Nine-time All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike is re-signing with the Seattle Storm as an unrestricted free agent, her sister, ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike, reported on "SportsCenter" on Friday.
Nneka Ogwumike played her first 12 seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, who drafted her No. 1 overall out of Stanford in 2012. But a year ago she made one of the biggest moves in WNBA free agency by leaving the Sparks for Seattle.
During Ogwumike's first season with the Storm, she earned All-WNBA second-team honors for a third consecutive year by averaging 16.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Her 30 3-pointers were a career high, and she was selected to the WNBA All-Defensive second team, her seventh All-Defensive appearance.
After being swept by the Las Vegas Aces in the opening round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs, Seattle will have a different look this season. On Saturday, the Storm agreed to a three-team deal that sends leading scorer Jewell Loyd to the Aces and received the No. 2 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft in return.
Re-signing Ogwumike was a priority for the Storm, who used their core designation on forward Gabby Williams. Williams, who would have been an unrestricted free agent, is expected to stay in Seattle.
The Storm also return six-time All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith, who signed a two-year contract when she teamed up with Ogwumike last year, and 2023 All-Star Ezi Magbegor.