July 5, 2025
How Nneka Ogwumike has continued her impressive form in her 14th season — and rewritten the record books
By Bella Munson
Most recently, Ogwumike moved into seventh in WNBA history in career points
Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike began the 2025 season at No. 10 on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list. On May 25, Ogwumike scored 23 points and passed former teammate Candace Parker to move into ninth. On Thursday in Atlanta, she scored 24 points to bring her career regular-season total to 6,815 points and move into seventh, passing Sue Bird and Cappie Pondexter in one night.
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For Storm fans and head coach Noelle Quinn, passing a franchise legend like Bird, who played her 20-year career in Seattle, feels particularly poignant as Ogwumike wears a Storm jersey for the second straight season.
“Sue Bird is a Hall of Famer, too, recently,” Quinn told reporters on Thursday night. “And she’s done amazing things, not only for the Seattle Storm organization, but for the WNBA, for women’s basketball globally, internationally, all those things. And for Nneka to be mentioned in the same sentence as Sue and now surpassing her, it just magnifies who Nneka is. She is greatness personified. She’s the most disciplined person I know. …
“Her approach to her everyday life, I think, is such a great example for us all, the way that she leads, the way that she communicates, the way that she constantly puts others first. … And to be doing it in a Storm uniform is special for me.
“To be coaching her and just kind of seeing the sustainability that she has had over her seasons — she’s, to me, getting better with time. And for her to continue to break records and be mentioned amongst the greats means that she is herself a great. She’s going to continue to do great things for this league. She’s going to continue to do great things for this team. And I’m just kind of basking in her excellence.”
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This is far from the only milestone Ogwumike has passed in her 14th professional season. Ogwumike was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from June 16 to 22, when she moved up on the all-time field goals made, rebounding and steals lists.
On June 17 against the Los Angeles Sparks, the team she played 12 seasons for before coming to Seattle, Ogwumike passed Tina Thompson to move into fourth on the WNBA’s all-time field goals made list. On June 20 against the Las Vegas Aces, Ogwumike passed Sancho Lyttle and Jia Perkins for sixth on the all-time steals list. And on June 22 against the New York Liberty, Ogwumike again passed Thompson for ninth on the all-time rebounding list. She only needs two more rebounds to pass DeWanna Bonner for eighth.
“Nneka is breaking records every day, every time we play,” Storm guard Erica Wheeler said after the win in Atlanta. “… We embrace it. She’s one of our leaders, and we just [are] not surprised. Every day I’m just like, ‘Nneka, what you going to do today?’ Because she just awesome. She is the prime example of a professional basketball player that love what she do and just set great examples with her actions.”
Turning to Ogwumike, Wheeler continued, “As you can see, she don’t talk much and she don’t like nobody talking about her, but we don’t care. We’re going to talk about you and we’re going to praise you as much as we can. It’s awesome just to be in her presence and see the things that she’s doing.”
Though Ogwumike is grateful for the success, she is never aware of it until the team or the media tells her. She doesn’t feel like it will really sink in until she is done playing.
“It’s not like you get bored of it. It’s kind of like someone is telling you about the view from up top and you’re still kind of on the way up to the top,” Ogwumike told The Next after shootaround on June 27. “I am always quite surprised when they say certain things. And for me, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve been playing a really long time.’ That’s kind of what I think about any time someone says it. But I’m very grateful to be in such great company.”
On top of moving up in the record books, Ogwumike was named a 2025 WNBA All-Star starter. It is the fourth consecutive season she has been named a starter and her 10th career All-Star selection. She is one of just four players to be voted an All-Star 10 or more times alongside Bird, Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings.
Over her career, Ogwumike has averaged 16.6 points per game while shooting 54.2% from the field and 37.0% from behind the arc, in addition to 7.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. This season, she is averaging 17.4 points per game on 53.7% shooting from the field and 38.2% from three, 7.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. She is on pace for a WNBA-record 14th consecutive season shooting at least 50% from the field.
