It’s an opportunity for Storm faithful to grab merch, get selfies with team mascot Doppler or assistant coach Pokey Chatman, or look into tickets for this season, but it’s also an opportunity for the team to extend its calendar and give its new draft pick, sponsors, fan base, and the city’s sports ecosystem a chance to familiarize themselves with this year’s team.
“We really want to make sure that whoever we bring in [with the No. 2 pick] is welcomed and showcased in the city of Seattle, and that begins well before the draft happens,” said Seattle Storm CMO Will Gulley. “When it comes to our partners, our other sports teams in the market, they’re going to come around us and support us just as we would.”
Pregame action
Who they’ll be supporting is something of a mystery. While still a robust draft beyond the Dallas Wings’ consensus No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers from UConn, this year’s lineup was shaken up by star players who opted to stay—with Bueckers’ UConn teammate Azzi Fudd staying in Connecticut, LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson remaining in school for another year and Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles opting to transfer to TCU.
That left fans and press speculating: Will the storm take French phenom Dominique Malonga? Will they forgo potential player development for immediate results from Notre Dame’s Sophia Citron or USC’s Kiki Iriafen? Can (or will) they trade up for Bueckers? Storm marketers heard it all and opted to feed the beast: Posting only a ticking-clock countdown on their social media and letting fans speculate in the comments.
