SEATTLE — Leading up to the 2026 WNBA Draft, then 19-year-old center/forward Awa Fam was one of the highest-rated prospects, potentially projected to be taken first overall. The Spain international ended up being taken No.3 overall by the Seattle Storm. After joining the team five games into the season so she could finish winning the Liga Femenina Endesa with Valencia Basket, Fam has adapted remarkably quickly to the WNBA and made a big impact for the Storm while showing just how generational she could become.
“I think when she came in, she was already ready; she was already a pro,” last year’s No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga told The IX Sports. “You can see the difference in that she’s getting more and more comfortable, of course, with the new rotation, everybody needs to find their spot. But I feel like she’s thriving. Whenever we need her, she’s stepping up and we can see glimpses of what she is able to do. I think it’s just great to see that her rookie year, I think, is going very well for her.”
For Fam, coming to the WNBA has been a dream come true. Watching the WNBA with her brothers ever since she first went to Valencia, around 12 or 13 years old, Fam said it became something she actually thought about as possible when she was 15 or 16.
“I’m just grateful to be here,” Fam told The IX Sports at practice. “I think that I’m just learning a little bit more about this league. I’m [learning my teammates] a little bit more. I’m just super comfortable with them, with my team. And I’m just happy to be here. I think that we are learning a lot. I think that we are a young team. We are just coming to practice every day knowing that this is hard but we can do it. So it’s just a really good rookie season, and I’m just learning and keep going.”
How has the dream compared to reality? Fam says she thought it was going to be more difficult. While she says it is an amazing league with amazing players, organizations and teams, she wrongly expected it to be vastly different from Spain and Europe.
“It’s the same. … It’s professional basketball players wanting to come to practice, to want to keep on improving,” Fam explained. “So I was thinking that it’s going to be more difficult for me. But I’m super comfortable here.”
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If anything at all has been difficult, Fam says it is just the frequency of games paired with the lack of practice and personal time. She said adjusting to the difference in physicality and tactical play is more weird than difficult.
Former WNBA player and Canadian international Natalie Achonwa is the Storm assistant coach assigned to work the most individually with Fam. Achonwa has helped the 20-year-old “wise in the basketball realm beyond her years” adjust to the change of pace and style of play. For the physicality in particular, Achonwa told The IX Sports about the benefit of playing against male practice players on a daily basis and throwing extra bodies at her. Sometimes, Achonwa will be in drills defending her, just fouling her on purpose so she can learn to play through the contact. As she gets used to it, Achonwa is encouraging the uniquely talented shooting big to purposefully find the contact and put defenders under the rim rather than shooting a fade-away shot to avoid it, for example. Acknowledging Fam has a fantastic shot, it is a balance to find efficiency playing under the rim and on the perimeter.
Because Fam already played several years professionally overseas, her veteran teammates think she came in unusually prepared. For one, it has helped the language barrier not be an issue. Even though she is more comfortable speaking her native Spanish, Fam said her coaches in Spain would explain everything in English for English players so she already knew all the basketball terms.
Veteran center and team captain Ezi Magbegor said she noticed Fam’s confidence right away and her adjustment has been more about her teammates learning to read her. Point guard Natisha Hiedeman told The IX Sports, “She came in and was like a sponge, willing to learn and ready to learn. So she adapted really fast.”
Jade Melbourne, a younger but still experienced point guard, thinks Fam has fit in seamlessly because she’s bought into listening to the people around her and her existing basketball IQ. Though there have been the expected mistakes in communication as they learn each other’s tendencies, Melbourne thinks it has been made easier by Fam’s own assuredness.
“When there’s someone with that knowledge of their game and they’re comfortable with that, not doing anything outside of themselves, it makes it really easy to adapt because they’re talking to you, building the chemistry,” Melbourne told The IX Sports. “Like, Awa’s caught it on the block. She told me if my player faces her, to cut so I can get two points. And those conversations have been really good. And I think it’s a credit to her for just knowing what she can do within her skill set.”
How she is impacting the Storm now
Fam has played a variety of roles for Seattle so far this season. While showing off her versatility, Fam has averaged 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks in 28 minutes per game.
It only took a few games before she was inserted into the starting lineup alongside Malonga. Depending on Malonga’s availability, as she missed games with a concussion, and who she is on the court with, Fam has played center and forward, but more forward with Malonga. With Magbegor back from injury, Fam has moved to the bench, similarly playing the two post roles. Most recently, head coach Sonia Raman has been experimenting with a lineup of all three that has pushed Fam to play the three.
