Seattle Storm Team History

The Storm’s predecessor was the Seattle Reign, a charter member of the American Basketball League (ABL), operating from 1996 through December 1998, when the league folded. Luckier than most localities that had an ABL team, Seattle was quickly awarded a WNBA franchise and began play less than two years later.

With the guidance of Ginger Ackerley, Karen Bryant and Coach Lin Dunn, the WNBA came to Seattle for the 2000 season as part of a four-team expansion.

The 2004 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2004 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The Seattle Storm, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Connecticut Sun, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Seattle’s first title.

The Storm made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sun made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history.

Going into the series, neither team had won a WNBA championship. The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.

The Storm had a 20-14 record (.588), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sun (18-16).

The 2004 Finals was the last time two teams had entered the series without having participated in them before.

The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The champions of the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Dream, faced the champions of the Western Conference, the Seattle Storm.

The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation, with the Storm holding home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (28–6) than the Dream (19–15). This was the 1st time the teams have met in the championship round. The Dream made their first ever appearance in the Finals while the Storm made their second appearance, after winning the 2004 championship series.

The series ended with the Storm beating the Dream in Atlanta in a three-game sweep. This was only the second time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals three games to none (previously done by Detroit in 2008).

The 2018 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2018 season of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). It featured the top-seeded Seattle Storm and the three-seeded Washington Mystics. The series began on September 7, 2018 and ended on September 12, 2018. Ultimately, after winning the first two games at home, the Storm went on the road and completed the 3-0 series sweep. It was the franchise’s first title in eight years and third overall.

The 2020 WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV was the best-of-five championship series for the 2020 season of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Finals feature the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces facing off against the second seed Seattle Storm. Despite losing both regular-season meetings against Las Vegas, the Storm dominated the series, sweeping the Aces in three straight games. Led by Finals MVP Breanna Stewart, Seattle won all three games by double-digits, claiming their second title in three years and fourth in franchise history.

The Finals were less affected than the regular season for the WNBA. Format and seeding remained the same as it has in recent years. However, the teams continued to play at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, thereby eliminating any home-court advantages teams might have had in normal playoffs. Dates for the playoffs remained largely the same as a normal season. No fans were allowed in the arena during the playoffs.