How Alaska’s Talisa Rhea climbed the ranks to become general manager of WNBA’s Seattle Storm

Talisa Rhea joined the Seattle Storm as an intern more than a decade ago, working in the WNBA team’s video department. The former Juneau-Douglas High School basketball star steadily rose through the organization’s ranks and, for the last five seasons, has worked as the team’s general manager.

The video department is where a lot of coaches, executives and administrators at the collegiate and professional levels foster a deeper love and understanding of their respective sports. It was the same for Rhea when she first joined the Storm.

“I think it’s just exposure,” Rhea said. “At the ground level of what’s going on across the team side of our organization, exposure to what the coaches are doing, the operation side of how the team works and what makes it tick, how to support the players with what they need to make sure that they’re the most prepared they can be on the court.”

The 2006-07 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year worked her way up to video coordinator in 2015 and a year later was promoted to director of basketball operations.

In 2019, she was promoted to assistant general manager. Two years later, “assistant” was dropped from her title, and she was elevated to general manager prior to the 2021 WNBA Draft.

“I was able to step into that role, and from there really just started getting more experience every year, really trying to understand the business side of what goes on and the behind-the-scenes of creating the roster and having those relationships with the players and the coaching staff and the rest of the organization,” Rhea said.

During her time working up the ranks, the Storm won two of the franchise’s four WNBA Finals championships, in 2018 and 2020.

She feels fortunate to have support from the team’s ownership group and team president Alisha Valavanis throughout her ascension within the organization to being the head of the front office.

“I was just really excited for the opportunity, felt like I was kind of going to be learning on the fly quite a bit, and was really excited for that challenge,” she said. “But I knew at the same time that I was surrounded by people that were going to help me succeed and make sure that I was taken care of in that role.”

Finding a new passion within the sport

After her stellar high school career starring for the Crimson Bears, Rhea took her talents to the NCAA Division I level, starting at Oregon State and finishing at Seattle University.

After earning her degree, she headed overseas to Europe and spent a year playing in Poland. Rhea earned her master’s degree in sports management at the University of Illinois.

There, she started laying the groundwork for what she thought was going to be a coaching career, starting at the high school level by coaching a team and substitute teaching.

To complete her master’s program, Rhea had to do an internship, which brought her back to Seattle. That’s where she first got her foot in the door with the Storm.

“That’s what led to, kind of, the full-time position,” Rhea said. “Once I had completed my master’s, I was able to move full time to Seattle.”

She had thought she’d transition into coaching as her post-playing basketball career. However, with the Storm, she was introduced to other avenues to remain close to the game.

“I was able to be exposed to the other side and the front office side, and kind of what goes on behind the scenes to make a team work,” Rhea said.

There wasn’t a specific moment or conversation that set her on the path to becoming an executive instead of a coach. It was a gradual process.

“The more I learned, the more I really became interested in the operations and logistics side of things,” Rhea said. “I love basketball, I love being around the game. I also really enjoy the business side and what comes with being a part of the front office and still being so tied to basketball, of course, but having some different responsibilities as well.”

Team-building process and fan appreciation

Every general manager has their own way of putting a team together. Rhea’s is more collaborative instead of authoritative.

“We have a lot of people that collaborate in evaluations of prospects, and I think first and foremost, we try to find good people that fit our culture and what we’re looking for in the locker room,” she said. “That’s really important to what we do.”

From there, Rhea and her team assess how a prospective player fits into the fabric of the Storm in terms of positions of need, talent level and being able to complement who’s already on the roster.

“It’s less about just maximizing talent on the roster and more about making sure that there’s fit and the players will play well with each other, gel, have good chemistry and be able to maximize each other’s talents on the court,” Rhea said.

She is grateful to be part of the league during a time of expansion and explosion in popularity during this new era of women’s basketball.

“It’s really exciting,” Rhea said. “Just the momentum that we’re seeing across the league, the product on the court is at a very high level right now. Just the support from the fans, I feel fortunate to be part of an organization that’s had long-standing support and success.”

Rhea is happy to call Seattle home and appreciates all the support the Storm gets from their fans and city as a whole.

“It’s great to show up to every game and know that you’re going to be in front of a loud, passionate fan base,” she said. “It means a lot to our players.”

Valuing her Alaska roots

Rhea takes pride in where she comes from and how it helped shape her into the person she is today.

Growing up in Alaska’s capital city, she believes the experience she gained playing sports in the 49th state underlined the value of community.

“The people just showing up for each other throughout my childhood and even now, the connections that I still have to back home, I think it’s so special and so unique to have that community tie so deeply,” she said.

While there aren’t any imminent plans for the Storm to host or sponsor events in her home state, Rhea intends for the Storm to follow the example of the Seahawks and Kraken in the coming years with the possibility of skills camps and other outreach opportunities.

“We have been talking about it for a long time, and I would love to get the Storm up to Alaska for sure,” she said.

Even though the state doesn’t have its own professional sports franchise, Rhea is an example of how Alaskans still have opportunities to thrive in that arena.

“I would just say to keep working hard and to dream big, even if there’s no professional sports and in the state of Alaska,” she said. “There’s plenty of opportunities that exist, and to keep working hard, make connections where you can and take advantage of every opportunity, and that hard work will pay off.”