The post Storm’s path to clinching spot 2025 WNBA Playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Seattle Storm came to the 2024-25 WNBA season with plenty to prove. The team last won a playoff series back in 2022 despite having an abundance of talent in their ranks consistently. As expected, Nneka Ogwumike(18.2 points, seven rebounds) and Skylar Diggins(15.6 points, six assists), who have 17 All-Star appearances between them, have led the way. However, with a support cast led by 2025 All-Star Brittney Sykes and Gabby Williams, the Storm know that they have the tools to defeat any team.
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And yet, Seattle have left it late to officially qualify for the postseason, currently placed eighth with a 22-20 record and the Los Angeles Sparks (19-20) hot on their heels. The Storm were almost guaranteed a playoff spot before their final run of regular-season fixtures. However, the recent 91-85 loss against LA, which came despite both Diggins and Ogwumike scoring 21 points each, has left a slight spanner in the works.
They now have two games remaining, which means that even if they win both, they will have a 24-20 record to round off the regular season. At the same time, the Sparks have five games left, and winning all of them will also get them to a 24-20 record. With no other team capable of surpassing them, they can still catch up to the likes of the Indiana Fever(21-19) and the Golden State Valkyries (21-18).
However, for that to happen, not only will Seattle need to win both their remaining games, but also hope that the Fever and the Valkyries do not win more than two of their remaining four and five regular-season games, respectively. Further, as Seattle lags 3-0 against the Fever in head-to-head this season, a tie will also mean that Indiana gets the better seed.
On the other hand, they do have a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over the Valkyries and have a final game to play against them. Further, they also have a 3-1 record against the Sparks this season, which simplifies the equation. The Storm need to win just one of their two remaining games to ensure they finish with at least a tie with the Sparks, and then get the 8th seed on the basis of the head-to-head.
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Further, their ability to improve from the eighth seed depends on how the likes of the Fever and the Valkyries finish their campaigns. And while Seattle has time and again shown the ability to punch above its weight, including last Thursday when they won 93-79 against table toppers the Minnesota Lynx, they will still want to avoid the No. 1 seed in the first round.
The fact that the Lynx victory came after a defeat to the Fever and has been followed by another loss to the Sparks is bound to irk. However, the Storm are 5-2 in their last seven games and have looked especially dominant after the arrival of Brittney Sykes last month. Still, plenty of work remains as they attempt to chart the best possible path to the playoffs with two games remaining in the regular season.
Seattle Storm to emerge as unlikely title contenders?
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“We’re as talented as any team,” Skylar Diggins had said post-game after the Storm handed what was only the eighth loss of the season for the Lynx.
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Just a couple of weeks ago, Seattle was still vying for the final playoff spots and needed a resurgent run to flip the script. That is exactly what occurred.
Despite the loss against the Sparks, they now only need to win one of their remaining games. Those games are against defending champions New York Liberty and rivals Golden State Valkyries. Further, if Seattle ends up losing both, the Sparks will still need to win four of their remaining games to finish with a better record and directly qualify, as even three wins will lead to a tie, and the Storm will qualify on the basis of the head-to-head.
This means that the Storm now have the luxury of planning ahead despite the difficult run of fixtures that still remains. And well, as it should be, the focus appears to be on taking things one game at a time.
“But our focus now is just one game at a time and putting ourselves in position for the postseason. … It’s really about us and what we need to do. One game at a time,” Diggins had said.
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The win against the Lynx was especially special. It delayed the playoff qualification of multiple teams while forcing the Lynx to win another game to officially book the number 1 seed for this year. However, for a maverick Seattle roster looking to end the regular season on a high note, the victory can still prove to be a major turning point.
“We’ve been searching for this type of a game to have at this juncture of the season,” head coach Noelle Quinn had said after the game.
Still, the Storm will be well aware of the extent of the task ahead. They had endured a nine-game losing streak that ended against the Atlanta Dream on August 16, and have since shown exactly why they are such a dangerous team. And while they had a chance of shutting down this conversation with a win against the Sparks, the Storm will be well aware that their destiny still remains in their own hands.
Related: Fatal flaw Storm must fix before 2025 WNBA playoffs
