Why the Seattle Storm chose Sonia Raman as their next head coach

General Manager Talisa Rhea said at Raman’s introductory press conference that the interview process was extensive and involved talking to a diverse candidate pool with a wide range of experiences. Of the candidates, the Storm immediately felt an alignment with Raman and the potential for a wonderful partnership.

“Her vision for us and where we could go was very exciting. She’s competed at many levels and has many unique experiences, and we’re excited to now build on that here in Seattle,” Rhea said. “Her commitment to building relationships and pouring into players and those around her has been and will continue to be at the core of her leadership. This was really important for us when we talk about how we can build successful teams together here in Seattle. On the court, Sonia is a leader in analytics and player development, two critical areas in our game. Our game continues to grow and evolve. She’s innovative, forward-thinking and committed to the development of players individually and collectively as a group.”

Raman is not entirely new to Seattle or the Storm franchise. Her wife is from the Seattle area and Raman had spent time attending Storm practices over the years before she joined the Liberty staff. That familiarity with the organization and community helped kickstart the hiring conversation.

Raman took time to thank her family, friends, agents, all the coaches she worked alongside and the players she had the opportunity to coach for helping make her better. The long list of acknowledgements was reflective of one of the primary reasons Seattle chose Raman, relationships are the foundation of who she is a coach and person.

Her vision begins with building on the rich history of the franchise but is grounded in connecting and building relationships with the players, staff and community. Those relationships combine with her highly lauded basketball analytics IQ.

“The player development aspect of it is tremendous for me, and in my background, I think it starts there,” Raman said. “I think the relationships then build into the player development. We’ll incorporate analytics, as well as some other areas, and all of that is to unlock their full potential, so that we can be the best we can be on the offensive side, on the defensive side, in the special teams. 

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“How do we win in the margins? How can we be intentional about how we train to get there? To have our teams compete every day? To bring toughness and resilience, to do it together, to really prioritize getting better? And to do all of that with joy? So that’s sort of the overarching vision, and of course, the nuts and bolts will come as we go.”

Raman’s approach to building those relationships is entirely holistic. She knows most of the players probably won’t have known her from before, so she wants to start by really getting to know them and what motivates them in order to build trust.

“I really care about every single player that I’ve ever coached and that I ever will coach. I care about them as people first,” Raman said. “I’m really interested in learning about their lives, and not just what their goals are as basketball players, as professionals or as student athletes, but what else about their lives is important to them? Who are the people around them that are important? I want to meet them. I want to get to know them as well. What are they interested in? And it starts there for me, and I really light up when I get to build those relationships. 

“And then the other part of it is, how can you help people along the way in their journeys? I’ve had so many people impact me in my journey. How do I impact them in their journey to really become the pros that they want to be? And whether they’re rookies or they’re seasoned vets, everybody has goals and passions and reasons why they play the sport and how they connect to the sport, and I want to find out what those things are so that I can motivate them and continue to develop them to be the best they can be for themselves, and then, of course, for the organization as well.”

Raman thinks she is relatively easy person to communicate with and is pretty direct, ensuring her players get clear, direct feedback. She is also joyful and competitive, something she wants to bring with her every day.

“I love basketball. I’m so passionate about the game and getting to coach it every day. So, we will feel that, and this place will feel that with me every day, and I think that’s where it starts,” Raman said. “But also, there’s a competitive side to it, and there’s a side of me that’s always going to be as prepared as possible. So, blending all of those things in together to then create these teams that will be tough and resilient and incredibly prepared.”

That preparation includes the use of analytics that Raman is particularly known for, but she also recognized that balancing the numbers with the fundamentals of the game is key.

“I learned basketball before I knew anything about analytics,” Raman said. “I think that analytics is a really great tool to use. It’s one of many tools, but you have to really know the game and have a feel for the game, and understand what you’re coaching, understand where the exceptions are. And sometimes the exceptions to what the analytics say to do might also provide you with the answers to how you win in the margins. …

“I think the best teams, there’s always exceptions. Somewhere along the way, they’re really great at something that other teams aren’t as good at, and those things defy analytics. And so being able to unlock that and doing that with our group and having that feel, I think, is really, really important.”

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Coaching experience, or lack thereof

One of the primary criticisms of Raman is her lack of experience as a head coach in the pros. Raman was the head coach of the Division III MIT women’s basketball team for 12 seasons, from 2008 to 2020. She spent 2020-2024 as an assistant with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and then assisted the Liberty under then-head coach Sandy Brondello for the 2025 season. Raman, however, feels that it all translates, seeing more similarities than differences from her time at the college level and in the NBA.

