Seattle Storm
Encyclopedia : S : SE : SEA : Seattle Storm
| Seattle Storm | |
 | |
| Conference | Western Conference |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Home court | KeyArena |
| Colors | Dark green, red, yellow |
| WNBA Championships | 1 (2004) |
| Conference Championships | 1 (2004) |
| Playoff Appearances | 3 (2002, 2004, 2005) |
| Head coach | Anne Donovan |
| General manager | Karen Bryant |
| Owner | The Basketball Club of Seattle [link] |
| Mascot | Doppler |
The Seattle Storm is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Seattle, Washington. In 2004, led by Australian basketball star Lauren Jackson and University of Connecticut star Sue Bird, the team brought the city its first professional sports championship since 1979.
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 DJs. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler [link], 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. Most KeyArena fans will not sit down until the Storm scores its first point of each half.
The Storm is the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Uniforms:
- At home, white with dark red and green trim, yellow on the shoulders with the team name logo text on the chest in green. On the road, dark green with red and yellow trim. The team logo is replaced by the city name in white logo text on the road.
Franchise history
The Storm began their franchise history with a less than promising start in the 2000 season. Led by guard Edna Campbell and Czech center Kamila Vodichkova, the team finished with a 6-26 record. One season later, the Storm's outlook was far more hopeful as they drafted 19-year old Australian standout Lauren Jackson. Though Seattle did not make the playoffs that year, Jackson's impressive rookie performance provided a solid foundation for the franchise to build on.With the drafting of University of Connecticut star Sue Bird, the Storm filled 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. Though Jackson won the WNBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2003, the team had a disappointing season with Bird injured for much of the year. The team rebounded the following year, winning the 2004 WNBA Finals two games to one over the Connecticut Sun. Betty Lennox was named MVP of the Finals. The team's win brought a national professional sports championship to Seattle for the first time since the Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979. The win also made Anne Donovan the first female head coach in WNBA history to win the WNBA Championship.
Key players from the Storm's championship season were not on the team in 2005. Vodichkova, Tully Bevilaqua, and Sheri Sam moved 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 made the playoffs, their title defense in 2005 was stopped in the Western Conference Semifinals by the Houston Comets, 2 games to 1.
Season-by-Season Records
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss % {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |- bgcolor="#efefef" ! Season !! W !! L !! % !! Playoffs !! Results |- |Seattle Storm |- |2000 || 6 || 26 || .188 |- |2001 || 10 || 22 || .313 |- |2002 || 17 || 15 || .531 || Lost First Round || Los Angeles 2, Seattle 0 |- |2003 || 18 || 16 || .529 |- |2004 || 20 || 14 || .588 || Won First RoundWon Conference Finals
Won WNBA Finals || Seattle 2, Minnesota 0
Seattle 2, Sacramento 1
Seattle 2, Connecticut 1 |- |2005 || 20 || 14 || .588 || Lost First Round || Houston 2, Seattle 1 |- |2006 || 11 || 10 || .524 |- |Totals || 102 || 117 || .466 |- |Playoffs || 7 || 6 || .538 || 1 WNBA Championship
Stats updated July 17, 2006
Players of note
Hall of Famers
noneRetired numbers
noneNot to be forgotten
- Quacy Barnes, now an Assistant Coach at Austin Peay State University
- Tully Bevilaqua, went to the Indiana Fever in 2005
- Sandy Brondello, now an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Silver Stars
- Edna Campbell, went to the Sacramento Monarchs in 2003
- Simone Edwards, retired
- Sonja Henning
- Michelle Marciniak, now an Assistant Coach for the University of South Carolina
- Kate Paye, now an Assistant Coach at San Diego State University
- Semeka Randall, now an Assistant Coach at Michigan State University
- Jamie Redd
- Sheri Sam, went to the Charlotte Sting in 2005
- Charmin Smith, now an Assistant Coach at her alma mater, Stanford University
- Kate Starbird
- Alicia Thompson
- Kamila Vodichkova, went to the Phoenix Mercury in 2005
Current Roster
| Seattle Storm Current Roster
| ||||
| Head Coach: Anne Donovan | [Edit]
| |||
| Pos. | No. | Name | College
| |
| G | 10 | Sue Bird | Connecticut
| |
| C | 33 | Janell Burse | Tulane
| |
| G | 8 | Iziane Castro Marques | Brazil
| |
| G | 32 | Shaunzinski Gortman | South Carolina
| |
| F-C | 15 | Lauren Jackson | Australia
| |
| C | 5 | Tiffani Johnson | Tennessee
| |
| G | 7 | Edwige Lawson-Wade | France
| |
| G | 22 | Betty Lennox | Louisiana Tech
| |
| F | 3 | Wendy Palmer (IL) | Virginia
| |
| C | 43 | Ashley Robinson | Tennessee
| |
| G-F | 11 | Barbara Turner | Connecticut
| |
| G | 30 | Tanisha Wright | Penn State
| |
| (IL) - Inactive List
| ||||
Coaches and others
Head Coaches:- Lin Dunn (2000-2002), now an Assistant Coach with the Indiana Fever
- Anne Donovan (2003 - Present) (Hall of Famer) First Female Coach to win a WNBA championship.
External links
| Women's National Basketball Association | |
| Eastern Conference | |
|---|---|
| Charlotte Sting | Chicago Sky | Connecticut Sun | Detroit Shock | |
| Indiana Fever | New York Liberty | Washington Mystics | |
| Western Conference | |
| Houston Comets | Los Angeles Sparks | Minnesota Lynx | Phoenix Mercury | |
| Sacramento Monarchs | San Antonio Silver Stars | Seattle Storm |
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