Seattle Storm's Young Trio Powers Back-to-Back Wins
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- Seattle Storm broke out of a franchise-record 11-game losing streak with consecutive wins over the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty — two of the league's leading title contenders.
- Dominique Malonga (the No. 2 pick in 2024), Awa Fam (No. 3 pick in 2025), and Flau'jae Johnson (acquired from the Golden State Valkyries after going No. 8 in this year's draft) form what CBS Sports calls the most promising young core in the WNBA.
- The trio combined for 63 points, 25 rebounds, and 6 assists against the Liberty and 61 points, 23 rebounds, and 8 assists against the Dream, shooting 50 of 78 (64.1%) from the field and 15 of 26 (57.7%) from three-point range across the two games.
- In the 145 minutes the three young players have shared the floor this season, the Storm have posted a plus-3.2 net rating — a stark contrast to the team's minus-6.4 overall mark, which ranks 13th in the WNBA.
- Malonga (France) and Fam (Spain) are both 20 years old and Johnson is 22; the three Storm rookies are among just eight players aged 22 or under who are scoring in double digits across the 33 who have appeared in a game this season.
- The Storm are 5-15 on the season — second-worst in the league — after pivoting to a rebuild following a two-year run built around Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins.
Why it matters: The Storm hold a league-record four WNBA titles and just spent their first explicit rebuild season collecting three of the draft's top eight picks, who already produce a plus-3.2 net rating in shared minutes despite the team's 5-15 record — a contrast that shows how quickly a championship franchise can reset through the draft. Seattle's front office now sits on a rare concentration of under-22 talent at a moment when contenders are paying top dollar for similar profiles.