“When I was at MIT, I got to coach some of the most elite women in the world in terms of science, technology, engineering, math, …  and they love basketball, and they’re really passionate about basketball and passionate about winning. So that was our culture. We came in, we competed every day.” Raman said. “I think there’s a lot of similarities that you can take from that to the WNBA. Obviously, there’s a lot of differences, and those are the obvious ones, but I think with the similarities — I’m coaching women who are elite, who are intrinsically motivated, who are at a level that they [are the] 1% already just by being in the league. …

“Obviously, the level of basketball, the things you can do, it’s just another level being here. It really allows me to tap into the creativity, the different ideas I have — offensively, defensively, different ways to win in the margins, the analytics and the data that we have available to us. You certainly have access to a lot more in that area. But I think in the end, I’ve been really, really lucky to have coached in the places I have coached at and at every stop along the way, those players have impacted me, have made me better, and I feel like I’m better for coaching them.”

Especially between the NBA and WNBA, Raman knows each league is the best in the world. Regardless of coaching men or women she has been around athletes who are pursuing their sport at the highest level and has had success supporting their goals.

Raman’s coaching experience has not been one long path directed by the purpose of becoming a WNBA head coach. Instead, every step in her coaching journey has been about continuing to learn and giving her best in whatever her role called for.

“My decision to go to the NBA, I think it came from my passion for basketball,” Raman said. “My time at MIT, I absolutely loved coaching student athletes. … But I went through the process with the Grizzlies, and … the further I got into the process, the more I started to understand how I could get out of my comfort zone a little bit, do something new, tap into the growth mindset that I was constantly preaching to my players to have, and sort of take this jump, take this risk, and get to dive in. And just be a basketball coach and have unlimited resources, have all of the data that could be possibly available to somebody to solve problems and find ways to help the organization to impact winning. So, knowing that that was the opportunity ahead of me, it became impossible to say no. …

“And when it was time to think of what was coming next, I have always been just a tremendous fan, admirer of the WNBA, of the players in this league. … So, it was sort of a natural progression getting back to women’s basketball, coaching the best women in the world, and that was really attractive to me.”

While Raman is confident in her coaching experience, particularly knowing what it is like experience major shifts in her career, she does not claim to know what awaits her in this new role.

“I think just relying on who I am as a person, being genuine, being authentic, and keeping the main thing the main thing is the most important,” Raman said. “I think, to some degree, when you move over to that next seat, you never know exactly what it is until you’re sitting in it. So, understanding that you don’t have all the answers and that there’s going to be that growth along the way, that’s part of the fun of the journey and the excitement.”

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What the Storm will look like in 2026

With only four players under contract for the 2026 season — Lexie Brown, Nika Mühl, Jordan Horston, and Dominique Malonga — there is a lot to be done in terms of building the roster. Though those conversations are only just beginning, Raman will be an important piece collaborating to attract talent and determine the best fits for the team through a historic free agency period.

“Players want to come for the organization, what we’re able to provide, how we can further improve their career, but the connection with the head coach is really where it starts,” Rhea said. “So, it’s critical for us that we feel like we have a partner in that, and someone that the players will really connect with and really buy into their vision on how Sonia and her staff can take them to their next level.”

Raman doesn’t have a timetable for rounding out the rest of her staff, which she is building from scratch. Part of what drew her to Seattle was the ability to collaborate with Rhea.

“I’m looking for, first and foremost, people who are of very high character and are going to work really hard and they’re going to fill my gaps,” Raman said. “I want to bring in a staff that will collaborate with me and that we will work together to put into place all of the things I just laid out in the vision.”

Even without a roster or full technical staff in place, Raman has a solid idea of the core tenets she wants her team to play with. Though the specifics will be determined by the personnel, the identity of her team will begin first and foremost on the defensive side of the ball.

“I want that to be something that is where we can show our culture and show who we are, the gritty team that we’re going to be, the team that competes, the team that outworks the other team,” Raman said. “I think if you start from there, and you can do that on any given night, you’re already in every single game.”

Personnel will determine the half-court offense, but Raman knows that she wants her team to play up-tempo, fast-paced basketball.

“I want to get into half-court offense early,” Raman said. “We’re still going to push the ball whenever we can, and we’re going to get into offense early so that we have opportunities to attack.”