Storm turn to Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins in post-Jewell Loyd era

It took awhile for Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins to reunite in Seattle.

As teenagers, they began a friendship while teammates on USA junior women’s national basketball teams that won gold medals between 2008-11 in Argentina, Thailand and China.

“I’ve known Nneka for like 20 years at this point,” the 34-year-old Diggins said. “Back then they used to do all those Nike skills camps and USA Invitational camps, and we just started crossing paths there. Obviously, she’s Houston girl and I’m from Indiana, so we only could cross paths if you made out of the regionals.

“A lot of high-level basketball was being played, and I knew I was in the right place if I saw Nneka because she was always the best. So, just being aligned with her, even at a young age we would joke only a few people make it to practice with the national team and win multiple gold medals. We wanted to be the last ones in our group to kind of be sticking.”

Ogwumike, who starred at Stanford, hosted Diggins on her recruiting trip with the Cardinal in 2009 before she chose Notre Dame. The next year, Diggins did the same for Ogwumike’s sister Chiney when she visited the Fighting Irish.

“I always call myself the fifth Ogwumike sister,” Diggins said smiling. “We laugh about that, but real talk, Nneka is like my soul mate on the court. I know where she’s at. I know what she wants and I know what she’s thinking. And as close as our bond is on the court, it’s 10 times stronger off of it.”

Ogwumike fondly remembers when she was a high school freshman meeting Diggins for the first time.

“Our first encounter was going to USA camps together in Colorado Springs and we were on the same team,” the 34-year-old Ogwumike said. “We’ve always just kind of vibed as people, but then there’s a competitiveness that we share, and there’s a language that we can kind of speak without actually having to talk to each other.

“I really consider her my sister, so I’m glad that my career finally found a teammate in her in the WNBA.”

Diggins says “divine timing” brought them to the Storm.

Last year, she was a free agent returning from maternity leave following the birth of her second child and looking for a home after an otherwise fruitful three-year stint with the Phoenix Mercury resulted in a contentious and abrupt ending.

Meanwhile, Ogwumike considered ending a stellar 12-year tenure with the Los Angeles Sparks where she won a WNBA title and MVP in 2016.

“It was just real alignment, true alignment,” Diggins said. “We’ve always had moments in our life like that, where we come it comes full circle and comes around. This was just a perfect opportunity. Once I heard that she was really serious (about leaving L.A.), I told her that I was really serious too.

“We always wanted to play with each other but never wanted to push our situations on each other. We wanted to make sure it was aligned for both of us. And this situation just happened to be that case. I guess it was divine timing, if you will. But I’m glad it worked out the way it did. And we couldn’t have landed at a better organization for both of us at this point in our careers.”

In many ways, Ogwumike and Diggins took over and imprinted their personalities on a Storm team that compiled an 11-29 record in 2023 and was largely responsible for a 14-win improvement that finished fifth in the WNBA standings at 25-15 last year.

Still, the season ended with a disappointing 2-0 sweep in the first round of the playoffs.

“Better,” Diggins said succinctly when asked about her second season with the Storm. “We’ll see what happens when we roll the ball out, but it feels better already. It’s a better team all around, so we hope that shows in every category.”

What’s often unsaid when the Storm talk about the upcoming 2025 season is the team begins a post Jewell Loyd-era prompted when the six-time WNBA All-Star accused the coaching staff of harassment and bullying.

Those claims were not supported by an independent investigation, which led to Loyd demanding a trade that sent her to the Las Vegas Aces.

The fallout from the blockbuster three-team trade, which dealt former Washington Huskies star Kelsey Plum to the L.A. Sparks, entrenched Ogwumike and Diggins atop the Storm hierarchy.

“Nneka is obviously presidential and everything she does not because she’s the president of the (WNBA players association), but how she leads with her voice, her actions and everything in between,” coach Noelle Quinn said. “Sky is a pulse in the way that she leads. It’s always through action. It’s very competitive. She’s not going to ask anything of her teammates that she’s not giving up herself.”

In many ways, Ogwumike and Diggins are the latest iteration of Storm stars who draw favorable comparisons to Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson, a legendary tandem that won league championships in 2004 and 2010.

“When you look at a great combo, you always look at the ability to elevate those around them, the ability to compete at a really high level and sustain that,” forward Alysha Clark said. “When you look at Sky and Nneka, what they’ve been able to do over the course of their careers separately, but then coming here together in Seattle, is just maintain this level of excellency.

“Seeing them together on the floor and the way that they’re able to communicate without actually communicating is special. … And then just the leadership.”

As a rookie in 2012, Clark saw firsthand how Bird and Jackson worked in tandem and sees similarities with Diggins and Ogwumike.

“My first year was Lauren’s last year, but what you saw from her and Sue was how they showed up every day in the way that they were able to lead,” Clark said. “Lauren wasn’t the most vocal leader, but she led through her work. … Sky is vocal when she needs to be, but she’s a lead-by-example type of player whereas Nneka is the same, but leans more on vocal side.

“So, it’s cool to see them together. They’re both versatile and can score at all three levels. And when you look at the great duos that have come through this organization, they all have that in common. They can score at all three levels, and they’re all competitive as hell.”

Ogwumike and Diggins are at the forefront of a veteran starting lineup that includes Clark, center Ezi Magbegor and wing Gabby Williams. The Storm also revamped its bench with newcomers Erica Wheeler, Li Yueru, Zia Cooke, Lexie Brown and rookie Dominique Malonga.

Still, the pecking order starts with Ogwumike, a nine-time WNBA All-Star and the team’s leading returning scorer who averaged 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 51.1% from the field, 40.5% on three-pointers and 87.6% on free throws.

“We know Nneka is the best player on our team, and we’re here to complement her,” said Diggins who averaged 15.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists last year. “At the same time, she’s one of the most unselfish superstars that I’ve ever crossed paths with in this league.

“Her knowledge and what she brings to the game, her intangibles, her leadership, her aura and the way people are drawn to her puts a lot on her plate. … We just say Nneka is going to Nneka. For me it’s making sure that she feels empowered, knowing where she needs the ball and at what time — just hooping.”

The fire-and-ice metaphor aptly describes the steely-cool Ogwumike who hopes to emulate Diggins’ smoldering intensity that constantly burns hot.

“Sky is definitely someone that you love having on your team, but hate not having on your team and hate having to play against someone like that,” Ogwumike said. “Someone who does not give up. Someone who doesn’t care if it’s your grandma out there — a game is a game.

“She’s someone that’s relentless and unapologetic about it. For me personally, Sky brings out a part of me that sometimes I try to quiet. I think that competitive nature in her is something that I need in my life.”

Diggins added: “Nneka allows me to be myself. We’ve known each other for a long time, so it’s a lot of things that are unspoken that we know how each other feels. We don’t really have to say it out loud.

“She somebody that I lean on and somebody that’s been in my village for a very long time. I need her and I’m happy I’m able to play with her in perpetuity.”