The Seattle Storm have punched their ticket to the 2025 WNBA playoffs.
The Storm clinched the eighth and final postseason berth on Tuesday after defeating the Golden State Valkyries, 74-73, in the team’s regular-season finale at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, securing the team’s third playoff appearance under fourth-year head coach Noelle Quinn. Erica Wheeler knocked down a go-ahead jumper with 19.2 seconds remaining in the contest to win the game.
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The eighth-place Storm and ninth-place Los Angeles Sparks were vying for the final playoff spot entering Tuesday, Sept. 9, but the Storm only needed a win to claim the final playoff spot. The Sparks needed a win over the Phoenix Mercury — which the team notched on Tuesday — in addition to a Storm loss. But the Storm reigned victorious over the Valkyries to officially eliminate the Sparks from playoff contention, marking the fifth consecutive year the Sparks missed the postseason.
Seattle is returning to the playoffs for the second consecutive year, but the Storm didn’t make it easy for themselves. The Storm emerged as one of the top teams in the league during the first half of the season and were in fourth place in the standings entering the 2025 WNBA All-Star break, where the Storm had three All-Star selections, tied with the Indiana Fever for the most in the league. But the Storm faltered in the second half of the season and slid down the standings after losing nine out of 12 games, including a six-game losing streak that threatened their playoff hopes.
The Storm were able to rebound in the final stretch of the regular season and won six of their next nine games to make the playoffs, including Tuesday’s victory over the Valkyries, in which Wheeler had a team-high 17 points off the bench. Nneka Ogwumike added 16 points and eight rebounds.
Although the field of eight participants has been set for the WNBA postseason, playoff seeding is coming down to the final games of the regular season. The Storm might be done for the season, but the sixth-place Valkyries have one game remaining against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Thursday.
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The Storm will be seeking to win their fifth WNBA championship and first since 2020.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA playoffs: Seattle Storm clinches last spot
