The Seattle Storm just snapped their second 11-game losing streak of the season on Tuesday, but let’s be real, Emerald City: this team is well into its tanking mission after being eliminated from playoff contention. They’ve lost nine of their last 10 games, plummeting to the cellar-dwelling spot in the standings, four games behind the 13th-place Toronto Tempo. It’s tough to watch, sure, but this focused losing might just be the smartest move the franchise has made in years.
The Tank Is Real: And It’s Getting Extreme
This season is on pace to see seven of the 15 WNBA teams finish with losing records, the most since 2023. The Storm are leading the charge to the bottom, and if they keep this up, they could be the first team to finish with a sub .200 winning percentage since the Indiana Fever in 2022. It sounds wild, but it’s a calculated gamble. While our Storm are getting beaten badly, the Toronto Tempo are also in on the action, losing 10-straight and falling to 13th place. Their last win was July 12, and their last home win was June 25. If the season wrapped now, Toronto would have the third-best odds for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft lottery. You want Chicago and Connecticut to win everything possible if you’re on team tank!
Why All This Losing Is Actually Winning
So, why embrace the pain? Simple: the WNBA has seen an insane influx of young talent in the 2020s. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Olivia Miles all arrived and immediately became All-Stars, elevating their teams overnight. Now, the 2027 WNBA Draft is looming, and JuJu Watkins is expected to be the most-prized prospect on the board. Many view her as being as good as those other stars, with some even saying she’s already better. She’s got that “auraful” energy that changes everything. The Indiana Fever are the perfect example of this strategy: their awful 2022 record led to them winning the 2023 WNBA Draft Lottery and getting Aliyah Boston at No. 1. The very next year, they again snagged the top pick, blessing them with Clark. A couple of brutal seasons can fast-track a team back to the top, and that’s the prize the Storm are chasing.
The Storm’s next game might just be another step down the standings, but for us Seattle fans, that’s exactly what we need to see. Keep an eye on the draft lottery picture, because this painful losing streak is setting us up for a future superstar.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Swish Appeal.
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