# 2022 Seattle Storm season

The 2022 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association. This was the first season back in the newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena.
On June 16, 2022, Sue Bird announced that this season would be her final one and that she would be retiring after the season.
The Storm started the season with an opening day win, but went on to lose their next three games. They turned their fortunes around after the three game losing streak, and went on a four-game winning streak to end the month of May 5–3. June started with two straight losses, but then the team won four games straight. They won three of their last five games to finish June 7–4. They started July strong, losing one of their first six games in the month. The end of the month saw the team only get two wins out of six games, with five of those six games being on the road. They finished July 7–5 and clinched a playoff spot on July 30. The Storm went 3–2 in August, with their only two losses coming to the first place Las Vegas Aces. They finished the season 22–14, tied for fourth with Washington. They were awarded the 4th seed based on having a better regular season record vs. Washington.
In their First Round series, the Storm had home court advantage as the fourth seed, and faced off against the fifth seeded Washington Mystics. The Storm won a close game one 86–83. They took advantage of their home court and won game two by thirteen points, to sweep the series. In the Semifinals, they were up against the first seeded Aces. The Storm won another close game one, 76–73 in Las Vegas. However, they would go on to lose the next three games and lose the series three games to one. Most of the games in the series were close, with game two being decided by four points, game three going into overtime, and game four being decided by five points.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 2 | 17 | Elissa Cunane | United States | NC State |
| 2 | 18 | Lorela Cubaj | Italy | Georgia Tech |
| 2 | 21 | Evina Westbrook | United States | UConn |
| 3 | 33 | Jade Melbourne | Australia | Canberra Capitals (Australia) |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| January 4, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Stephanie Talbot, Jordin Canada, and Mercedes Russell |
| January 14, 2022 | Extended a Core Qualifying Offer to Jewell Loyd |
| January 21, 2022 | Hired Pokey Chatman and Ebony Hoffman as assistant coaches |
| February 1, 2022 | Re-Signed Jewell Loyd to a Two-Year Deal |
| February 1, 2022 | Re-Signed Mercedes Russell to a Three-Year Deal |
| February 2, 2022 | Re-Signed Breanna Stewart to a One-Year Deal |
| February 2, 2022 | Signed Briann January to a One-Year Deal |
| February 3, 2022 | Traded Katie Lou Samuelson and the 9th pick in the 2022 WNBA draft to Los Angeles in exchange for Gabby Williams. |
| February 4, 2022 | Signed Stephanie Talbot to a training-camp contract |
| February 5, 2022 | Rescinded the Qualifying Offer to Jordin Canada |
| February 18, 2022 | Signed Sue Bird to a One-Year Deal |
| February 24, 2022 | Signed Lauren Manis to a training-camp contract |
| March 21, 2022 | Signed Jantel Lavender to a training-camp contract |
| April 11, 2022 | Traded the rights to Lorela Cubaj to the New York Liberty in exchange for a 2nd Round Pick in the 2023 Draft |
| April 14, 2022 | Signed Elissa Cunane and Evina Westbrook to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 14, 2022 | Signed Paisley Harding, Jenna Giacone, and Raina Perez to training-camp contracts |
| April 26, 2022 | Waived Lauren Manis |
| April 30, 2022 | Waived Paisley Harding and Jenna Giacone |
| May 2, 2022 | Signed Reshanda Gray to a training-camp contract |
| May 2, 2022 | Waived Elissa Cunane and Raina Perez |
| May 4, 2022 | Waived Evina Westbrook, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, and Kennedy Burke |
| May 11, 2022 | Signed Raina Perez to a Hardship Contract |
| May 13, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract |
| May 16, 2022 | Released Raina Perez from her Hardship Contract |
| May 18, 2022 | Released Kaela Davis from her Hardship Contract |
| May 27, 2022 | Signed Kiana Williams to a Hardship Contract |
| May 28, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract |
| June 2, 2022 | Released Kiana Williams and Kaela Davis from their Hardship Contracts |
| June 3, 2022 | Signed Kiana Williams to a Hardship Contract |
| June 4, 2022 | Released Kiana Williams from her Hardship Contract |
| June 24, 2022 | Waived Reshanda Gray |
| June 28, 2022 | Signed Tina Charles |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Tina Charles | Ezi Magbegor Mercedes Russell |
| PF | Breanna Stewart | Jantel Lavender |
| SF | Gabby Williams | Stephanie Talbot |
| SG | Jewell Loyd | Epiphanny Prince |
| PG | Sue Bird | Briann January |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log Total: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) :
