The Seattle Storm might have lost their All-Star guard, Jewell Loyd. However, the team’s additions and returns include valuable young guards who can help the team in 2025. One such guard is Alysha Clark, who played for the Las Vegas Aces in their 2023 championship run. Clark is a veteran who will help lead the team on and off the court. Another great veteran guard is Erica Wheeler, who spent six seasons with Indiana.
Lexie Brown
Lexie Brown had her best WNBA career with the Los Angeles Sparks from 2022 to 2024. Unfortunately, Brown was out for most of her LA career due to an illness. In the moments she was playing with LA, she blossomed and evolved as a player and person. Brown averaged 37.8% from three, 41.7% from the field and played 62 games with LA. Brown’s game improved thanks to Athletes Unlimited, where she has been a pivotal ambassador and player for the league. Many fanatics tend to forget Brown won a championship with the Chicago Sky in 2021 and has the knowledge and experience it takes to win a ring.
Katie Lou Samuelson
Katie Lou Samuelson’s return to Seattle is vital with her shooting ability, averaging 34.9% from the field, 33% 3-point shooter, almost perfect from the free-throw line with 96% last season with Indiana, averaging less than 20 minutes per game. She spent the 2024 season with the Fever and was a great addition coming off the bench. Samuelson has played for five teams since she arrived in the league.
Two familiar players, Wheeler and Samuelson, who spent a year together in Indiana, will help the Storm settle in quicker and build team chemistry. Samuelson was also Brown’s teammate in LA. With three familiar players, the transition will be easier for the team.
Erica Wheeler
Wheeler, an undrafted player from Parkway Academy High School in Miramar, FL, spent six seasons with Indiana on and off; she was with New York and Atlanta in 2015. She then played with LA in 2021 and returned to Atlanta in 2022. The one-time All-Star and All-Star MVP’s six seasons with Indiana were great; she produced and was the main focus for the team in the years the Fever were struggling to win games. Wheeler played 215 games with the Fever, averaging 22.9 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points per game, shot the ball well, averaging 40% from the field, shot 32.4 from three-point range, was a great free throw shooter with 83.8% and facilitated the ball with 3.8 assists per game.
Wheeler’s last two seasons with Indiana were a roller coaster ride, from averaging 26.8 minutes per game in 2023 to 14.0 in 2024. Her numbers were reduced drastically due to a phenomenal player named Caitlin Clark, who was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Wheeler did not mind coming off the bench; whatever helped the team win was her mental approach. Wheeler served as a vocal leader for the young superstar, Clark, guided her and was there for Clark during the hard times of her rookie year.
Wheeler’s 2023 season with Indiana:
Games: 40
Games started: 40
MP: 26.8
FG%: 39.8
3P%: 30.9
FGA: 9.2
PTS: 9.9
Wheeler’s 2024 season with Indiana:
Games: 39
Games started: 2
MP: 14.0
FG%: 41.1
3P%: 28.8
FGA: 3.6
PTS: 3.6
Wheeler’s productivity on the court decreased; however, she still helped her team by vocally guiding and leading the young players. Erica and Clark are precisely the leaders Seattle needs—two veteran guards who can lead the Storm through the postseason.
The Storm’s opening game is Saturday, May 17, at 10:00 pm ET against the Phoenix Mercury.
