page_title: Seattle Storm
section_title: Sue Bird's arrival and the road to the WNBA Finals (2002–2004)
hierarchical_section_title: Seattle Storm / Franchise history / Sue Bird's arrival and the road to the WNBA Finals (2002–2004)
caption_attribution_description: English: Sunday, September 21st 2008.
context_page_description: The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerley and her husband Barry ahead of the 2000 season. The team is currently owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC, which is composed of three Seattle businesswomen: Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder.
  The Storm have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in twelve of its seventeen years in Seattle. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as former UConn stars Sue Bird, Swin Cash, and Breanna Stewart; 2004 Finals MVP Betty Lennox; and Australian power forward Lauren Jackson, a three-time league MVP. In 2004, 2010, and 2018, the Storm went to the WNBA Finals; they've won every time, beating the Sun in 2004, the Dream in 2010, and the Mystics in 2018. Of the teams that have been to the Finals, the Storm are one of two who have never lost a Finals series; the defunct Houston Comets being the other.
context_section_description: In the 2002 draft, the Storm drafted UConn star Sue Bird, filling the Storm's gap at the point guard position. With Bird's playmaking ability and Jackson's scoring and rebounding, the team made the playoffs for the first time in 2002 but were swept by the Los Angeles Sparks.
  Coach Anne Donovan was hired for the 2003 campaign. In Donovan's first year, Jackson would win the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award, but the team had a disappointing season (with Bird injured for much of the year), and the Storm missed the playoffs.
  The 2004 Storm posted a then franchise-best 20–14 record. In the playoffs, the Storm made quick work of the Minnesota Lynx, sweeping them in the first round. The Storm then squared off against an up-and-coming Sacramento Monarchs team in the West Finals. The Storm would emerge victorious, winning the series 2–1. In the WNBA Finals, the Storm would finish off the season as champions, defeating the Connecticut Sun 2 games to 1. Betty Lennox was named MVP of the Finals. The win made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.
caption: Sue Bird, on offense
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