Storm History
STORM HISTORY AT A GLANCE | |
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On June 7, 1999, the WNBA announced Seattle as one of four expansion teams to begin play in the 2000 season. Within the next two months, former Seattle Reign (ABL) GM Karen Bryant was tabbed to run the Storm's business operations, while another ABL vet, former Portland Power and Purdue Head Coach Lin Dunn, was named the team's first coach.
On Sep. 30, 1999, Bryant and Dunn dribbled a WNBA basketball 5.5 miles through downtown Seattle to increase awareness of the Storm's drive to the required 5,500 season ticket deposits. By the Oct. 15 deadline, the team secured 7,200 deposits, easily surpassing the requirement.
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The franchise got its name on Jan. 6, 2000, when it announced it would be called the Storm, unveiling a logo less than two weeks later. After making Czech center Kamila Vodichkova the first amateur draft selection in franchise history, the Storm was ready to begin play.
The first game in Storm history was played May 30 at Sacramento's ARCO Arena. Katrina Hibbert scored the franchise�s first-ever field goal, but the Storm fell, 76-60. A night later, the Storm christened KeyArena by hosting the three-time defending champion Houston Comets. In front of 10,840 fans, Houston soundly defeated the Storm, 77-47.
In the franchise's fifth game, the Storm earned its first win, defeating the Charlotte Sting 67-62 at the Charlotte Coliseum. Four nights later, the Storm won for the first time at KeyArena, taking down the Los Angeles Sparks 69-59 in overtime - one of just four regular-season losses for the Sparks that season.
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While young and homesick, Jackson quickly emerged as the Storm's star, leading the team with 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She was selected as the first All-Star in Storm history, scoring 11 points in the West's win at TD Waterhouse Center in Orlando. Fellow rookie Semeka Randall was also impressive, scoring a franchise-record 28 points in the Storm's June 12 win over the Orlando Miracle.
At 10-22, the Storm finished 2001 tied with three other teams for the WNBA's worst record. Again, it would pay off in the end. The first WNBA Draft Lottery favored the Storm, who won the top overall pick and selected UConn point guard Sue Bird, putting together a pairing that would carry the Storm to great heights.
Bird wasted little time in making her presence felt. In her third game, the Storm hosted Minnesota. Trailing by 11 midway through the second half, the Storm rallied behind Bird to force overtime, where the rookie scored eight of her game-high 27 points in the Storm's 78-68 win.
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In the postseason, the Storm matched up with Los Angeles after defeating the Sparks 2-1 in the season series. The veteran Sparks gave no opening to the Storm in the playoff series, however, sweeping the Storm in two games.
After the 2002 season, the Storm hired Anne Donovan away from the Charlotte Sting to replace Dunn, who resigned after three seasons in Seattle. In her first season coaching the Storm, Donovan led the team to a franchise-record 18 wins, but the Storm lost five straight games after Vodichkova joined fellow starter Adia Barnes on the injured list and missed out on the postseason on a tie-breaker.
The highlight of 2003 was the development of Jackson, who grew into the dominant superstar she was projected to become after starring at the age of 19 in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Jackson won MVP honors, leading the league in scoring and ranking in the top five in rebounds and blocks. Jackson set a franchise record with 34 points, recorded the first 20-20 game in Storm history and scored double-figures in every game of the season.
For 2004, the Storm came back with a new cast of veterans alongside Bird, Jackson and Vodichkova. Betty Lennox came from Cleveland in the WNBA Dispersal Draft, joining her fourth team in three years. The Storm acquired Sheri Sam from Miami, giving up the sixth pick in the amateur draft. Lennox and Sam gave the Storm a new swagger that was evident when Lennox's game-winner gave the Storm its first win ever in Sacramento's ARCO Arena early in the season. That win was part of a franchise-long six-game winning streak.
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The Storm faced Minnesota in the Western Conference Semifinals, defeating the Lynx 70-58 in Minnesota for the first playoff win in franchise history and returning home to sweep the series with a 64-54 win at KeyArena. The Storm played most of Game 2 without Sue Bird, who broke her nose in a collision early in the game.
Bird returned as the Storm faced the Sacramento Monarchs in the Western Conference Finals. After losing at the buzzer in overtime at ARCO, the Storm won Game 2 to set up a deciding Game 3. There, the Storm went on a 20-0 run in the second half to send Sacramento home. Bird, playing a day after surgery on her nose, handed out a Playoffs-record 14 assists.
Playing in the WNBA Finals for the first time, the Storm faced the Connecticut Sun. The trip East came up empty, as Connecticut won 68-64 before the series shifted to KeyArena. Game 2 was a duel between Lennox and the Sun's Nykesha Sales. Sales scored a Finals-record 32 points while Lennox had 27, but Sales came up empty on the big shot - missing a three attempt at the buzzer that could have given Connecticut the win.
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The Storm attempted to defend its title without Sam, Vodichkova and veteran backup Tully Bevilaqua, who all departed as free agents after the season. A new Storm quartet of Bird, Lennox, Jackson and center Janell Burse took center stage. The All-Star Game was a 2005 highlight, as Donovan coached the West team with Bird and Jackson both as starters. The West scored a record 122 points and blew out the East 122-99. The Storm finished with 20 wins, matching 2004's total, and the second seed in the Western Conference.
The Storm matched up with the veteran Houston Comets and MVP Sheryl Swoopes. The Storm went to Houston and stole Game 1 by a 75-67 final. Back at KeyArena, the Storm was closing in on a sweep, leading 62-59 with 2:48 to play, before Houston finished the game on an 8-2 run to tie the series. Game 3 was, stunningly, all Houston. The Comets led by 17 at the half and won by the same margin as Swoopes recorded the WNBA's first Playoff triple-double (14 points, 10 boards and 10 assists). The Storm became just the second team in league history to lose Games 2 and 3 on its homecourt.
2006 saw the Storm fight injuries all season long, starting with Jackson. Recurring shin splints limited Jackson to 30 minutes a game and kept her from practicing regularly. Burse came back from the off-season with a shoulder injury that cost her seven games. Veteran reserves Wendy Palmer, the Storm's big off-season addition, and Shaunzinski Gortman both suffered season-ending injuries. Still, the Storm secured a playoff berth for the third straight season at 18-16. Facing the Sparks for the first time in 2002, the Storm won Game 1 at KeyArena but saw its offense go cold in two losses at the Staples Center that ended the season.
In 2007, the Storm made its fourth consecutive postseason appearance. An up-and-down regular season saw the team peak at 11-8 just before the All-Star break. The Storm then dropped nine of the next 12 games to dip three below .500, but finished the year with three straight wins to even the record at 17-17. The one constant was Jackson, who earned her second MVP award in record-breaking fashion. Jackson tied the WNBA's single-game record by scoring 47 points in an overtime loss at Washington. She led the league in scoring and rebounding and also finished second in blocked shots, winning Defensive Player of the Year honors to go with her MVP trophy.
The Storm felt good entering a first-round matchup with the top-seeded Phoenix Mercury, having beaten the Mercury twice at KeyArena during the regular season, setting franchise scoring records both times. However, the Mercury used an inspired first-half performance to steal Game 1 at the Key. The Storm rallied to take the lead late in Game 2 at Phoenix, but fell in a two-game sweep. Phoenix would go on to win the WNBA championship.
On Nov. 30, Donovan announced her surprising resignation from the Storm after five seasons in Seattle during which she became the winningest coach in franchise history.