2016 Seattle Storm season

The 2016 WNBA season was the 17th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on May 15 on the road against Los Angeles.^[1] The Storm would lose that game 66–96, but would rebound in the very next game to defeat Phoenix 81–80. The team would then lose two of its next three, including an overtime loss to Washington to finish May 2–3. They began June with a stretch of games where they went 1–3, only defeating Phoenix over that stretch. In their next four games, they went 1–3 again, defeating only Indiana. They finished the month 2–1, defeating Connecticut and Atlanta before losing to Dallas. The Storm finished June 4–7. They lost their first two games in July before defeating San Antonio. They would finish the month 2–3, defeating Washington and San Antonio again. They went into the Olympic break 9–15 and out of the playoff picture. However, upon the return from the break, they went 2–1 in August, defeating Los Angeles and Dallas while losing to Minnesota. They began September with a road loss against Chicago before winning four straight games. This run included three road victories and a home victory over Los Angeles. A defeat against Phoenix in the penultimate game left their playoff status in the air. The Storm defeated Chicago 88–75 in the final game of the season to secure a playoff berth. They finished the regular season 16–18 and tied for third place in the Western Conference.

2016 Seattle Storm season
Coach	Jenny Boucek
Arena	KeyArena
Attendance	7,230 per game
Results
Record	16–18 (.471)
Place	T-3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost in First Round to Atlanta
Team Leaders
Points	Breanna Stewart 18.3 ppg
Rebounds	Breanna Stewart 9.3 rpg
Assists	Sue Bird 5.8 apg
← 2015 season 2017 season →

The Storm earned the seventh seed in the 2016 WNBA playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker over the Phoenix Mercury, having won the season series 2–1. As the seventh seed, they traveled to sixth-seed Atlanta for the first round. The Storm won the regular season series between the teams 2–1, but this record did not carry over into the Playoffs. The Storm led 45–37 at halftime, but the Dream won the game 94–85 to end Seattle's season. First overall pick Breanna Stewart was a highlight of the season as she led the team in points and rebounds, won Rookie of the Year, and was selected to the All-WNBA Second Team. The Storm had two other players make all-WNBA teams, with Sue Bird being selected to the First Team, and Jewell Loyd also being selected to the Second Team.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Main article: 2016 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	1	Breanna Stewart	United States	Connecticut
3	26	Lexi Eaton Rydalch	United States	BYU

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details	Ref
February 2, 2016	Re-signed Alysha Clark	[2]
	Re-signed Jenna O'Hea
February 9, 2016	Re-signed Crystal Langhorne	[3]
February 12, 2016	Re-signed Ramu Tokashiki	[4]
February 16, 2016	Re-signed Sue Bird	[5]
June 25, 2016	The Storm acquired Noelle Quinn from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the rights to Angelica Robinson.	[6]

Roster

Source:^[7][8]

2016 Seattle Storm roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 10 Bird, Sue 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1980-10-16 Connecticut 14 F/C 5 Bishop, Abby 6' 3" (1.91m) 180 lb (82kg) 1988-11-29 Australia 2 F 32 Clark, Alysha 5' 10" (1.78m) 167 lb (76kg) 1987-07-07 Middle Tennessee 5 F/C 1 Langhorne, Crystal 6' 2" (1.88m) 185 lb (84kg) 1986-10-27 Maryland 9 G 24 Loyd, Jewell 5' 10" (1.78m) 148 lb (67kg) 1993-10-05 Notre Dame 2 F 23 Mosqueda-Lewis, Kaleena 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 1993-11-03 Connecticut 2 G 4 O'Hea, Jenna 6' 1" (1.85m) 174 lb (79kg) 1987-06-06 Australia 5 G 45 Quinn, Noelle 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 1985-01-03 UCLA 10 F/C 30 Stewart, Breanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 170 lb (77kg) 1994-08-27 Connecticut R C 34 Thomas, Krystal 6' 5" (1.96m) 195 lb (88kg) 1989-06-10 Duke 5 F 7 Tokashiki, Ramu 6' 3" (1.91m) 176 lb (80kg) 1991-06-01 Japan 2 G/F 22 Wright, Monica 5' 10" (1.78m) 182 lb (83kg) 1988-07-15 Virginia 6	Head coach Jenny Boucek (Virginia) Assistant coaches Ryan Webb (Seattle) Leah Drury (Alabama) Athletic trainer Tom Spencer (Central Washington) Strength and conditioning coach Blair Wagner (Wyoming) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game Log