One of the most unique aspects of Fam’s game is her 3-point shooting as a 6’4 big. There is something about the beauty and quickness of her shot that sparks joy.
“For other people, it’s like ‘oh that’s a bad shot.’ But the way she’s able to, like, catch it in rhythm and have it gone before she’s even caught the ball is so impressive,” Melbourne praised. “That’s such an elite skill, and in this league, to be able to do it that quickly against length, is super impressive.”
For a WNBA big who shoots with a similar form and quickness to Fam, you have to go back to when the Spaniard was still a toddler to (coincidentally) Storm legend Lauren Jackson. Her franchise popularity, talent and success rivaled only by Sue Bird, the Australian post played in Seattle from 2001 to 2012, winning two WNBA Championships (2004, 2010) and three league MVPS (2003, 2007, 2010). On the international level, Jackson helped the Opals win three Olympic silver medals (2000, 2004, 2008) and two bronze (2012, 2024), plus three third-place World Cup finishes (1998, 2002, 2022) and a World Cup title in 2006.
“It’s such a rare thing to have someone of [Fam’s] size [shoot like that], so it forces defenses a lot of problems. It’s a big weapon,” said Melbourne, who played alongside Jackson at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Like, she pops, and you’re able to get it to her, and they have to fully rotate. Two people are going to be open on the other side because most of the time, you can kind of stunt at a big, and they’re hesitant to shoot, or it’s like a load up into a shot. … If we can learn to maximize it more, I think it’s just going to be more and more dangerous for the team going forward.”
Fam could not identify specifically what influenced her shot to be like that, but said it is something she has worked very hard on. Two or three years ago in Spain, she says she was not shooting like this. The immense confidence she has now in particular was not there. She has that confidence now thanks to how much she has focused on her shot, which she did because she thought if she wanted to be a good basketball player, she didn’t want to be a typical center. Though watching no particular player influenced her form, Fam did point to Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier as emblematic of the confidence and shot she wants to have with the ball in her hands.
“I need to shoot like that. I need to dribble. I want to do a lot of things. I don’t want to do one thing, two things,” Fam said of why she worked on her shot. “How [Collier is] shooting, like I would love to play like her. I would love to have that confidence once she has the ball in her hands or in the low post, knowing that maybe she’s gonna fade away and she’s gonna shoot that shot and she’s gonna make that shot.”
Jackson’s No. 15 hangs in the rafters at Climate Pledge Arena next to Bird’s No. 10. It is not an exaggeration to say the expectations for Fam are similarly atmospheric because of her uniqueness.
“I don’t think there’s [anyone like her], and that’s exactly how I want it to be,” rookie guard Flau’jae Johnson told The IX Sports before adding jokingly, “Just gotta keep working on that shot, making sure it stays crispy, just how I showed her. And I think in like two years, three years — if I take off that year — she’s going to be the best shooter in the league.”
But Fam brings more than shooting. Fam has said since she first joined the team that she loves to pass and wants to get buckets for her teammates. But because she hasn’t had eye-popping assist numbers, it has fallen under the radar in the larger conversation about her game. Her season-high in a game is four, a mark she has hit six times in 31 games played. She is averaging just 1.9 assists per game, keeping in mind this is her first time playing with every single one of her teammates.
“I think that [passing] comes with how she sees the game, how she’s watching the defense, and she’s not waiting for her teammates to be open. She’s anticipating it, and sometimes that leads to turnovers. But that’s part of the growth in learning your teammates,” Achonwa said of why she thinks Fam’s passing is underrated.
Even if it is underrated on a larger scale, Hiedeman says it is definitely not within the team.
The point guard lauded her big’s vision but also noted how nice it is to have her spacing the floor, among other words of praise.
“She’s very poised. She has this really calming demeanor about her. But her footwork, from day one since I seen her, I was really impressed by her footwork,” Hiedeman said. “She’s just a lot of energy to have on the court, so playing with her has been a blessing. And she’s just so young, so it’s like this is just the beginning really.”
Melbourne echoed her fellow point guard’s sentiments, impressed by how someone who is only 20 years old and in her first WNBA season doesn’t get too high or low emotionally and has such a high basketball IQ. Johnson has also been impressed by her range, mentality and court vision.