Beyond the personal accolades, Ogwumike is key to Seattle’s success this season. Simply put, when she scores, Seattle wins. In all seven of the Storm’s losses, Ogwumike has scored 16 points or fewer. On the other hand, she has scored in double figures in all 11 wins and scored 20 or more points in eight of them.
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A career revitalized in Seattle
As well as Ogwumike is playing this season, there was no guarantee that she would play this long. In fact, she had been considering retirement before her move to Seattle.
“[My sister] Chiney had to talk me out of it. I was really thinking a couple years ago that I was going to have to retire,” Ogwumike said. “I was just kind of like, ‘Man, coming to work isn’t as fun anymore.’ I love this organization, but I just felt like there were things that I was being told that weren’t happening.
“And I have a deep loyalty. I have a character of loyalty. And maybe it might also be cultural because I’m also Nigerian, and loyalty is a huge thing there, too. So I didn’t think that moving was an option, and Chiney helped me understand, ‘No, you’re still good. You can go out there and you can rewrite your own story.'”
In Seattle, Ogwumike has found a sense of home among many familiar faces. Assistant coach Pokey Chatman had recruited Ogwumike since she was 11 years old. Ogwumike knew Quinn, a Los Angeles native, through other people in the LA circuit. She felt connected to Ezi Magbegor through their shared Nigerian heritage. Gabby Williams had been a member of the Sparks, though she never appeared in a game for them. Wheeler, Lexie Brown and Zia Cooke all played with Ogwumike in LA. And veteran point guard Skylar Diggins is one of Ogwumike’s longtime best friends.
“This environment is not one that I expected to, I guess, ‘water’ my career,” Ogwumike said. “When I was in LA, I was really thinking like, ‘OK, maybe this is kind of how it is.’ But being here with Noey, the ownership, with [general manager] Talisa [Rhea] and the staff, and my teammates and Sky has been amazing.”
She added, “I’m just really grateful that I was able to find more nourishment.”
Honoring greatness in the moment
In Seattle, nothing Ogwumike does is taken for granted. After the win over the Liberty on June 22, Diggins heaped praise on Ogwumike for passing Thompson on the all-time rebounding list. After listing all the different places and times that she tells Ogwumike how much she is valued, Diggins held back tears.
“What she does day in and day out is special, and you shouldn’t take it for granted,” Diggins said. “I love her, and it’s deeper than just basketball. Who she is as a person is solid. There’s a lot of stuff she can’t say to defend herself, and it’s a lot of shit that she takes on for our whole league. … Nobody around this league should take what she does for granted. I mean, she is still in her prime and continuing to get better and better.
“And I’m inspired by her personally, professionally. She’s a way better woman than me. But I look up to her. And not only [for] what she does on the floor — it’s how she carries herself and how she makes us have a standard. … She’s a champion. She’s the most disrespected MVP in the history of our league, and every night, she’s breaking records. … It’s amazing what she’s done, and we celebrate her every day. It’s a blessing to be on this team with her. And she’s a first ballot Hall of Famer.”
Ogwumike doesn’t feel as disrespected as she maybe did in 2020, 2021 and even 2016, when she won WNBA MVP and a championship with the Sparks. But even in those years, it wasn’t natural to feel disrespected.
“It wasn’t really a thought that came to my mind until people kind of brought it to my attention, because I think I’ve always kind of been the type of player that isn’t flashy,” Ogwumike said. “I come in, I do my job and I’ve been OK with that. I feel like that’s also a testament to me being able to play so long. I’m very blessed. I never thought that I would be playing this long.”
Ogwumike’s teammates aren’t the only ones with immense respect for her game. Quinn is in awe of her regularly.
