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Seattle Storm
Conference	Western
Founded	2000
History	Seattle Storm; (2000-present)
Arena	KeyArena
City	Seattle, Washington
Team colors	Green, Red, White, Gold;
Owner(s)	Force 10 Hoops L.L.C.
General manager	Karen Bryant
Head Coach	Brian Agler
Championships	1 (2004)
Conference titles	1 (2004)
Mascot	Doppler [1]
Official website	stormbasketball.com

For the soccer team of the same name, see Seattle Storm (soccer).

The Seattle Storm is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently led by Australian basketball star Lauren Jackson and former University of Connecticut star Sue Bird.

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 DJ's. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler [2], 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.

The Storm was the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics until February 28, 2008, when the team was sold to an independent ownership group [3] in Seattle.

The Storm's predecessor was the Seattle Reign, a charter member of the American Basketball League (ABL), operating from 1996 through December 1998, when the league folded. Luckier than most localities that had an ABL team, Seattle was quickly awarded a WNBA franchise and began play less than two years later.

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] A Gloomy Start for the Storm (2000-2003)

The Seattle Storm would tip off their first season (the 2000 WNBA season) in typical expansion fashion. Coached by Lin Dunn and 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 Storm 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.

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.

[edit] To the WNBA Finals (2004)

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 team's win brought a championship to Seattle for the first time in 25 years. The win also made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.

[edit] A Consistent Playoff Contender (2005-present)

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.

On November 30, 2007 The Storm announced that Head coach, Anne Donovan had resigned. On January 9, 2008 Brian Agler was named head coach to replace Anne Donovan.

Although most of Seattle's major sports teams endured poor seasons during 2008, the Storm would be the only standout team in Seattle that year, posting a franchise-best 22-12 record and finishing with a 16-1 record at home, also a franchise-best. But the No.2 seeded Storm faced the No.3 seeded Los Angeles Sparks in the first round of the playoffs and the Sparks ended up winning the series 2-1, ending Seattle's season at 23-14 overall.

In 2009, the Storm would go 20-14, finishing 2nd for the 2nd straight year. In the playoffs, the Storm were facing the #3 Los Angeles Sparks, and the Seattle Storm still lost to them in 3 games, ending their season in the first round for the 5th consecutive season.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 2006 and 2008 Sales

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]. Bennett made it clear that the Sonics and Storm would move to Oklahoma City at some point after the 2007-08 NBA season, unless an arena for the Sonics was approved by Seattle leaders before October 31, 2007. During this period of uncertainty, the Storm announced that they would play their 2008 WNBA season in Seattle at KeyArena.[5]

On January 8, 2008, Bennett sold the team to a Seattle group of women called Force 10 Hoops, LLC[6]. The sale was given unanimous approval from the WNBA Board of Governors on February 28, 2008. [7] This keeps the team in Seattle and disconnected it from the Sonics, which was dissolved with the 'new' basketball franchise and assets relocated to Oklahoma City.

[edit] Season-by-season records

[edit] Players and coaches

[edit] Current roster

Seattle Storm roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	From
5.0 C	9	AUS	Batkovic-Brown, Suzy	76 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Australia
1.0 PG	10	USA	Bird, Sue	69 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Connecticut
5.0 C	33	USA	Burse, Janell	77 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	Tulane
3.0 SF	2	USA	Cash, Swin	73 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	162 lb (73 kg)	Connecticut
2.5 G/F	4	USA	Gearlds, Katie	73 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Purdue
4.5 F/C	15	AUS	Jackson, Lauren	77 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Australia
4.0 PF	20	USA	Little, Camille	74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	North Carolina
5.0 C	43	USA	Robinson, Ashley	76 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Tennessee
3.5 F	44	USA	Walker, Ashley	73 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	California
1.0 PG	30	USA	Wright, Tanisha	71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Penn State

Head coach

Brian Agler (Wittenberg)

Assistant coach(es)

Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Nancy Darsch (Springfield)

Athletic trainer(s)

Tom Spencer

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended

Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2009-06-04

[edit] Head coaches

Lin Dunn (2000-2002), now Head Coach of the Indiana Fever
Anne Donovan (2003 - 2007) (Hall of Famer) First Female Coach to win a WNBA championship.
Brian Agler (2008- present)