WNBA All-Star Brittney Sykes Traded to Storm, Mystics Get Alysha Clark, 1st-Round Pick

The Seattle Storm are acquiring veteran guard Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics for forward Alysha Clark and their 2026 first-round pick.

Guard Zia Cooke was also included in the deal, but ESPN’s Alexa Philippou reported the Mystics are waiving her.

Sykes averaged 15.4 points, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 25 games with Washington this season. She earned her first All-Star appearance, replacing the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark.

The 31-year-old enhances what is already an area of strength for Seattle. A four-time All-Defensive honoree, she’s joining the team that ranks second in defensive rating (98.1), per WNBA.com.

Assuming the arrival of Sykes means Erica Wheeler is shifted back to the second unit, this will help what has been a lack of scoring punch from the Storm. Their reserves are combining to average 16 points per game, the second-fewest in the league.

Sykes, a 30.4 percent career three-point shooter, won’t address Seattle’s struggles from beyond the arc, though.

Still, giving up Clark and what’s projected to be the worst of the Storm’s first-round selections — they also have the Los Angeles Sparks’ and Las Vegas Aces’ 2026 picks — is a reasonable price to pay for a player of Sykes’ reputation.

On the other side of the deal, this reinforces the fact that the Mystics are rebuilding despite being just one game back of the Golden State Valkyries for the final playoff spot.

Rookie stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen would benefit from some postseason experience, but securing the eighth seed almost certainly means getting swept at the hands of the Minnesota Lynx in the first round.

The Storm’s pick will likely land in the mid-to-late stages of the first round, which isn’t where general managers expect to land bona fide stars. The 2026 draft class isn’t shaping up to be historically significant, either.

When a new collective bargaining agreement figures to bring significantly higher salaries across the board, however, rookie contracts could become an even more prized asset from a team-building perspective.