Preseason

2016 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 4 Phoenix L 73–81 Jewell Loyd (16) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (3) KeyArena 3,721 1–0 2 May 8 @ Phoenix W 76–70 Alysha Clark (20) Jewell Loyd (6) Jewell Loyd (8) Talking Stick Resort Arena 4,074 1–1
2016 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2016 game log Total: 16–18 (Home: 10–7; Road: 6–11)
May: 2–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 15 @ Los Angeles L 66–96 Breanna Stewart (23) Breanna Stewart (6) Jewell Loyd (5) Staples Center 10,591 0–1 2 May 20 @ Phoenix W 81–80 Jewell Loyd (30) Breanna Stewart (13) Sue Bird (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 13,048 1–1 3 May 22 Minnesota L 71–78 Alysha Clark (20) Breanna Stewart (13) Sue Bird (9) KeyArena 9,686 1–2 4 May 26 Washington L 82–84 (OT) Breanna Stewart (25) Breanna Stewart (7) Sue Bird (5) KeyArena 5,239 1–3 5 May 28 Connecticut W 93–81 Jewell Loyd (26) Crystal Langhorne (8) Bird, Loyd (5) KeyArena 4,456 2–3
June : 4–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 June 1 @ Indiana L 75–85 Breanna Stewart (22) Breanna Stewart (8) Sue Bird (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,721 2–4 7 June 3 Phoenix W 95–81 Jewell Loyd (32) Breanna Stewart (10) Breanna Stewart (9) KeyArena 6,510 3–4 8 June 5 New York L 78–86 Alysha Clark (23) Breanna Stewart (17) Sue Bird (10) KeyArena 6,240 3–5 9 June 10 @ Connecticut L 76–77 Sue Bird (24) Breanna Stewart (12) Sue Bird (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,075 3–6 10 June 12 @ Indiana W 90–88 Jewell Loyd (20) Sue Bird (6) Breanna Stewart (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,724 4–6 11 June 14 @ San Antonio L 70–77 Breanna Stewart (19) Breanna Stewart (15) Sue Bird (4) AT&T Center 3,319 4–7 12 June 16 @ Dallas L 79–88 Breanna Stewart (29) Crystal Langhorne (7) Sue Bird (6) College Park Center 4,622 4–8 13 June 19 Minnesota L 84–96 Breanna Stewart (21) Breanna Stewart (9) Jewell Loyd (7) KeyArena 5,749 4–9 14 June 24 Connecticut W 98–81 Breanna Stewart (29) Breanna Stewart (9) Sue Bird (7) KeyArena 6,568 5–9 15 June 28 Atlanta W 84–81 Breanna Stewart (38) Breanna Stewart (6) Bird, Loyd (5) KeyArena 4,648 6–9 16 June 30 Dallas L 78–83 Jewell Loyd (24) Crystal Langhorne (9) Breanna Stewart (6) KeyArena 5,365 6–10
July : 3–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 July 5 @ Atlanta L 64–77 Jewell Loyd (13) Breanna Stewart (11) Sue Bird (6) Philips Arena 3,983 6–11 18 July 6 @ New York L 74–78 Breanna Stewart (24) Breanna Stewart (16) Sue Bird (10) Madison Square Garden 9,852 6–12 19 July 8 @ San Antonio W 78–68 Breanna Stewart (21) Crystal Langhorne (8) Bird, Clark, Langhorne (5) AT&T Center 8,955 7–12 20 July 10 Indiana L 82–93 Breanna Stewart (32) Breanna Stewart (11) Sue Bird (7) KeyArena 5,975 7–13 21 July 15 Washington W 80–51 Jewell Loyd (26) Breanna Stewart (7) Breanna Stewart (8) KeyArena 9,686 8–13 22 July 17 Chicago L 88–91 Sue Bird (24) Breanna Stewart (8) Jewell Loyd (10) KeyArena 5,318 8–14 23 July 20 San Antonio W 83–69 Jewell Loyd (25) Crystal Langhorne (10) Sue Bird (8) KeyArena 9,686 9–14 24 July 22 @ Minnesota L 72–79 Breanna Stewart (18) Langhorne, Stewart (8) Sue Bird (8) Target Center 12,124 9–15
August : 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 25 August 26 Los Angeles W 79–72 Crystal Langhorne (16) Breanna Stewart (11) Jewell Loyd (7) KeyArena 9,481 10–15 26 August 28 @ Minnesota L 80–92 Jewell Loyd (20) Langhorne, Stewart (6) Bird, Loyd, Stewart (4) Target Center 11,834 10–16 27 August 31 Dallas W 78–66 Jewell Loyd (23) Breanna Stewart (12) Bird, Langhorne, Loyd (4) KeyArena 6,771 11–16
September : 5–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 28 September 2 @ Chicago L 88–92 Jewell Loyd (23) Loyd, Stewart (10) Jewell Loyd (8) Allstate Arena 5,997 11–17 29 September 4 @ Atlanta W 91–82 Bird, Stewart (23) Breanna Stewart (8) Alysha Clark (7) Philips Arena 5,695 12–17 30 September 7 @ New York W 102–78 Jewell Loyd (25) Langhorne, Stewart (9) Sue Bird (8) Madison Square Garden 8,159 13–17 31 September 9 @ Washington W 81–76 Bird, Stewart (17) Breanna Stewart (10) Sue Bird (9) Capital One Arena 5,564 14–17 32 September 11 Los Angeles W 78–60 Breanna Stewart (20) Crystal Langhorne (10) Sue Bird (7) KeyArena 9,348 15–17 33 September 15 @ Phoenix L 62–86 Breanna Stewart (14) Breanna Stewart (9) Clark, Loyd, Quinn (2) Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,380 15–18 34 September 18 Chicago W 88–75 Breanna Stewart (18) Breanna Stewart (11) Jewell Loyd (6) KeyArena 12,186 16–18
2016 season schedule

