SEATTLE STORM

''For the soccer team of the same name, see Seattle Storm''
The 'Seattle Storm' is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Seattle, Washington. In 2004, led by Australian basketball star Lauren Jackson and University of Connecticut star Sue Bird, the team brought the city its first professional sports championship since 1979.
The team cultivates a fan-friendly, family environment at home games by having an all-kid dance squad, which leads young fans in a conga line on the court during time-outs, to the music of ''"C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)"'' by the Quad City DJs. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler [3], a maroon-furred creature with a cup anemometer on its head; the theme song for Storm home games is AC/DC's ''Thunderstruck''; and its newsletter is called ''Stormwatch''. Most KeyArena fans will not sit down until the Storm scores its first point of each half.
The Storm is the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics.
'Uniforms':

★ At home, white with dark red and green trim, gold on the shoulders with the team name logo text on the chest in green. On the road, dark green with red and gold trim. The team logo is replaced by the city name in white logo text on the road.

Contents

Franchise history

Possible Relocation

Season-by-Season Records

Players of note

Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

Not to be forgotten

Current Roster

Coaches and others

External links

Franchise history

The Seattle Storm would tip off their first season (the 200 WNBA season) in typical expansion fashion. Led by guard Edna Campbell and Czech center Kamila Vodichkova, the team finished with a 6-26 record. The low record, however, allowed the Storm to draft 19-year old Australian standout Lauren Jackson. Though Seattle did not make the playoffs in the 2001 season, Jackson's impressive rookie performance provided a solid foundation for the franchise to build on.
In the 2002 draft, the Strom drafted UConn star Sue Bird, filling the Storm's the 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.
In the 2003 campaign, 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 would rebound and take the WNBA by "storm". Posting a franchise best 20-14 record, the Storm would make 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 team's win brought a national professional sports championship to Seattle for the first time since the Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979. The win also made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.
Key players from the Storm's championship season were not on the team in 2005. Vodichkova, Tully Bevilaqua, and Sheri Sam moved on to other teams. In addition, the pre-season injury of Australian star and new acquisition Jessica Bibby hampered the team's 2005 season. While they matched their 2004 record and made the playoffs, the Storm's title defense was stopped in the first round by the Houston Comets, 2 games to 1.
In 2006, the Storm would finish 18-16, good enough to make the playoffs. The Storm put up a good fight in the first round against the Sparks, but would fall short 2-1. In 2007, the Storm would finish .500 (17-17), good enough to make the playoffs in a weak Western Conference. The Storm would be quickly swept out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Mercury. It is possible that Game 1 of that series was the last Storm game to ever be played in Seattle (see below).

Possible Relocation

Following disagreements between the Basketball Club of Seattle (the former owners of the Sonics and Storm) and the city of Seattle concerning the need to renovate the KeyArena, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Seattle Storm were sold to an Oklahoma City group led by Clay Bennett on July 18, 2006.[4]
It is anticipated that the Sonics and Storm will move to Oklahoma City at some point after the 2007/2008 NBA season, unless an arena for the Sonics is approved by Seattle leaders before October 31, 2007. Since the 2008 WNBA season will start after the next 2007/2008 NBA season, if the Sonics and Storm move, the Storm will play the 2008 WNBA season in Oklahoma City.

Season-by-Season Records

|-
|colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#003614 " | 'Seattle Storm'
|-
|2000 || 6 || 26 || .188 || ||
|-
|2001 || 10 || 22 || .313 || ||
|-
|2002 || 17 || 15 || .531 || Lost First Round || Los Angeles 2, Seattle 0
|-
|2003 || 18 || 16 || .529 || ||
|-
|2004 || 20 || 14 || .588 || Won First Round
Won Conference Finals
'Won WNBA Finals' || Seattle 2, Minnesota 0
Seattle 2, Sacramento 1
'Seattle 2, Connecticut 1'
|-
|2005 || 20 || 14 || .588 || Lost First Round || Houston 2, Seattle 1
|-
|2006 || 18 || 16 || .529 || Lost First Round || Los Angeles 2, Seattle 1
|-
|2007 || 17 || 17 || .500 || Lost First Round || Phoenix 2, Seattle 0
|-
|'Totals' || '126' || '140' || '.474' || ||
|-
|'Playoffs' || '8' || '10' || '.444' || '1 WNBA Championship' ||
Stats updated August 26, 2007

Players of note

Key Arena, home of the Storm

Hall of Famers

None.

Retired numbers

None.

Not to be forgotten

★ Quacy Barnes, now an Assistant Coach at Eastern Illinois University

★ Tully Bevilaqua, went to the Indiana Fever in 2005

★ Sandy Brondello, now an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Silver Stars

★ Edna Campbell, went to the Sacramento Monarchs in 2003

★ Simone Edwards

★ Sonja Henning

★ Michelle Marciniak, now an Assistant Coach for the University of South Carolina

★ Kate Paye, now an Assistant Coach at Stanford University

★ Semeka Randall, now an Assistant Coach at West Virginia University

★ Jamie Redd

★ Sheri Sam, went to the Charlotte Sting in 2005

★ Charmin Smith, now an Assistant Coach at U.C. Berkeley

★ Kate Starbird

★ Lindsay Taylor, played for the team for little over a month between April and May,2006 before she was released.

★ Alicia Thompson

★ Kamila Vodichkova, went to the Phoenix Mercury in 2005

Current Roster

Coaches and others

'Head Coaches':

★ Lin Dunn (2000-2002), now an Assistant Coach with the Indiana Fever

★ Anne Donovan (2003 - Present) (Hall of Famer) First Female Coach to win a WNBA championship.

External links

★ Official Storm website

★ Stormfans.org Unofficial fan website