Seattle Storm take Spanish phenom Awa Fam in WNBA draft

Published 9:14 am Tuesday, April 14, 2026

The Seattle Storm have found a direction after a frenzied few days of free agency.

The four-time WNBA champions held the No. 3 overall pick after going 23-21 last season with stars Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams leading the way. All three players departed the Emerald City in the past few days, leaving 2026 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga and recently re-signed All-Defensive center Ezi Magbegor to build around.

The Storm watched top guards like No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd and No. 2 pick Olivia Miles fly off the board before taking Spanish teen star Awa Fam, who many experts projected to go first, at No. 3. With the 14th pick, Seattle took Duke point guard Taina Mair before selecting TCU’s Marta Suárez at No. 16.

But moments later, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert shocked viewers by announcing that Seattle had traded Suárez and a 2028 second-rounder for the night’s No. 8 pick, LSU star Flau’jae Johnson.

“I feel like our team improved a lot tonight,” general manager Talisa Rhea said after the draft. “We’ve been in conversations all day and really leading up to today about the opportunity to move up and really get an impact player (in Johnson) that we felt like could come in right away and be able to impact.”

With a recent signee in point guard Natisha Hiedeman, who was a runner-up for the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award in 2025, and the return of wing Jordan Horston from injury, Seattle fortified its backcourt in this draft. Johnson averaged 14.6 points in her senior season with the Tigers and was widely regarded as one of the best shot-creators in the NCAA over her four-year career.

The Storm closed their night with Michigan State forward Grace VanSlooten at No. 39 in the 45-pick draft.

As for Fam, the pick ensures that Seattle’s lineup will be among the league’s largest in the association. Fam is 6-foot-4, as is Magbegor, while Malonga towers above most at 6-foot-6. Malonga is known for her viral in-game dunks, but has yet to pull one off in a WNBA setting so far after a strong finish to her 2025 season.

In terms of skillsets, Magbegor is a feared shot-blocker around the league while Malonga, still just 20 years old, is a versatile offensive threat who is rounding into a solid defensive piece. Fam is known for her above-average passing out of the post

“I’m really excited for it,” said first-year head coach Sonia Raman. “I’m excited for the creativity that allows us as coaches to lean into some really innovative ways that we’re going to use them on both ends.”

“Being young, they’re going to develop together, they’re going to develop that chemistry… there’s a lot of ways that we’re going to be able to move them around.”

Raman, who became the first head coach of Indian descent in WNBA history last fall, was previously an assistant with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies for five seasons before joining the New York Liberty in 2025. She replaces previous head coach Noelle Quinn, who had been a part of the Storm’s coaching staff since 2019 and won a title with the team in 2020.

A 23-21 finish last season culminated in the team deciding not to renew Quinn’s contract, with other key pieces like scoring guards Erica Wheeler and Brittney Sykes leaving in free agency along with the rest of Seattle’s All-Stars.

“We had two first-round picks coming into this draft, and so we felt like it was a great time to just reset the foundation,” Rhea said of the team’s decision to start fresh. “We want players that can play multiple positions, that are going to play fast, disrupt on the defensive end.”

The transitional period for the franchise comes at the dawn of a new era in the WNBA, with two expansion franchises in the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo joining the fray this spring. Ogwumike, the president of the players’ union, helped broker a new collective bargaining agreement in March to dramatically increase player pay.

For example, reigning MVP and Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson is set to make the maximum $1.4 million in 2026, as compared to her max $200,000 salary in 2025. As of draft day, Magbegor’s three-year, $3.75 million deal is the richest in the league’s history, while rookie wages have seen a similar jump.

As for the rest of the off-season, the Storm can still add up to four players to meet the 18-player training-camp roster limit. Rhea clarified that the team will be adding more free agents before the team starts practicing in Interbay in the coming days.

The Storm will tip off the preseason at Golden State on April 25, before hosting the Valkyries two weeks later on May 8 to open their 2026 season.