April: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 23
Los Angeles
W 81–68
Breanna Stewart (20)
Ezi Magbegor (8)
Breanna Stewart (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 5,734
1–0
2
April 28
@ Phoenix
W 82–78
Breanna Stewart (16)
Breanna Stewart (7)
Bird Stewart (4)
Footprint Center 2,759
2–0 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 22–14 (Home: 13–5; Road: 9–9) :
May: 5–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 6
Minnesota
W 97–74
Loyd Stewart (17)
Breanna Stewart (8)
Sue Bird (9)
Climate Pledge Arena 12,904
1–0
2
May 8
@ Las Vegas
L 74–85
Breanna Stewart (21)
Breanna Stewart (8)
Sue Bird (7)
Michelob Ultra Arena 6,212
1–1
3
May 11
@ Phoenix
L 77–97
Jewell Loyd (26)
Lavender Loyd Magbegor Williams (5)
Sue Bird (6)
Footprint Center 6,098
1–2
4
May 14
Phoenix
L 64–69
Jewell Loyd (26)
Stephanie Talbot (14)
Bird Loyd Talbot (3)
Climate Pledge Arena 12,453
1–3
5
May 18
Chicago
W 74–71
Ezi Magbegor (21)
Stephanie Talbot (7)
Sue Bird (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 7,450
2–3
6
May 20
Los Angeles
W 83–80
Breanna Stewart (28)
Ezi Magbegor (11)
Sue Bird (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,103
3–3
7
May 27
New York
W 79–71
Breanna Stewart (31)
Lavender Stewart Williams (9)
Prince Stewart (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,001
4–3
8
May 29
New York
W 92–61
Jewell Loyd (22)
Jantel Lavender (10)
Jewell Loyd (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,228
5–3 :
June
: 7–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 3
Dallas
L 51–68
Breanna Stewart (27)
Breanna Stewart (8)
Briann January (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,023
5–4
10
June 5
Connecticut
L 86–93
Ezi Magbegor (19)
Ezi Magbegor (7)
Jewell Loyd (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 11,330
5–5
11
June 7
Atlanta
W 72–60
Jewell Loyd (26)
Magbegor Stewart (7)
Sue Bird (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 7,262
6–5
12
June 10
@ Dallas
W 89–88
Breanna Stewart (32)
Breanna Stewart (11)
Gabby Williams (9)
College Park Center 3,292
7–5
13
June 12
@ Dallas
W 84–79
Breanna Stewart (25)
Breanna Stewart (8)
Sue Bird (7)
College Park Center 3,273
8–5
14
June 14
@ Minnesota
W 81–79
Breanna Stewart (29)
Gabby Williams (10)
Gabby Williams (8)
Target Center 6,031
9–5
15
June 17
@ Connecticut
L 71–82
Breanna Stewart (19)
Breanna Stewart (7)
Breanna Stewart (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,088
9–6
16
June 19
@ New York
W 81–72
Gabby Williams (23)
Stewart Williams (9)
Jewell Loyd (7)
Barclays Center 6,859
10–6
17
June 23
Washington
W 85–71
Jewell Loyd (22)
Breanna Stewart (9)
Sue Bird (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,884
11–6
18
June 25
Los Angeles
L 77–85
Breanna Stewart (28)
Breanna Stewart (7)
Sue Bird (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,955
11–7
19
June 29
Las Vegas
W 88–78
Jewell Loyd (24)
Ezi Magbegor (8)
Sue Bird (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,499
12–7 :
July
: 7–5 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
July 1
Indiana
W 73–57
Breanna Stewart (20)
Tina Charles (8)
Jewell Loyd (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,565
13–7
21
July 3
@ Atlanta
L 76–90
Breanna Stewart (19)
Ezi Magbegor (7)
January Prince (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
13–8
22
July 5
@ Indiana
W 95–73
Jewell Loyd (25)
Ezi Magbegor (11)
Sue Bird (5)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 2,585
14–8
23
July 7
@ Los Angeles
W 106–69
Breanna Stewart (23)
Ezi Magbegor (11)
Jewell Loyd (7)
Crypto.com Arena 6,389
15–8
24
July 12
Dallas
W 83–74
Breanna Stewart (19)
Tina Charles (9)
Sue Bird (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,486
16–8
25
July 17
Indiana
W 81–65
Breanna Stewart (25)
Stewart Williams (8)
Sue Bird (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,970
17–8
26
July 20
@ Chicago
L 74–78
Breanna Stewart (24)
Charles Williams (6)
Bird Loyd (4)
Wintrust Arena 8,893
17–9
27
July 22
@ Phoenix
L 78–94
Breanna Stewart (22)
Breanna Stewart (14)
Bird Loyd Williams (5)
Footprint Center 14,162
17–10
28
July 24
Atlanta
W 82–72
Tina Charles (27)
Tina Charles (15)
Sue Bird (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 12,654
18–10
29
July 28
@ Connecticut
L 83–88
Breanna Stewart (17)
Tina Charles (10)
Sue Bird (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,137
18–11
30
July 30
@ Washington
W 82–77
Breanna Stewart (18)
Tina Charles (9)
Sue Bird (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
19–11
31
July 31
@ Washington
L 75–78
Breanna Stewart (23)
Charles Stewart (5)
Sue Bird (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
19–12 :
August
: 3–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
August 3
Minnesota
W 89–77
Breanna Stewart (33)
Breanna Stewart (8)
Sue Bird (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 13,500
20–12
33
August 7
Las Vegas
L 81–89
Breanna Stewart (35)
Breanna Stewart (10)
Bird G. Williams (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 18,100
