The 2016 WNBA season was the 17th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on May 15 on the road against Los Angeles. The Storm would lose that game 66–96, but would rebound in the very next game to defeat Phoenix 81–80. The team would then lose two of its next three, including an overtime loss to Washington to finish May 2–3. They began June with a stretch of games where they went 1–3, only defeating Phoenix over that stretch. In their next four games, they went 1–3 again, defeating only Indiana. They finished the month 2–1, defeating Connecticut and Atlanta before losing to Dallas. The Storm finished June 4–7. They lost their first two games in July before defeating San Antonio. They would finish the month 2–3, defeating Washington and San Antonio again. They went into the Olympic break 9–15 and out of the playoff picture. However, upon the return from the break, they went 2–1 in August, defeating Los Angeles and Dallas while losing to Minnesota. They began September with a road loss against Chicago before winning four straight games. This run included three road victories and a home victory over Los Angeles. A defeat against Phoenix in the penultimate game left their playoff status in the air. The Storm defeated Chicago 88–75 in the final game of the season to secure a playoff berth. They finished the regular season 16–18 and tied for third place in the Western Conference.
The Storm earned the seventh seed in the 2016 WNBA playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker over the Phoenix Mercury, having won the season series 2–1. As the seventh seed, they traveled to sixth-seed Atlanta for the first round. The Storm won the regular season series between the teams 2–1, but this record did not carry over into the Playoffs. The Storm led 45–37 at halftime, but the Dream won the game 94–85 to end Seattle's season. First overall pick Breanna Stewart was a highlight of the season as she led the team in points and rebounds, won Rookie of the Year, and was selected to the All-WNBA Second Team. The Storm had two other players make all-WNBA teams, with Sue Bird being selected to the First Team, and Jewell Loyd also being selected to the Second Team.
Transactions
WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 1 Breanna Stewart Connecticut 3 26 Lexi Eaton Rydalch BYU
Trades/Roster Changes Date Details Ref February 2, 2016 Re-signed Alysha Clark Re-signed Jenna O'Hea February 9, 2016 Re-signed Crystal Langhorne February 12, 2016 Re-signed Ramu Tokashiki February 16, 2016 Re-signed Sue Bird June 25, 2016 The Storm acquired Noelle Quinn from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the rights to Angelica Robinson.
Roster
Source:
Game log
Preseason
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | May 4 | Phoenix | L 73–81 | Jewell Loyd (16) | Breanna Stewart (8) | Sue Bird (3) | KeyArena3,721 | 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | May 8 | @ Phoenix | W 76–70 | Alysha Clark (20) | Jewell Loyd (6) | Jewell Loyd (8) | Talking Stick Resort Arena4,074 | 1–1
Regular season
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | May 15 | @ Los Angeles | L 66–96 | Breanna Stewart (23) | Breanna Stewart (6) | Jewell Loyd (5) | Staples Center10,591 | 0–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | May 20 | @ Phoenix | W 81–80 | Jewell Loyd (30) | Breanna Stewart (13) | Sue Bird (4) | Talking Stick Resort Arena13,048 | 1–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | May 22 | Minnesota | L 71–78 | Alysha Clark (20) | Breanna Stewart (13) | Sue Bird (9) | KeyArena9,686 | 1–2 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 4 | May 26 | Washington | L 82–84 (OT) | Breanna Stewart (25) | Breanna Stewart (7) | Sue Bird (5) | KeyArena5,239 | 1–3 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 5 | May 28 | Connecticut | W 93–81 | Jewell Loyd (26) | Crystal Langhorne (8) | Bird, Loyd (5) | KeyArena4,456 | 2–3
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 6 | June 1 | @ Indiana | L 75–85 | Breanna Stewart (22) | Breanna Stewart (8) | Sue Bird (6) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,721 | 2–4 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 7 | June 3 | Phoenix | W 95–81 | Jewell Loyd (32) | Breanna Stewart (10) | Breanna Stewart (9) | KeyArena6,510 | 3–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 8 | June 5 | New York | L 78–86 | Alysha Clark (23) | Breanna Stewart (17) | Sue Bird (10) | KeyArena6,240 | 3–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | June 10 | @ Connecticut | L 76–77 | Sue Bird (24) | Breanna Stewart (12) | Sue Bird (8) | Mohegan Sun Arena8,075 | 3–6 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 10 | June 12 | @ Indiana | W 90–88 | Jewell Loyd (20) | Sue Bird (6) | Breanna Stewart (6) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,724 | 4–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | June 14 | @ San Antonio | L 70–77 | Breanna Stewart (19) | Breanna Stewart (15) | Sue Bird (4) | AT&T Center3,319 | 4–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | June 16 | @ Dallas | L 79–88 | Breanna Stewart (29) | Crystal Langhorne (7) | Sue Bird (6) | College Park Center4,622 | 4–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 13 | June 19 | Minnesota | L 84–96 | Breanna Stewart (21) | Breanna Stewart (9) | Jewell Loyd (7) | KeyArena5,749 | 4–9 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 14 | June 24 | Connecticut | W 98–81 | Breanna Stewart (29) | Breanna Stewart (9) | Sue Bird (7) | KeyArena6,568 | 5–9 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 15 | June 28 | Atlanta | W 84–81 | Breanna Stewart (38) | Breanna Stewart (6) | Bird, Loyd (5) | KeyArena4,648 | 6–9 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | June 30 | Dallas | L 78–83 | Jewell Loyd (24) | Crystal Langhorne (9) | Breanna Stewart (6) | KeyArena5,365 | 6–10
