SEATTLE — The Storm were not expected to win their 2026 WNBA season opener to tip off their rebuild that features a lot of new faces. But their 91-80 loss to Golden State on Friday night set the tone for how they will play and the progression they hope to see.
“That’s the worst we’re going to be for, like, the rest of the season,” Storm point guard Jade Melborne said postgame. “We saw it in glimpses that our transition game can be the best in the league. So it’s the little wins. We saw glimpses of what we want to be tonight. We didn’t piece it all together, but it’s a process. I have no doubt, over the next few weeks, you’ll see more and more glimpses of us being that fast team, pace, high-tempo defense and we’ll continue to get better.”
Some more of the little wins that Melbourne alluded to were individual performances.
Dominique Malonga met the moment
As a rookie, Malonga, the 2025 No. 2 overall pick was carefully, purposefully and slowly introduced into the WNBA with minimal pressure. The Storm could do that because the then 19-year-old was playing behind Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor. Not this year.
After losing last season’s top five scorers, and with Magbegor out for at least the month due to injury, and with this year’s No. 3 pick Awa Fam still overseas, Malonga has to step up to her “future MVP” status quickly.
In the first game of her second season, her stats and postgame demeanor indicated she is ready to take on that responsibility. In her first career start, Malonga finished with 21 points, one shy of her career high, on 8-for-15 shooting, and added eight rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes.
“I think it’s it just comes naturally,” Malonga said postgame. “I think for sure this season I knew that I will have a different role. But even in that, I think it’s just whatever I always did. I’m setting screens, I’m rolling, I’m running hard the floor, I try to get my teammates open, and naturally the ball goes through me a lot. But I don’t try to think about it much [different] than what I was doing last year, basically. It’s just keep working on my strengths, play inside, play hard. And I think that’s what I’m doing.”
Head coach Sonia Raman said pregame she is not trying to put all of the scoring load on Malonga: “I think this is going to be a balanced attack. It’s not going to be a one-woman show.”
Still, her teammates recognize how important she is to their success.
“I just love to see Dom really comfortable. Like, that’s a scary sight,” Flau’jae Johnson told The IX after the loss.
Flau’jae Johnson and Grace VanSlooten debut
Two Storm players made their WNBA debuts on Friday, both 2026 draftees: Flau’jae Johnson and Grace VanSlooten. Johnson, the No. 8 overall pick acquired in a trade with the Valkyries, got the start and the first bucket of a night with a 3-pointer that got the crowd going. The former LSU Tiger finished with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 26 minutes.
She had her struggles though, starting with early foul trouble that forced her to sit, and then only hitting three of her 12 shots on the night. Johnson said she enjoyed making her debut but doesn’t like to lose, and was immediately thinking about how she could improve.
“I feel like I have to just slow down a little bit and go with my gut,” Johnson told The IX Basketball. “I feel like I was overthinking a lot, which leads to turnovers, leads to miscommunication with my teammates. …
“The reality of it is we’ve been practicing for two weeks, you know, just solidified our team yesterday, there’s gonna be some growing pains with that,” Johnson continued. “But I am a competitor and I’m about to go watch film and see what I can do better.”
Johnson knew her first regular season game would be different than the preseason. Though she approaches every game like it could be her last, at shootaround before the game she acknowledged it would be different going against All-Stars in their roles rather than players trying to make a roster. But eventually, Johnson did feel like she settled in defensively after her first quarter rookie mistakes that could be considered a ‘welcome to the W’ moment.
“Yeah, folks flopping on me, vets doing vet stuff,” Johnson said. “But you know, I got to learn the game. I got to learn the players. I feel like it’s going to be a lot more welcome to the W moments but it’s fun, seeing how everybody play and learning the tendencies and stuff. … It’s just going to be me looking at film trying to figure out how to be better against Connecticut.”
The other debutant was the third-round pick out of Michigan State, VanSlooten. The forward similarly picked up quick rookie mistake fouls but also scored her first WNBA points.
“I’ve been kind of dreaming of this moment for a while, so just really exciting,” VanSlooten told The IX after the game.
It took until her second stint in the game but then her five points came quickly, starting with two converted three throws and finishing with a 3-pointer that seemed to surprise even the shooter.
“I was a little surprised that it banked in. So I think that’s probably whatever surprise you see,” VanSlooten said. “But yeah I’m definitely working on that, didn’t take a lot in my college career, but that’s kind of the next step.”
VanSlooten might not have even been on the roster if it wasn’t for Fam’s contract being temporarily suspended while she finishes overseas. At the very least, she’d likely play less if Seattle had more of its post depth available. VanSlooten knows this, and is approaching her time accordingly.
“I’m just making the most of every minute,” VanSlooten said. “I’m just grateful that I am still here, that I made it through training camp, and it’s been a surreal experience. So just kind of taking it day by day and really soaking in every moment.”
Defense falters but best is yet to come
From the beginning, the Storm established that they want to play fast. But giving up 91 points and 15 3-pointers is not how a team wins games. The defensive struggles that allowed that scoring then affected the offense.
“If we’re giving up 91 points, you can only see glimpses of it, because you need to be getting stops on the defensive end to allow yourself to push it. And if you’re constantly taking it out of the net, you’re not going to get that fast paced game,” Melbourne explained.
“If we can play free-flowing basketball, get Dom [Malonga] easy looks on the rim, get Zia [Cooke] open layups in transition, get Lexie [Brown] wide open threes, that’s when we’re going to be playing our best basketball. There was glimpses of that tonight, but once we piece that all together and continue to focus on the defensive end and getting stops, you’re going to see a lot more of that.”
Despite the defensive struggles, the Storm players are confident in their ability to improve.
“The cool thing about this group is the character is super high, and everyone wants to learn and be a sponge,” Melbourne said. “So people will go in tonight disappointed, wanting to review, all the coaches will be under the pump to show us clips. We’ll learn individuals and personnel about the league, and we’ll continue to get better.”
And for the young players like Johnson and VanSlooten, Johnson feels like they have the ideal veterans to help them grow.
“We’re really young and we’re really focused, and then we have vets that really teach us,” Johnson said. “Like T [Hiedeman] and Ezi [Magbegor] and Lou [Samuelson] and Stef [Dolson], they’re really teaching you. They’re not, like, “don’t, no, no, no,” they’re like “this is what you should have did, this what you could have did better.” So having those type of people around you, it’s a good feeling.”
For a team that is rebuilding, need a young core that is eager to get better is necessary, as well as veterans to help them learn, and a plan for success. The Storm have all of that. It might take time to translate into wins, but the ingredients are there.
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