Skylar Diggins says Storm ‘most talented roster I’ve been a part of’

SEATTLE — Despite the Seattle Storm trading All-Star Jewell Loyd to the Las Vegas Aces during the offseason, Storm guard Skylar Diggins said at Monday’s media day that this Seattle team is “definitely the most talented roster I’ve been a part of in my 13 years” in the WNBA.

That’s a high bar given Diggins, a six-time All-WNBA pick, previously was part of two superteams when she changed teams in free agency. In 2020, Diggins joined legends Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner with the Phoenix Mercury, who would make good on that potential by reaching the 2021 WNBA Finals.

Just last year, the Storm improved by 14 wins to 25-15 after adding Diggins and former MVP Nneka Ogwumike to Loyd in free agency coming off a season in the lottery. However, Seattle was swept by the defending champion Aces in the opening round of the playoffs. Loyd subsequently requested a trade after an outside investigation found no workplace policy violations by the Storm’s coaching staff. ESPN’s Alexa Philippou confirmed that the complaint alleging harassment and bullying from Seattle’s coaches was made by Loyd.

The three-team trade Seattle struck in January sending Loyd to Las Vegas netted the No. 2 pick, which the Storm used to take promising 19-year-old French center Dominique Malonga earlier this month, but they have not signed a replacement for Loyd in the backcourt. Instead, Seattle will look to fill in for Loyd’s team-high 19.7 PPG last season with superior efficiency from a variety of sources.

Editor’s Picks

1 Related

“I think that’s what’s so great about the team that we’ve built this year is that maybe anyone can go off any night,” said Gabby Williams, who re-signed with Seattle after being designated a core player. “It’s not about relying just on one or two players to score. It’s going to be about how we all play together and how we all assume our roles.”

Williams, who averaged 17.0 PPG in two playoff games as Loyd was limited coming back from a knee injury late in the regular season, is a key part of that equation. This is her first time being with the Storm for training camp since 2022. Williams re-signed with Seattle midseason each of the past two years, after recovering from a severe concussion in 2023 and winning a silver medal with France in last summer’s Olympics.

Another key player is veteran Alysha Clark, the Storm’s top addition in free agency. Clark, who won titles in both 2018 and 2020 during her first stint in Seattle, was also a part of the 2023 Aces team that won the championship. Clark, who has averaged double-figure scoring just once in her WNBA career, said that her role on offense could be bigger this time around.

“Not that I need to go out and score 20,” Clark said, “but they want me to be aggressive and look to score — be an active scorer versus a passive scorer. That’s new for me. That’s a change for me mentally that I have to do because for my entire [WNBA] career, I’ve been a passive scorer. It’s been off of what everyone else is doing.”

The Storm can also expect more production from Diggins, who saw her play improve after the Olympic break. Returning from giving birth to her second child in 2023, Diggins averaged 13.1 PPG on 39% shooting before the WNBA took a month off so players could participate in the Paris Olympics. Over the final 15 games of the regular season, Diggins — who played all 40 games — bumped her scoring to 18.5 PPG on 48% shooting.

Diggins is coming off a strong run in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league playing with Lunar Owls, who went 13-1 during the regular season. Diggins ranked in Unrivaled’s top 10 by scoring 17.9 PPG.

“I had a great time at Unrivaled,” Diggins said. “I think it really got me prepared, especially coming off last season. I can’t say it enough, coming off maternity leave and having that big of a gap between games. When I went into the season and the opportunity came about, nobody really kind of knew what it really was or what it was going to be.

“Once I saw the caliber of players that were going to be involved, I knew that was going to be some good run for me to get ready for this camp. Everything that I wanted to use it for came to fruition.”

With the arrival of the 6-foot-6 Malonga and the return of Clark, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2020, Diggins is also excited about the Storm’s defensive potential. Seattle finished fourth in defensive rating last season, just behind the two teams that met in the WNBA Finals (the Minnesota Lynx and champion New York Liberty), and Diggins wants to improve on that.

“Hopefully we’ll be top two in defense,” she said. “That’s something I look forward to.”

For her part, Storm coach Noelle Quinn decided to change her usual playbook and not set goals for the team during their preseason meeting. Instead, Quinn left that slide blank and asked the players to fill it in for her.

“I allowed them to look at each other, look at the group, spend a few days with each other on court and determine what they think they can accomplish this year,” Quinn said. “They haven’t gotten back to me. It was like an assignment. They’re really being intentional about what their expectations can be.”

Clark, who knows what winning a WNBA title requires, believes Seattle has the necessary players in place.

“I think we have enough talent on this roster to win a championship,” she said, “but there’s so many new pieces that you have to find that chemistry and jell. We’re taking it one day at a time, but that’s definitely on my radar. I want to win as much as possible.”