“She’s just dynamic. She can see the floor. And she’s not scared to make mistakes. And I just love that because, you know, that helped me in a way with just like next-play mentality,” Johnson said.
Flau’wa connection
Fam has a particularly special connection with fellow rookie Johnson. The Storm social media account, and each player individually, have posted many videos of the duo trolling each other and laughing nonstop. It is often Johnson imitating the way Fam pronounces specific English words in her Spanish accent, like saying ‘crazy’ with more of an ‘s’ sound.
When first asked about the other, both immediately roll their eyes and say they hate them in the way only the best of friends will diss each other. At the same time, Johnson couldn’t identify why they became such fast and good friends.
“Every day she comes up to me and irritates me every single day. Like I didn’t even think it’s that possible for somebody to just get on your nerves,” Johnson joked as Fam spoke to another reporter a few feet away. “We just have like an instant connection. We just click. We just great friends. You know those people that you meet unexpectedly and y’all become very close? That’s how it is.”
Fam similarly jokingly said Johnson is bullying and annoying her all the time, talking like she is her mom. But then, getting emotional, Fam spoke of how well Johnson has treated her from the beginning, how she loves laughing with her and being with her, and crediting her partially for how well she is doing in Seattle.
“She’s always being like a mom, like telling me that I’m her rookie, but she’s a rookie too, so it’s stupid,” Fam said. “But she was always asking me how I am or if I feel good. If I don’t feel good, she always [comes] with a smile. She’s always with energy. So she’s maybe my best supporter here on the team. So I love her, but she’s like annoying me all the time.”
Johnson likes to call Fam her rookie and has taken on that guiding role – and as a result, Johnson’s contact name in Fam’s phone is Flau Mom.
“I just try to guide her as much as I can. Teach her how to shoot. Teach her how to take care of her,” Johnson says before Fam interrupts with “can you stop?” Johnson then shared how she is teaching Fam to be professional in this setting, even though Fam has more pro experience than her. She even tried to point to the age difference, confirming with Fam that she was born in 2006 before saying she’ll be 23 soon.
“They call us Flau’wa, and that’s our group name. So, you’ll see some stuff coming out soon.”
While Johnson took credit for teaching Fam how to shoot, looking over to her teammate each time for a dramatic reaction, Johnson rolled her eyes back dramatically when asked if Fam taught her anything in return. Shifting to a little more serious, Johnson credited Fam for imparting her next-play mentality.
“Her calm demeanor helps me because I’m like overly energetic and I do too much, so I think we kind of balance each other out,” Johnson said.
Personality on and off the court
On the court, Fam doesn’t show her energy and personality quite like Johnson does. Outside of the occasional yell or holding up three fingers when she makes a shot outside the arc, Fam is relatively stoic when she is playing. Melbourne describes it as chill and nonchalant, while Achonwa said it is because Fam is so hard on herself.
“I think that’s what everyone sees, that cerebral maybe looks like frustration,” Achonwa explained. “She’s very competitive and wants to win, wants to be really good at it. Sometimes she’s mad, she doesn’t make a pass or doesn’t complete something. Like, she wants to play the right way, and so that’s when you get kind of that cerebral, like ghost face.”
Though her face often looks “mad, serious,” Fam said she is not super serious and actually super chill.
“I like to be a funny person. I like to be laughing with my people. But I really like to be focused on what I need to be focused on — if I need to be focused on the game, if I need to be focused on the practice, I’m going to be focused,” Fam said.
Part of that is how she stays level-headed, never too high or too low — a trait Hiedeman appreciates in her rookie along with the goofier side that fans don’t see as much.
“Some people really waver and you can feel it, but I feel like it’s either like here or up,” Hiedeman said, indicating with her hands. “I’ve never seen her really like in a bad mood or down or anything like that. But I would just say she’s hilarious. Like once you get to know her, she’s funny. That’s my dog I ain’t gonna lie.”
Growth
While Fam’s adjustment to the WNBA has been pretty seamless, she has still grown throughout her rookie season. Raman has particularly noticed growth in Fam’s defensive communication. When she first joined the team, she was still learning the Storm coverages and terminology. So she was more on her heels, trying to remember everything and then how to communicate it.
“Now she’s at a point where she’s so much more vocal, more automatic with those, and really being able to dictate a little bit more, and like especially in pick and roll coverages,” Raman said. “So, really pleased to see that kind of growth that I’ve seen in the last several weeks from her.”