Playoffs

2016 playoff game log
First Round vs. Atlanta Dream Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 21 @ Atlanta L 85–94 Jewell Loyd (24) Langhorne, Stewart (7) Sue Bird (7) McCamish Pavilion 2,553 0–1
2016 playoff schedule

Standings

Western Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1 - Minnesota Lynx	28	6	.824	—	15–2	13–4	15–1
2 - Los Angeles Sparks	26	8	.765	2	14–3	12–5	11–5
7 - Seattle Storm	16	18	.471	12	10–7	6–11	7–9
8 - Phoenix Mercury	16	18	.471	12	11–6	5–12	6–10
e - Dallas Wings	11	23	.324	17	6–11	5–12	8–8
e - San Antonio Stars	7	27	.206	21	4–13	3–14	1–15

Playoffs

	First round Single elimination (Sept. 21)					Second round Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25)					Semifinals Best-of-5 (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)					WNBA Finals Best-of-5 (Oct. 9 – 20)
											1	Minnesota Lynx	3
						3	New York Liberty	94			8	Phoenix Mercury	0
	5	Indiana Fever	78			8	Phoenix Mercury	101								1	Minnesota Lynx	2
	8	Phoenix Mercury	89													2	Los Angeles Sparks	3
											2	Los Angeles Sparks	3
						4	Chicago Sky	108			4	Chicago Sky	1
	6	Atlanta Dream	94			6	Atlanta Dream	98
	7	Seattle Storm	85

Note: Teams re-seeded after the second round and semifinals.

• Bold – Game or series winner
• Italic – Team with home-court advantage

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Source:^[7]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Breanna Stewart	34	34	34.7	45.7%	33.8%	83.3%	9.3	3.4	1.2	1.9	18.3
Sue Bird	34	34	31.6	44.9%	44.4%	78.6%	2.9	5.8	1.0	0.2	12.8
Jewell Loyd	34	34	31.6	43.1%	30.3%	89.1%	3.4	3.4	1.2	0.3	16.5
Alysha Clark	33	32	27.6	48.4%	38.7%	84.7%	3.7	1.9	0.7	0.1	9.0
Crystal Langhorne	33	33	25.5	63.0%	100.0%	75.9%	5.5	1.4	0.7	0.3	9.5
Noelle Quinn	20	0	13.9	28.8%	8.3%	100.0%	1.8	1.6	0.5	0.1	1.8
Ramu Tokashiki	31	1	13.0	47.2%	0.0%	81.8%	2.5	0.3	0.5	0.1	5.3
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	32	0	12.3	39.1%	35.4%	77.8%	0.8	0.8	0.2	0.1	5.2
Jenna O'Hea	22	2	11.5	34.8%	31.6%	90.0%	1.3	0.9	0.4	0.1	3.0
Krystal Thomas	19	0	9.3	57.9%	—	71.4%	2.3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.4
Monica Wright	16	0	6.1	30.8%	10.0%	60.0%	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.1	1.3
Markeisha Gatling	11	0	5.8	52.9%	—	100.0%	0.8	0.1	0.1	0.3	2.3
Abby Bishop	13	0	5.2	36.4%	16.7%	75.0%	0.5	0.6	0.1	0.1	0.9
Blake Dietrick	2	0	3.0	—	—	100.0%	—	—	—	—	1.0

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date Awarded	Ref.
Breanna Stewart	Rookie of the Year	September 29, 2016	[9]
	All-WNBA Second Team	October 14, 2016	[10]
	All-Rookie Team	September 29, 2016	[11]
	Rookie of the Month	June 2, 2016	[12]
		July 7, 2016	[13]
		July 26, 2016	[14]
		September 20, 2016	[15]
	Western Conference Player of the Week	September 12, 2016	[16]
Sue Bird	Peak Performer: Assists	September 20, 2016	[17]
	All-WNBA First Team	October 14, 2016	[10]
Jewell Loyd	All-WNBA Second Team