SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Storm coach Dan Hughes abruptly announced his retirement on Sunday, saying the rigors of being a head coach in the WNBA has taken a toll.
For all that was strange and unprecedented about the 2020 WNBA season in a bubble, one thing was standard: The team with the fewest questions won the championship. The Seattle Storm had all the pieces, led by WNBA Finals MVP Breanna Stewart.
Even if coach Dan Hughes couldn t be in Bradenton, Florida, for health reasons, he contributed as much as possible from afar, and assistant Gary Kloppenburg filled in well for him. The Storm tied the Las Vegas Aces for most regular-season wins, then swept the Minnesota Lynx and the Aces for the franchise s fourth title.
After winning the 2018 and 2020 championships with a similar core group, Seattle now faces change starters Natasha Howard and Alysha Clark are gone brought on by trades and free agency. The 2021 Storm have some uncertainties, but so do most of the WNBA s teams.
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To think, the Storm could have lost the WNBA draft lottery after finishing tied with three other teams the Detroit Shock, the Washington Mystics, and the Indiana Fever for the worst record in the 2002 season.
Jan 31, 2021
Four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird has agreed in principle to re-sign with the Seattle Storm, according to Yahoo Sports Chris Haynes.
Up to this point, Bird had spent the entirety of her nearly two-decade-long WNBA career with Seattle. The Storm won last year s WNBA finals in three games, defeating the Las Vegas Aces.
In Game 1 of the finals, Bird recorded a finals-record 16 assists and she later notched a 16-point, 10-assist double-double in Game 2.
“We seem like we just get easier shots,” head coach Gary Kloppenburg said prior to the series, referring to Bird’s impact. “The floor just spaces out so much better.”