. It was co-founded by current WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier and brought in some of the best talent from across the league. It’s filled with the WNBA’s elite — young and old.
So Diggins-Smith’s numbers in the winter league are not a fluke. She’s still playing at an extremely high level and putting some of the best players in the world on skates. Diggins-Smith’s team, the Lunar Owls, are at the top of the league standings with a 13-1 record.
Diggins-Smith scored at least 20 points in four straight games from Feb. 21 to March 3 as the team is riding a five-game win streak into the postseason, beginning Sunday, March 16. The Lunar Owls have a positive point differential of 170. Unrivaled’s second-place team, Rose, is 8-6 with a positive point differential of just 27.
Diggins-Smith missed the 2023 WNBA season and offseason due to maternity leave. It was the second time in her career (2019) she missed time due to building a family.
“I look at this as an opportunity to get some good bump coming off of maternity leave last season, not being 100 percent happy with my season,” Diggins-Smith told ESPN after a 28-point Feb. 22 victory over the Laces. “I don't think of this as any time off or rest.”
The Unrivaled season could be the perfect lead-up to the 2025 WNBA season, which begins May 16. Diggins-Smith is making it known she still has plenty of gas left in the tank entering her age 35 season.
Diggins-Smith has dropped six game-winning shots for the Lunar Owls, the most in the league.
“I do consider myself the most competitive player here,” Diggins-Smith said. “You always have a chance to come back, to make the game competitive. ... It gives me the streetball mindset I played with as a kid.”
Diggins-Smith has nothing left to prove in the WNBA, but she’s still in search of her first championship heading into her 10th season in the league. Last season was thought to be a golden opportunity to achieve that, but the page has turned to 2025.
This could be the best version of Diggins-Smith the league has seen, even as she nears the end of her illustrious career. Maintaining that level of play and potentially being a mentor for the Storm’s incoming top pick will set the franchise on a championship trajectory.