“It is an honor to coach her,” Quinn said after a May 23 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. “Starting with her leadership, starting with just how she leads by example. But also, what she does every day to prepare herself for battle, taking care of her body, her film study and all the questions that she asks. Nneka is a student of the game. As good as she is, she’s still getting better. …
“But also, she plays the right way. She’s not rushed. She’s not sped up. She plays within herself. … Sometimes when Nneka misses, I’m like, ‘Man,’ because she’s so efficient. I mean, we expect it, but what she is doing, a lot of people can’t do night in and night out.”
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Team chemistry
Several Storm players have attributed this season’s success partly to everyone really liking each other and getting along. This was not said often last season in Seattle.
“I think it’s a combination of personality but also history,” Ogwumike said about the difference this season.
Seattle returned a core of Ogwumike, Diggins, Williams and Magbegor. It also brought back Alysha Clark, whom Ogwumike termed a “legacy core” for the nine seasons she played in Seattle from 2012 through 2020. Add in the three players Ogwumike played with in LA and rookie Dominique Malonga, who has a relationship with Williams from the French national team, and the group feels connected in many ways.
“It’s kind of all these different connections that ended up coming together in a really cool way, along with everyone’s personalities vibing,” Ogwumike said.
Ogwumike’s connection with Diggins has been particularly impactful to her experience in Seattle.
“She’s my sis. She always makes me feel appreciated. She always makes me feel seen,” Ogwumike said about Diggins’ emotional praise after the win over the Liberty. “She could have not said any of that, and I’d know [how] she feels. We’ve had a long relationship as being really close friends for a really long time. And I think sometimes it takes someone like that to know you, to know that sometimes it’s nice to hear those things. … We’re not the types of people that seek that type of validation out, but I do think that we offer it to each other.”
Presidential pressures
During her stellar basketball career, Ogwumike has also served as the president of the WNBA Players’ Association since 2016. That means she shoulders a lot for the league and its players.
“I deal with a lot of stuff,” Ogwumike said. “I can’t really tell you all the things, but because of who I am as a person, my role as president, and then oftentimes my role on the team, things come my way that aren’t necessarily, like, in my jurisdiction. But I just do my best to help people as best as I can. It’s not something that I try to broadcast or anything. I had amazing vets that showed that example for me, so I always wanted to make sure that I was the type of teammate, whether I’m on your team or not, that can help these women in the WNBA.”
As valuable as her role is, it can also exact a mental toll. That toll was heavier in the early years and particularly difficult years like 2020, but balancing her role with her play on the court has continued to be important.
“A shadow that I can’t escape is people not being able to distinguish my role as president and me as a player,” Ogwumike said. “I’m grateful for all of the change and amazing progress … but I got to a point where that’s kind of all people were talking to me about, and I was like, ‘I play basketball,’ you know? So understanding that I can be both of those things is very important to me. I’m not forcing anyone else to understand it, but I know how to prioritize what I need to do in the moment.”
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Keys to success
Ogwumike identified several keys to her sustained success. She stressed the importance of not being afraid to learn and change things up. Legends like Parker, Alana Beard, DeLisha Milton-Jones and current Storm assistant coach Ebony Hoffman all showed Ogwumike different things.
“Having that experience and then learning along the way from different teammates really taught me, ‘OK, I like how she’s doing that. What does she do to stay like that?'” Ogwumike said.
As she has played longer, Ogwumike has also recognized the importance of not taking basketball too seriously at times.
“In the beginning, especially in the era that I came into, everything was so serious, and you wanted to make sure that you came out here and you weren’t a liability,” she said. “But over the years, you have to find different joys, and you have to find different ways to add to what you’re doing and not get too monotonous about it and not take it for granted.
“So it’s a combination of a lot of things, but also giving myself grace along the way.”
Ogwumike has proven that she can succeed anywhere with her combination of mentality and basketball skill. But in Seattle, she is enjoying her success and continuing to rewrite history.
Written by Bella Munson
Bella has been a contributor for The Next since September 2023 and is the site's Seattle Storm beat reporter. She also writes for The Equalizer while completing her Journalism & Public Interest Communication degree at the University of Washington.
