Storm, Dream players break silence on WNBA’s ‘historic moment’ in Canada

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The Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream were locked in for a crucial showdown as both teams aim to solidify their playoff positions. Despite having two very opposite journeys leading up to the August 15 game — the Storm had dropped six straight while the Dream were the winners of six straight — the dueling sides were in agreement about one thing: It was an honor to play in the WNBA’s first-ever regular-season game outside of the United States.

Although the Dream were officially the “home” team, completing a home-and-home series after beating the Storm in Seattle just a few days before, the Pacific Northwest city was only 140 miles from Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, where the monumental game was taking place in front of 16,000 people. Storm fans were out in full effect as a result, but stars from each squad felt the love from the Canadian women’s basketball fanbase.

“The atmosphere was great,” the Dream’s star center Brionna Jones said. “I think the fans were really into the game and enthusiastic, so it was great playing in front of this crowd and in this arena.”

The contest isn’t the first time a Canadian crowd got to witness a WNBA game up close. The Storm also made the trip north of the border to Edmonton, Alberta, last season to take on the Los Angeles Sparks in a May 2024 preseason matchup. Star veteran Nneka Ogwumike reflected on getting the chance to experience the special event for the second year in a row.

“Edmonton came with it too last year, you know,” Ogwumike said. “We’re grateful to be in this region. For us to be able to play the international games in Canada and for us to also be the first international game in regular-season play, it shows the growth of this league.”

Meanwhile, superstar guard Skylar Diggins, who put up a double-double on her own, didn’t mince words when expressing the connection she felt to the crowd, which was filled with fans in Storm merch who ended up having a notable impact on the Storm’s 80-78 win.

“It was an incredible crowd tonight,” Diggins said. “First time in Vancouver, they showed a lot of love. We just love coming out here, playing in front of this electric [crowd]. I know it was a Dream home game, but it felt like a Storm home game. We really leaned on them tonight to help us lock in that victory.”

Atlanta star guard Rhyne Howard doubled down on Diggins’ sentiments after the final buzzer.

“Felt like a home game for Seattle, honestly,” Howard echoed. “For us to play in front of that many fans, it isn’t foreign to us, but for us to do it here, in this historic moment, it felt good.”

Seattle came into this contest after plummeting from five games above .500 to sitting a game below the mark and in seventh in the WNBA playoff standings. With the Storm battling it out for the much-needed and narrow victory, head coach Noelle Quinn’s focus was understandably more on the final outcome on the court than on the historical significance off of it.

“Big blocks by Ezi [Magbegor], big defensive stops by the group and just willed ourselves to this victory,” Quinn said. “We’ve been in it like this the last couple of weeks, so it’s just kind of the same routine, persevering through each moment.”

WNBA games are set to become a normal occurrence in Canada, as the expansion Toronto Tempo are preparing to make their league debut in the 2026 WNBA season, alongside another Pacific Northwest team in the Portland Fire.

Canadians are no strangers to supporting professional basketball teams, as the logos for the Tempo and now-defunct Vancouver Grizzlies of the NBA could be spotted prominently in the arena as well. And the excitement doesn’t stop there — Tempo president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers revealed during Friday’s faceoff that the Tempo will make the cross-country trip to host two games in Vancouver during their inaugural season, giving Canadian basketball fans even more to look forward to.

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