20–13
34
August 9
@ Chicago
W 111–100
Breanna Stewart (25)
Breanna Stewart (9)
Sue Bird (8)
Wintrust Arena 9,314
21–13
35
August 12
@ Minnesota
W 96–69
Tina Charles (23)
Breanna Stewart (10)
Gabby Williams (7)
Target Center 12,134
22–13
36
August 14
@ Las Vegas
L 100–109
Jewell Loyd (38)
Breanna Stewart (15)
Sue Bird (7)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,015
22–14 :
2022 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2022 playoff game log :
First Round vs. Washington Mystics Won Series: 2–0
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 18
Washington
W 86–83
Breanna Stewart (23)
Breanna Stewart (12)
Gabby Williams (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,917
1–0
2
August 21
Washington
W 97–84
Breanna Stewart (21)
Breanna Stewart (10)
Sue Bird (10)
Climate Pledge Arena 12,490
2–0 :
Semifinals vs. Las Vegas Aces Lost Series: 1–3
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 28
@ Las Vegas
W 76–73
Jewell Loyd (26)
Tina Charles (18)
Sue Bird (12)
Michelob Ultra Arena 9,944
1–0
2
August 31
@ Las Vegas
L 73–78
Breanna Stewart (32)
Tina Charles (9)
Sue Bird (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 9,755
1–1
3
September 4
Las Vegas
L 98–110 (OT)
Breanna Stewart (20)
Breanna Stewart (15)
Sue Bird (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 15,431
1–2
4
September 6
Las Vegas
L 92–97
Breanna Stewart (42)
Tina Charles (9)
Sue Bird (8)
Climate Pledge Arena 11,328
1–3 :
2022 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | | | | | | |
Bold Series winner

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Breanna Stewart | 34 | 34 | 30.9 | .472 | .379 | .837 | 7.6 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 21.8 |
| Jewell Loyd | 36 | 36 | 30.3 | .396 | .385 | .893 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 16.3 |
| Tina Charles$^≠$ | 18 | 10 | 25.2 | .477 | .341 | .885 | 7.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12.6 |
| Kaela Davis$^‡$ | 1 | 0 | 18.0 | .571 | .667 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 11.0 |
| Ezi Magbegor | 33 | 23 | 24.8 | .550 | .345 | .736 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 9.5 |
| Sue Bird | 31 | 31 | 26.4 | .403 | .389 | 1.000 | 1.9 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 7.8 |
| Gabby Williams | 36 | 36 | 25.6 | .444 | .257 | .778 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 7.5 |
| Stephanie Talbot | 34 | 1 | 16.1 | .464 | .397 | .583 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 5.0 |
| Epiphanny Prince | 33 | 0 | 12.3 | .355 | .356 | .840 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 3.9 |
| Jantel Lavender | 27 | 4 | 12.2 | .409 | .208 | .667 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.8 |
| Briann January | 36 | 5 | 16.9 | .377 | .311 | .826 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 3.7 |
| Reshanda Gray$^‡$ | 11 | 0 | 7.7 | .500 | .667 | .833 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| Mercedes Russell | 5 | 0 | 10.8 | .500 | .000 | .667 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Kiana Williams$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 9.0 | .250 | .250 | .000 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Raina Perez$^‡$ | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Breanna Stewart | 6 | 6 | 38.8 | .513 | .520 | .892 | 9.5 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 27.0 |
| Jewell Loyd | 6 | 6 | 37.0 | .389 | .357 | .929 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 19.2 |
| Tina Charles | 6 | 6 | 26.2 | .431 | .231 | .286 | 8.8 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 11.5 |
| Sue Bird | 6 | 6 | 35.7 | .431 | .433 | 1.000 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 10.2 |
| Gabby Williams | 4 | 4 | 25.3 | .667 | .333 | .857 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 10.0 |
| Stephanie Talbot | 6 | 2 | 21.3 | .448 | .500 | .600 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 6.2 |
| Ezi Magbegor | 6 | 0 | 15.5 | .583 | .000 | .667 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 5.0 |
| Briann January | 6 | 0 | 7.2 | .500 | .000 | .000 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Epiphanny Prince | 6 | 0 | 5.7 | .200 | .000 | .000 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Breanna Stewart | Western Conference Player of the Week | June 13 |
| Breanna Stewart | WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain | June 22 |
| Breanna Stewart | Western Conference Player of the Month - June | July 5 |
| Breanna Stewart | Peak Performer:Points | August 15 |
| Breanna Stewart | All-Defensive First Team | August 30 |
| Breanna Stewart | All-WNBA First Team | September 15 |
| Sue Bird | WNBA All-Star Starter & Co-Captain | June 22 |
| Jewell Loyd | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Gabby Williams | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 |
| Ezi Magbegor | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 |