This is good news for Achonwa, who said a big focus for them right now is defensively being at the point of the screen, being engaged, being in the activity, and utilizing her versatility in switches.
Fam thinks her biggest growth area is along the same lines in understanding how they play. In Spain, Fam says, the play is more tactical, whereas the WNBA plays more possessions so they have more shots. So spacing, defense and her shot have continued to be personal areas of focus.
“I just want to keep learning about that. I want to play like a four. I want to play like a five. Whatever I need to do to help my team. Or if I need to be on the low post because I have an advantage, I want to know my best advantage for helping my team,” Fam said.
Offensively, she has just gotten increasingly comfortable with where she can find her shots, where she can play make. But Raman said the team is still working on making sure she gets touches in the right spots and targeting her.
“So it’s still a work in progress, but I think Awa individually has just made huge strides, learning the league quickly, adjusting after missing training camp, and really taking off,” Raman said.
Melbourne sees her growth more in a collection of small changes.
“She comes in here a bit earlier now. She looks after her body, takes care of things in a 44-game season, and it’s more like the little things for Awa,” Melbourne said. “I wouldn’t say there’s a major thing, but just kind of like day to day, she continues to get better, she learns, and her presence in the league gets bigger and better.”
Magbegor’s return shifting the rookie to a bench role has forced more growth from Fam. But she has also benefitted from being able to see the spacing on the court and the opposition’s defensive rotations before she comes on. That way she knows what to expect, where to be aggressive and where to look for the next pass.
“I think that [she’s] really maximizing her role coming off the bench, being a real big spark plug for us, ideally on both ends,” Raman said ahead of her best performance off the bench so far when she recorded 20 points and nine rebounds against Portland on August 14. “But I think she’s really comfortable with understanding what we need from her, and what she can bring to the team, and really pushing it in that way.”
Fam wants to help her team however she can, whether that is starting or coming in as a sub. And now that Magbegor is back, she can learn even more from the veteran center.
“We all want the same things. We all want to win. We all want to develop. We all want our players to be the best that they can, and so I know Awa’s super eager to learn from Ezi,” Achonwa said. “It’s all of them just trying to learn from each other and play off each other. Great problems to have and they just continue to grow.”
The future gets brighter
As good as Fam is now, she is expected to become a generational star à la Jackson. So far, we have only seen glimpses of her potential, but those with her every day see the traits that indicate her future greatness.
Hiedeman, who has played alongside other legendary players like Alyssa Thomas and Napheesa Collier, thinks Fam’s footwork and ability to stretch the floor with a package of moves means she has a great career ahead of her.
Being more specific about that package, Melbourne pointed to Fam’s 3-point shooting as a true superpower, combining with basketball IQ, which always seems to get players far.
“The superpower combined with just her knowledge of the game, her want to work and learn, and the fact she can look after herself and manage her body and all that at 20 years old — I really think the sky’s the limit for her,” Melbourne said. “The more she keeps getting comfortable, keeps asking questions, being around the right people, she’s gonna go from strength to strength.”
Malonga has similar expectations for her career, putting the Storm’s future forecast heavily on how the young international duo develops together.
“I think the part that I always remind Awa is like, whatever you’re doing, do it dominant,” Achonwa said. “So if you really want the post up, Dom’s going to see you if you actively are looking for it. But if we’re just cutting through, if we’re just flowing and assuming that they missed us, then we’re never going to have the opportunity to capitalize on it. So I think it’s just trying to be dominant, whatever she’s going to do, and allowing them to learn each other. We came into the season and Awa was late, and then Dom was out, and it’s just trying to get the time of them playing together. And then now with Ezi in too, how can we continue to work on it? It’s just practice. It’s just time spent.”
The glances of potential have been impressive and a light for Storm fans in a losing season, but those glimpses extending into gazes and then full games is when Fam will emerge as a true star.
“I think as we can put them all together is where we’re going to see the most complete and best Awa,” Achonwa said. “Sometimes you see her passing ability, sometimes you see her shooting ability, sometimes you see the post ability — the age and the experience of playing at this level will be how can we piece them all together game in and game out. That’s where the youth factor comes in and that’s where we’re going to continue to gain experience, continue to watch film, continue to see how we can have a complete game and not just pieces of it.”