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | July 5 | @ Atlanta | L 64–77 | Jewell Loyd (13) | Breanna Stewart (11) | Sue Bird (6) | Philips Arena3,983 | 6–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | July 6 | @ New York | L 74–78 | Breanna Stewart (24) | Breanna Stewart (16) | Sue Bird (10) | Madison Square Garden9,852 | 6–12 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 19 | July 8 | @ San Antonio | W 78–68 | Breanna Stewart (21) | Crystal Langhorne (8) | Bird, Clark, Langhorne (5) | AT&T Center8,955 | 7–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | July 10 | Indiana | L 82–93 | Breanna Stewart (32) | Breanna Stewart (11) | Sue Bird (7) | KeyArena5,975 | 7–13 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 21 | July 15 | Washington | W 80–51 | Jewell Loyd (26) | Breanna Stewart (7) | Breanna Stewart (8) | KeyArena9,686 | 8–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 | July 17 | Chicago | L 88–91 | Sue Bird (24) | Breanna Stewart (8) | Jewell Loyd (10) | KeyArena5,318 | 8–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 23 | July 20 | San Antonio | W 83–69 | Jewell Loyd (25) | Crystal Langhorne (10) | Sue Bird (8) | KeyArena9,686 | 9–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | July 22 | @ Minnesota | L 72–79 | Breanna Stewart (18) | Langhorne, Stewart (8) | Sue Bird (8) | Target Center12,124 | 9–15
|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 25 | August 26 | Los Angeles | W 79–72 | Crystal Langhorne (16) | Breanna Stewart (11) | Jewell Loyd (7) | KeyArena9,481 | 10–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 26 | August 28 | @ Minnesota | L 80–92 | Jewell Loyd (20) | Langhorne, Stewart (6) | Bird, Loyd, Stewart (4) | Target Center11,834 | 10–16 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 | August 31 | Dallas | W 78–66 | Jewell Loyd (23) | Breanna Stewart (12) | Bird, Langhorne, Loyd (4) | KeyArena6,771 | 11–16
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 28 | September 2 | @ Chicago | L 88–92 | Jewell Loyd (23) | Loyd, Stewart (10) | Jewell Loyd (8) | Allstate Arena5,997 | 11–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 29 | September 4 | @ Atlanta | W 91–82 | Bird, Stewart (23) | Breanna Stewart (8) | Alysha Clark (7) | Philips Arena5,695 | 12–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 30 | September 7 | @ New York | W 102–78 | Jewell Loyd (25) | Langhorne, Stewart (9) | Sue Bird (8) | Madison Square Garden8,159 | 13–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 31 | September 9 | @ Washington | W 81–76 | Bird, Stewart (17) | Breanna Stewart (10) | Sue Bird (9) | Capital One Arena5,564 | 14–17 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 32 | September 11 | Los Angeles | W 78–60 | Breanna Stewart (20) | Crystal Langhorne (10) | Sue Bird (7) | KeyArena9,348 | 15–17 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | September 15 | @ Phoenix | L 62–86 | Breanna Stewart (14) | Breanna Stewart (9) | Clark, Loyd, Quinn (2) | Talking Stick Resort Arena10,380 | 15–18 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 34 | September 18 | Chicago | W 88–75 | Breanna Stewart (18) | Breanna Stewart (11) | Jewell Loyd (6) | KeyArena12,186 | 16–18
Playoffs
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | September 21 | @ Atlanta | L 85–94 | Jewell Loyd (24) | Langhorne, Stewart (7) | Sue Bird (7) | McCamish Pavilion2,553 | 0–1
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
Regular season
Source:
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Breanna Stewart 34 34 34.7 45.7% 33.8% 83.3% 9.3 3.4 1.2 1.9 18.3 Sue Bird 34 34 31.6 44.9% 44.4% 78.6% 2.9 5.8 1.0 0.2 12.8 Jewell Loyd 34 34 31.6 43.1% 30.3% 89.1% 3.4 3.4 1.2 0.3 16.5 Alysha Clark 33 32 27.6 48.4% 38.7% 84.7% 3.7 1.9 0.7 0.1 9.0 Crystal Langhorne 33 33 25.5 63.0% 100.0% 75.9% 5.5 1.4 0.7 0.3 9.5 Noelle Quinn 20 0 13.9 28.8% 8.3% 100.0% 1.8 1.6 0.5 0.1 1.8 Ramu Tokashiki 31 1 13.0 47.2% 0.0% 81.8% 2.5 0.3 0.5 0.1 5.3 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 32 0 12.3 39.1% 35.4% 77.8% 0.8 0.8 0.2 0.1 5.2 Jenna O'Hea 22 2 11.5 34.8% 31.6% 90.0% 1.3 0.9 0.4 0.1 3.0 Krystal Thomas 19 0 9.3 57.9% — 71.4% 2.3 0.1 0.2 0.7 1.4 Monica Wright 16 0 6.1 30.8% 10.0% 60.0% 0.5 0.7 0.4 0.1 1.3 Markeisha Gatling 11 0 5.8 52.9% — 100.0% 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.3 2.3 Abby Bishop 13 0 5.2 36.4% 16.7% 75.0% 0.5 0.6 0.1 0.1 0.9 Blake Dietrick 2 0 3.0 — — 100.0% — — — — 1.0
Awards and honors
Recipient Award Date Awarded Ref. Breanna Stewart Rookie of the Year September 29, 2016 All-WNBA Second Team October 14, 2016 All-Rookie Team September 29, 2016 Rookie of the Month June 2, 2016 July 7, 2016 July 26, 2016 September 20, 2016 Western Conference Player of the Week September 12, 2016 Sue Bird Peak Performer: Assists September 20, 2016 All-WNBA First Team October 14, 2016 Jewell Loyd All-WNBA Second Team
References
External links THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE SEATTLE STORM