April 9, 2026, 10:19 p.m. ET
Nneka Ogwumike‘s time in Seattle has come to an finish after two seasons.
Ogwumike confirmed her departure from the Seattle Storm on April 9 as 2026 WNBA free agency stretched into its fourth day. The 14-year veteran shared a social media post that learn, “Thank You Seattle.” Ogwumike captioned the photograph collage crammed with reminiscences of her time in Seattle with inexperienced and yellow hearts.
Ogwumike’s seek for a brand new staff captured headlines earlier this week after a Minnesota-based balloon firm shared a now-deleted video of a blue and inexperienced balloon garland and marquee letters that learn, “Welcome Nneka.” The association was assembled on a basketball courtroom that includes the Lynx’s emblem, leaving many followers questioning if Ogwumike was signing with the Minnesota Lynx in free company.
Ogwumike shared a carousel of memes on Instagram in response to the video and hypothesis, together with a viral video of an individual crying with the caption, “Me (because) I can’t travel in peace.”
Last week, Ogwumike told USA TODAY Sports that she’s counting on her instincts through the compacted WNBA offseason after serving to the WNBPA negotiate a transformational collective bargaining settlement final month.
“I’m grateful that I am a veteran because I’ve seen a lot of different things happen in this league. I’ve experienced a lot of different things and so there’s a level of discernment that I have that is hopefully not going to add more stress to what already is a very hectic time,” Ogwumike mentioned. “I just really hope that everybody feels a little bit better given the agreement that we’ve been able to draft and they can make the best decisions for themselves.”
Ogwumike signed with the Storm in 2024 following 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks and immediately revitalized the franchise. The Storm improved from an 11-29 report in 2023 to 25-15 in 2024 and 23-21 in 2025. The Storm superior to the playoffs in 2024 and 2025 earlier than making back-to-back first-round exits. Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn was fired following the Storm’s newest playoff exit in 2025.
In her 14th season within the league, Ogwumike averaged 18.3 factors (ninth within the league), 7.0 rebounds (thirteenth) and a pair of.3 assists taking pictures 51.2% from the sphere in all 44 video games for the Storm. Ogwumike was named an All-Star starter for the fourth consecutive season final yr, becoming a member of Sue Bird (13), Diana Taurasi (11), Tamika Catchings (10) and Brittney Griner (10) as the one gamers in WNBA historical past to obtain 10 All-Star nods.
Ogwumike’s prolonged resume additionally contains No. 1 general draft choose, Rookie of the Year, WNBA champion and MVP, along with an All-WNBA First-Team, seven All-WNBA second groups and 4 WNBA All-Defensive first groups.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and observe her on X at@CydHenderson.
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