Will Ezi Magbegor Be More of a Factor For Storm to Conclude Season?

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Seattle Storm center Ezi Magbegor goes up over Portland Fire defenders on Saturday, July 4, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]

Ezi Magbegor is the Seattle Storm’s longest-tenured player and the fifth-highest-paid player in the WNBA by average annual value ($1.25 million). She’s the last remaining player on the roster from the 2020 championship-winning team and has been one of the league's best defensive anchors since 2022.

Magbegor is now in her seventh season, and it’s been the roughest of her career. She entered the 2026 season with a foot injury that held her out half the season. A facial fracture in her fourth game back knocked her out for another stretch.

The veteran made her return in the Storm’s 98-89 loss to the Atlanta Dream on July 31. Magbegor logged 12 points, one rebound, one assist and two steals — the most she’s scored in a WNBA game in nearly a year.

“Ezi was great; really nice to see her out there,” Storm head coach Sonia Raman said after the game. “I love how aggressive she was on the offensive end, just finding her spots, talking on defense, communicating with her teammates — being aggressive on that end of the floor as well … really, really good stuff having her back, and that's going to be huge for us going forward.”

Still, Magbegor played just 14 minutes. The most she’s played this season in one game is 17 minutes. Her contributions have been far from what you’d expect from a player with a top-tier contract, especially since she’s not being inserted back into the starting lineup by default.

What is Magbegor’s future with the Storm, both this season and beyond? Will she begin to see more minutes at the end of the season?

Magbegor can still be a major factor

Raman has to try and maximize Magbegor’s skill set while she’s healthy. If she’s being paid an elite-level contract, she should at least be seeing 20 minutes per game, even if it’s not immediately advantageous for the team.

Against the Dream, Magbegor showed how efficient she can be offensively when on a roll. She just has lacked aggressiveness the last two seasons and isn’t consistently a factor there. 

“I mean, that's Ezi. We know what she’s capable of,” Storm star Dominique Malonga said after the loss to the Dream. “And so, super happy she’s back with us, and she will get back in her rhythm day by day … She’s our defensive anchor, and so just having her on the court, we can see how it changes our offense and defense.”

Magbegor is an elite interior defender, and that’s her main utility. Malonga has helped the Storm allow the sixth-fewest points in the paint per game this season (38.1), and that number could be even lower with Magbegor on the court consistently.

Raman needs to find a way to get her in the rotation more consistently if she isn’t going to start. Or, if they are committed to keeping her as an integral part of the roster, put her back in the starting lineup.

Why it could be the beginning of the end

The Storm have had to face some harsh truths this season about players who previously had higher expectations with the team. Jordan Horston and Magbegor are the primary suspects.

Both were heading into 2026 with hopes of being major contributors as starters. Horston was a starter to begin the season but has since been replaced by Jade Melbourne, and Magbegor hasn’t started any games with the emergence of Awa Fam.

A big change could be coming again this offseason. Horston, previously playing for a big new contract, will be a restricted free agent and may just be allowed to walk. And it may be smart to axe Magbegor’s big contract before the 2027 campaign if there are no plans to have her in a starting role.

She could easily start on another team with less young frontcourt depth for a much smaller salary. But her current contract is far from tradeable. In a weird offseason where salaries skyrocketed, the Storm gave Magbegor far more than she was worth, and they’re going to have to deal with that fallout.

It’s really a matter of the right player, wrong contract — Magbegor is a great weapon, but is currently overpaid based on where she stands on the roster. Raman and the front office have more tough decisions to make.